Partnering for better evidence: Working with academic partners
“Working with the three Experts by Experience from Revolving Doors on our NIHR cancer diagnosis treatment study in prisons was a very productive and rewarding experience, it is one of the highlights of my career! They helped with all aspects of the study, including reviewing documents, developing the interview guide, conducting interviews, and analysing and interpreting the data. This was vital as it helped us to better prepare for the interviews, ask more meaningful questions and create rapport with the people we interviewed, all helping to improve the relevance of our research.”
Professor Jo Armes, Professor of Cancer Care & Lead for Digital Health (University of Surrey) & Investigator on the NIHR cancer care and treatment in prisons study
“I relaxed the prisoners that we were speaking to because I told them I have been sat where they are sat as a prisoner. They related to me, and it helped them to open up.”
Tony, Peer Researcher, NIHR cancer care and treatment in prisons study
“It was a chance to have my say if you like and I think the others (peer researchers) felt the same…I am really proud of it. I’m really proud of the way that it was organised and the way that we, the three of us… were given every chance… every opportunity to make changes… Nothing was done without our permission.”
Sue, Peer Researcher, NIHR cancer care and treatment in prisons study
In 2020/21 we partnered with academics on two key research projects. We worked with Dr. Coral Sirdifield and Dr. Helen Nicholls (both University of Lincoln) to better understand the impact of the pandemic on probation and with Professor Jo Armes and Dr. Renske Visser (both University of Surrey) to better understand the quality of cancer treatment in prisons. Across both projects we supported several of our lived experience as peer researchers throughout the research process, including its design, conduct, analysis and dissemination.
As a result of peer researchers being involved in these projects:
- Professor Armes and Dr. Visser built a better understanding of the value people with lived can bring to the research process, and so extended their involvement to its conduct, analysis and dissemination (initially their involvement was limited to design).
- Our members published academically from their lived experience for the first time (see here, accessed more than 1,000 times), encouraging more academics to collaborate meaningfully and safely alongside people with lived experience.
- Peer researchers supported academics to conduct interviews more sensitively and safely, helping to generate richer research data.
- The analysis process was strengthened as peers provided insights from their different perspectives and utilised their lived experience to develop practical and workable policy and practice recommendations.
- Dissemination was strengthened as peers utilised their lived experience during presentations with key policymakers, including senior leaders within the Probation Service, to underline the importance of the co-developed recommendations.
- New opportunities were developed, including for two of our members to publish a book chapter in an upcoming collection (edited by Dr. Sirdifield) on Probation and mental health.
