A week and a day in the life of an embedded researcher

Posted by Mandy Cheetham, Fuse Post doctoral Research Associate and embedded researcher with Gateshead Council Public Health Team

Standing to deliver my presentation at the UKCRC Centres of Excellence conference recently held at the Royal College of Physicians last week, I felt oddly out of place. I was describing my experiences of embedded research in a community centre in an estate characterised by high levels of poverty, health inequalities and persistently high rates of childhood obesity. The contrast between this setting and the auspicious environment of the RCP was marked. The lecture theatre represented an entirely different world.

Presenting at the UKCRC Public Health Research Centres of Excellence Conference

At the pre-conference dinner, I’d had lively discussions with researchers and practitioners from the four corners of the UK about different approaches to, and experiences of knowledge exchange and about advocacy. Presenters earlier in the day were clear that advocacy was not part of their role. And yet, it felt at the heart of my role as an embedded researcher as a way to affect change.

As my presentation began, photos of the community centre, the events and activities I’ve been involved in, beamed on to the enormous screen, and gave a flavour of the different worlds we inhabit as researchers. One of the slides showed a picture of the international athletics stadium near the estate where I’m based. I explained how during the research, local people said they didn’t feel the stadium was for people like them. Some had never been inside, despite growing up on the estate just across the main road.

Back at the community centre on Monday, I talked about the conference. I had invited the stadium manager for community lunch and was full of anticipation about the possibilities of exploring closer links. He arrived, chatted to community members and staff, and stayed 2 hours. He was really receptive and people shared plenty of ideas. It’s the start of a dialogue. Who knows where it will lead.


Working with the community to involve children in cooking and trying healthy options

I love this aspect of my job, the variety, the networking. The rest of my working week involved a focus group with the steering group of the community centre and another with year 4 children from the local school. My role as a researcher is many and varied. The organisation where I’m embedded, and the public health team who commissioned the research, have been extremely receptive and welcoming, open to scrutiny, feedback and learning. Collaboration requires multiple skills, which are not always taught or easily learned, including sensitivity, diplomacy, tenacity and assertiveness, recognising the nuances of the local context and existing relationships in place. Researchers can contribute by offering new perspectives and working alongside existing stakeholders as equal partners.

If we are to make progress in efforts to turn the tide on entrenched health inequalities, I believe we need to work differently as researchers. Embedded research offers opportunities to engage communities who would rarely volunteer to take part in formal university research projects. It involves co-producing public health research with communities and researcher users, sharing knowledge, identifying and generating solutions together, and including children and young peoples’ views as part of that, as experts by experience. As academics, we are not the experts. Children and adults who have participated in the research process are only too aware of what makes us fit and healthy and the constraints on their choices and decisions. The opportunities to act on that knowledge are limited by their environment and sometimes by the assumptions of others. As researchers, I believe we have a responsibility to challenge some of those limiting assumptions and collaborate with others working proactively in community settings to facilitate positive change where we can. By co-producing and combining different types of knowledge we can create meaningful impact, both in communities experiencing health inequalities and in auspicious academic lecture theatres.


Photo courtesy of the National Children's Bureau (NCB) report (p10): 'Working together to reduce childhood obesity' authored by Emily Hamblin, Andrew Fellowes and Keith Clements (May 2017)

Making an impact with your research: may I have this dance?

Posted by Peter van der Graaf, AskFuse Manager, Teesside University

Early career researchers from the five UK Public Health Research Centres of Excellence met recently (14-15 July) in Norwich to discuss their research and bust out a few moves on the dancefloor at the conference dinner. While some career-focused academics (the conference theme was about career transitions) might frown upon this behaviour, the policy and practice partners participating in the conference made it very clear that, for them, dancing is a key move in public health, particularly if you want to make an impact with your research. 

Before you don your dancing shoes, let me explain what keynote speaker Jim McManus, Director of Public Health at Hertfordshire County, was talking about. He argued that knowledge exchange is not really a science or even an art but very much a dance: a dance between researchers and policy makers about the use of research evidence. To complete this dance successfully and get evidence used in commissioning, both partners need to follow certain steps. However, learning the steps (science) or performing them perfectly (art) is not sufficient: it requires instinct and feel for where you are in the dance and why you are doing it.

You need to understand who you are engaging with and why they are the best partner to talk to. How would you like them to use your evidence and why would it be of interest/ value to them? In other words, as a researcher it is not enough to present your partner with the latest evidence. You need to know when and how to use your evidence and this cannot be gleaned from an internet profile page or academic paper, but is based on an ongoing relationship with policy makers. As the context and process in which evidence is useful changes constantly it is an important skill for researchers to be able “to go with the music”.

 

https://twitter.com/okaneniamh/status/753700134605754368 

For instance, if a public health commissioner is challenged in a council meeting by an elected member about the lack of progress in bringing down local childhood obesity, it is of limited use to the commissioner to cite a research paper on the complexity of obesity and the need for a long-term, multi-pronged approach, particularly in times of austerity. A better move could be to signpost the commissioner to an existing two-page evidence brief about the most effective way to reduce inequalities in childhood obesity. A more elaborate dance routine could involve suggesting an action research project to identify how to make better use of existing services in a more integrated way, based on in-depth conversations with elected members and other service providers and users.

To get a better feel for the music, Jim McManus emphasised the need for emotional engagement between researchers and policy makers. A heart-to-heart helps you feel the steps and allows you to adapt your steps based on where you are going. This might sound difficult and un-academic but, given what I witnessed at the evening do, the participants at the UKCRC16 conference in Norwich proved that they were more than happy to move around the dancefloor with our public health partners, given the right music.

"What should I wear?!" - My first conference as a PhD student

Guest post by Roxanne Armstrong, PhD student at Sunderland University

First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Roxanne and I am currently doing a PhD at the University of Sunderland and I am part of the Fuse partnership. On the 18 – 20 November I attended my first ever conference, the UKCRC public health conference that took place in Edinburgh. I am going to use this blog to guide you through my experience, not to include the academic research that was presented. Hopefully providing an insight into what the “First Conference” feels like for a PhD student.

I am writing this blog, because despite being surrounded by a really supportive supervisory team, there are some things you just wouldn’t ask. A few examples; “do you think a four inch wedge is too formal for the day events? How about with jeans? Do I wear a dress for the conference dinner? Are flat shoes okay?”. This list goes on… This “fashion anxiety” led me to take a suitcase that could clothe a small town, four pairs of shoes and an array of eye shadow shades that a stylist from London fashion week would be proud of.

I started my journey on the train. A busy, smelly, full train. I had reserved a seat, sure, but due to me being (possibly overly) kind, I let someone take it. I glanced around and saw some other Fuse members that I recognised; I braved going over and introducing myself and ended up having a really nice, chatty trip to Edinburgh. Hurdle one – accomplished!

Professor John Frank, Director of  SCPHRP, got into the Scottish spirit at the conference dinner

Second hurdle, accommodation. Would I have a bed? Would I be sharing with a stranger that was prone to sleepwalking? How about free toiletries? I had no idea what to expect and have heard some fairly scathing reviews about conference accommodation. When I walked into my room I practically had to call someone to pick my jaw up off the floor. My accommodation was bigger than my own house! Bed? Check. Free toiletries? Check. Oh and two double beds, two plasma TVs and a kitchen area. I felt like Kate Middleton; surely this means I have made it in the world….

The third hurdle I faced was being in a sociable environment with people I’d only ever seen in a professional light. This was the most rewarding aspect for me; making connections, talking about normal things with lovely, like minded people. We shared mealtime and a couple of drinks and I finished the first evening with people I now class as friends.

Making connections with lovely like minded people

The conference itself was another challenge; I was full of nerves thinking about all of the other academics that would be there and how I’d act around them, but in truth it was so easy going. I was engaging with lots of approachable individuals with a lot of knowledge to share and exchange. I left the conference sessions feeling excited for my own future and how I was so grateful that I have such a diverse and welcoming community around me for at least the next three years and hopefully many more after that.

If I had to give some advice to someone who had never been to a conference before it would be the following: be open minded – every conference is different and you will find yourself being a social chameleon, adapting to whoever you meet, this is a great skill to develop. Secondly, enjoy it! I enjoyed every minute and really made the most of it. Finally, take as many free pens as your pocket will allow… That’s what they’re there for!

Oh, and I couldn’t end this blog without telling you – I opted for three inch wedge boots, jeans and a neutral shade of eye shadow. You’re welcome.

Did you enjoy reading this post? If so, please vote for Fuse in the UK Blog Awards 2016 by clicking here