The webcomic was developed by Dr Stan Papoulias, patient and public involvement research theme lead, ARC South London working with illustrator and cartoonist Camille Aubry to bring to life the experiences of those tasked with delivering PPI in diverse research environments.
The content of the webcomic is based on the findings of a study on the needs, challenges and working conditions of the NIHR PPI workforce, led by Dr Papoulias. The study found that staff potential may be hampered by lack of recognition and a poor understanding of their expertise and needs in the broader research organisation. Moreover, staff might be facing considerable institutional and structural obstacles to embedding PPI, including regulations, timelines and systems which are not built with the aim of sustaining long-term partnerships with the public. Such an organisational stance can produce considerable roadblocks to sustainable and holistic involvement practice, hinder the integration of public contributors into research teams and hasten burnout for PPI staff.
The webcomic translates these findings by creating four characters through whose eyes we are introduced to some of the practical and emotional challenges of navigating research systems and addressing the expectations, needs and priorities of different actors (including researchers, managers, public contributors, HR and finance office).
Each character becomes an opportunity to present situations that those working in this field would recognise, but that may be overlooked or ignored by institutional insiders and outsiders alike. Dr Papoulias will now use the vignettes in a follow up study, aiming to understand the challenges those working in PPI may face in responding to the current heightening of expectations around delivering PPI – in particular expectations around engagement and inclusion of marginalised and underserved communities.
We are keen to circulate these vignettes nationally, so they can be used to facilitate conversations between researchers, public contributors, clinicians and PPI staff to enable a deeper more empathic understanding of the skills and resources required to embed public involvement in research; foster collaborative work and a ‘whole organisation approach’ in devising potential solutions to these situations.
If you are interested in presenting or working with the vignettes please contact Dr Papoulias email: stan.papoulias@kcl.ac.uk
View the full webcomic vignettes