Dr Susanne Arnold is an Academic Physiotherapist working at the Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Warwick. Her research interests include falls prevention, exercise, rehabilitation and loneliness. In this article she explains how she used an Ignition Fund award to undertake meaningful Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) to support an NIHR Post-Doctoral Fellowship application.
In July 2024, I decided to apply for an NIHR Post-Doctoral Fellowship, with the plan to submit the application in July 2025. Since completing my PhD in 2019, some of the findings from my qualitative study have stayed with me. In particular, I’ve been left asking questions about the possible impact of physical activity interventions on loneliness for older people.
As with any NIHR grant application, PPIE is crucial. It ensures we are producing high-quality research directly benefitting the population of interest. My project is called Using Physical activity to alleviate Loneliness and Improve General Health in The over 70’s (UPLIGHT). I wanted to undertake some meaningful PPIE work with a diverse group of older people to help me with my application. And if successful, my project as a whole. In preparation, I applied for a Vivensa Foundation Academy Ignition Fund award in September 2024, and got it.
Creating my PPIE group
Working with local NHS PPIE Leads and third sector organisations from across the UK (including Voluntary Action Coventry, Age UK, and Re-engage), I connected with a diverse group of 10 people: nine older adults (all ≥70 years) and one Age UK volunteer. They were all really interested in my early plans for the project. The group consists of five men and five women; seven White British, two Afro-Caribbean and one Asian; five are married, four widowed and one is single. All have agreed to work with me as a PPIE group during the set-up, delivery and dissemination of my Fellowship.
During the six months prior to submitting my application we met as a group three times, as well as in one-to-one online meetings. Our discussions were invaluable to my application. It helped me develop my research question, understand what types of physical activity interventions might be appropriate (or not) for a feasibility study and how these could be delivered. Also, possible recruitment strategies and what outcomes are really important to the over 70s with regards to loneliness. The group were instrumental in the production of my Plain English Summary for the application, and reviewed multiple iterations.
I do not know the outcome of my Fellowship application yet, but if I am successful, I plan to meet the group at least twice a year for the duration of the project. I will also contact them via email or post, to ask for their input into study design, delivery and dissemination. A large part of my dissemination plan involves sharing the results via community/voluntary sector events and resources. My PPIE group will be integral to preparing materials that are appropriate for the audience, and planning and participating in these events to share the findings from the project, as well as their own experiences with their peers.
The impact of the Ignition Fund Award
Thanks to the funding that I received, I was able to reach out to community organisations such as Age UK and other charities such as Re-engage who work to tackle loneliness in older people. I contacted and made connections with their staff and groups of older people for whom this topic is extremely relevant. I visited and observed established community-based physical activity interventions (and other types of interventions) aimed at loneliness. Talking to people from these groups was invaluable and helped with the creation of my diverse PPIE group.
Making this connection with Age UK and Re-engage has been a fantastic opportunity to build a network between Warwick Clinical Trials Unit and community organisations. This could potentially lead to future collaborations, thereby fostering future endeavours to improve the care of older people in the UK.
Importantly, the funding has enabled me to reimburse the members of my PPIE group for the time they spent reading and commenting on my application and all the supporting information, as well as attending online and in-person meetings (time, travel, and subsistence). I was able to hire a comfortable and appropriate venue for our meetings that was accessible and central and met all the needs of the group.
My Ignition Fund award allowed me to involve the right people in the development of a research project. This ensures that the plans for the project are relevant, acceptable to older people, and will hopefully improve both communication about the research and the experience of taking part for participants.