Events

Public Involvement Pop-Up Engagement Event and Book Launch: Public Involvement and Community Engagement in Applied Health and Social Care Research. 

Thursday 27 November, 12 pm until 1.30 pm

Recovery College Collective (Re-Co-Co), 1, Carliol Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6UF

Public Involvement and Community Engagement in Applied Health and Social Care Research is a collection of work addressing critical and innovative aspects of PICE work.

Please join us at this book launch and hear from a range of contributors about:

• Public involvement
• Trauma informed principles and PICE work
• Creativity in PICE work
• PICE work with girls in alternative education provision
• PICE work with women linked to reproductive health
• Regional approaches to community engagement.

More information about the speakers can be found below.

There’ll be opportunities to ask questions, network, and pick up a copy of the book. A light lunch will also be provided.

The collection will be available to download with open access after its launch.

Register to attend

More about the book

Public Involvement and Community Engagement in Applied Health and Social Care Research is an accessible and easy to navigate collection. Each chapter offers a complete exploration of a specific aspect of PICE work. The book reveals common concerns and shared insights, particularly around methodology, positionality, and the practical challenges of implementing PICE in diverse contexts.

The contributors are engaging, and each provides reflective accounts of their experiences, offering readers the opportunity to consider how these insights might inform their own research practices.

The collection is structured around four broad but connected themes, each addressing critical and innovative aspects of PICE work:

• International, regional, and local perspectives of PICE work
• Creativity and innovation, perspectives and opportunities in PICE work
• PICE work in marginalised communities
• Parents, carers, adolescents and children’s perspectives of PICE work.

Claire Ashmore, Programme Manager from Three NIHR Research Schools’ Mental Health Programme, provided the foreword for the book. She said: 

“This collection is not prescriptive; it does not tell readers what to do. Instead, it invites reflection and dialogue, encouraging researchers, practitioners, and communities to think critically about their approaches to PICE. By sharing lived experiences and practical examples, the collection creates a ‘brave space’ for learning and growth, ultimately aiming to enhance the quality and impact of health and social care research through meaningful Public Involvement and Community Engagement.

“The authors encourage you to continue engaging with the chapters, reflecting on their implications, and considering how they might inform your own work.

“The journey through this collection is one of discovery, challenge, and inspiration,
offering valuable insights for anyone committed to advancing PICE in research.”

More about the event speakers

Collection editors 

Dr William McGovern

William McGovern is an Associate Professor of Marginalised Communities at Northumbria University, and the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Director of Public, User, and Patient Involvement. He is also the academic co-lead for Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement: IDEAS-NET (NIHR). He has edited and published collections of work on safeguarding children in schools, teaching sensitive subjects, stigma, drugs and identity, as well as an anthology of poetry on substance use and mental health recovery.

Dr Hayley Alderson

Hayley Alderson is an NIHR Advanced Fellow/Senior Research Associate at Newcastle University. She has a practice background in substance misuse. To date, her research has been conducted in or has closely aligned with social care settings and seeks to benefit highly vulnerable populations such as families on the edge of care, children in care/care leavers, individuals experiencing domestic violence and abuse, and substance-misusing parents and their children. Her research has a strong focus on translational research, which is driven by a commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and families.

Dr Beth Bareham

Bethany Kate Bareham, Senior Research Associate at Newcastle University, has a background in health psychology and public health. Her research aims to support vulnerable populations, including older adults and those with alcohol and mental health problems. Patient involvement is central to her approach. She has received national recognition for collaborative research.

Professor Monique Lhussier

Monique Lhussier is Professor in Public Health and Well-being at Northumbria University and the Director of the Centre for Health and Social Equity. She is driven by understanding both the experiences of marginalisation and the processes and structures that enable them so that they can be challenged.

Chapter contributors speaking at the event – more info

Dr Emma Adams – Embedding Trauma-informed Principles Within  Involvement and Co-production Activities with People Experiencing Homelessness

Emma Adams is a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Doctoral Fellow based at Newcastle University. Her research is based in public health and inequalities with a focus on homelessness, mental health, and substance use, and uses participatory and co-production approaches.

Greta Brunskill – Co-production of a Regional Approach to
Community Engagement in Health

Greta Brunskill is a Public Partnerships Manager with the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Diagnostic and Technology Evaluation based in Newcastle. She brings experience from clinical roles in the NHS and research and voluntary sectors and is passionate about meaningful and inclusive involvement of people in health research.

Dr Pamela Graham – Let’s Hear It from the Girls: Shining a Light on
the Value of PICE in Alternative Educational Provision

Pamela Graham is an Assistant Professor in Community Wellbeing at Northumbria University. She is the Public Involvement and Engagement Lead for Fuse: The Centre for Translational Research in Public Health. She is interested in issues affecting the health and wellbeing of children, young people and families in educational and community settings.

Dr Ian Robson – Engaging with the Theory and Practice of Creative
PICE Work

Ian Robson is an innovator in collaborative enquiry and social design, fostering knowledge, and practice change that focusses on marginalised groups. He has recently received the Louise Emanuel Award for his pioneering work to improve the mental health of babies in the UK. He specialises in creating inclusive spaces where research, philosophy, art, and lived experience converge to address complex social issues.

Dr Claire Smiles – Collaborating to Explore the Reproductive Health
and Social Care Needs of Women Who Use Drugs

Claire Smiles is a Research Associate at the Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University. Her research explores the unique challenges women and children from marginalised backgrounds experience. She works collaboratively with lived experience communities, practitioners and stakeholders to co-produce meaningful research that is grounded in real-world experiences.

Claire Hutchinson

Claire is a Public and Community Engagement Officer in the Research Impact team at Northumbria University. She will explain a new call for papers on Public Involvement in Higher Education Settings.

Acknowledgments

This work has been supported financially to be open access by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria (NENC), Centre For Health and Social Equity (CHASE) Northumbria University and Newcastle City Council.

The launch event is being supported by the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria, and Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health.