Background:
Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) involves individuals with lived experience in research design, conduct, and dissemination (Puerta and Smith, 2020). It ensures interventions reflect real-world contexts and community needs, based on the principle that research is conducted ‘by’ or ‘with’ the public. In population health research on breastfeeding, PPI helps develop and implement effective interventions collaboratively. To improve PPI, understanding participants’ lived experiences is essential. This study is part of the HRB-funded Max/Bf programme, which aims to support breastfeeding and promote sustainable health and wellbeing through co-produced research.
Aim:
To explore how PPI contributors experience involvement in breastfeeding research and how these experiences align with the stated goals of PPI, including empowerment, improved research quality, partnership and transparency.
Objectives:
Describe contributors’ motivations and perceptions of involvement
Interpret how they make sense of their role and influence
Identify perceived benefits, challenges, and recommendations for future PPI practice.
Design:
A qualitative study using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Approximately four to six contributors from the Max/Bf project will be invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Data will be transcribed and analysed using the IPA framework (Smith et al., 2022)
Hypothesis:
The study uses an exploratory qualitative design to understand how PPI contributors interpret their involvement and its relation to meaningful public participation in population health research.
Expected outcomes:
Findings will provide an in-depth understanding of the personal and relational dimensions of PPI involvement in breastfeeding research, informing best-practice guidelines for future HRB-funded population health initiatives.