Researchers at the School of Allied Health listen to healthcare consumers in the design and conduct of our work. PhD candidate Emily Wood tells us more

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a consumer community involvement (CCI) workshop, hosted by the WA Health Translation Network (WAHTN). This workshop was hosted in our Award winning Boola Katitjin, and emphasised the importance of involving consumers, community members, and stakeholders in health research. CCI is widely regarded as integral in producing relevant and impactful research, and several Australian universities and research grants already require CCI as a mandatory component of major research projects.

WAHTN delivered a workshop designed to explain what CCI is (and isn’t), present a range of CCI methodologies to address different research aims, and ultimately equip researchers with the tools and knowledge to effectively incorporate CCI into their own research. During the workshop, we heard from CCI coordinators (Deb Langridge and Caroline Jones), researchers already incorporating CCI into their work (Yvonne Learmonth, Associate Professor of Allied Health at Murdoch University), and a consumer actively involved in multiple CCI projects, each bringing their unique perspectives to the conversation.

Caroline Jones, CCIP lead for Murdoch University guides discussions

Additionally, WAHTN provides services and support for both researchers and consumers, by bringing researchers and consumers together through their matching process, and in the organisation of more complex methods such as community conversations and advisory panels. As a PhD student, I appreciated the supportive and encouraging environment that WAHTN fostered during the workshop. Their guidance on navigating the logistics of funding and organising CCI within my PhD research was particularly valuable.

My PhD research (supervised by Associate Prof. Yvonne Learmonth and Dr. Brook Galna) focuses on developing digital walking measures for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Historically, technology development for clinical populations has overlooked the opinion of the end user. By integrating a mixed methods approach with CCI, I aim to bring a valuable perspective to the field. Incorporating qualitative methods and consumer input into a predominantly quantitative area will help ensure that my research is more aligned with the lived experiences of those with MS, ultimately making it more impactful and meaningful to the community.