An evidence synthesis collects and summarises information on a topic from many different research studies. This helps people, including the public, policymakers and funders, make informed decisions about healthcare.
Evidence Synthesis Ireland (ESI) aims to make evidence syntheses more accessible, usable, and understandable for everyone. We want to support public involvement in evidence syntheses. This way, the decisions informed by the evidence will better meet the needs and priorities of the public. Involving everyone helps improve health outcomes.
We plan to support the public’s involvement in co-producing evidence by training them in how to plan, do and share evidence syntheses. Currently, little training is available for the public to learn these skills. Our partners in Canada have developed a course to fill this gap. We will adapt this course for people in Ireland and other countries, with a lens on equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Here’s how we will do it:
Course adaptation: With public partners and researchers from across the globe, we will customise the course to include culturally diverse and inclusive examples and case studies.
Training facilitators: Researchers and peer coaches (PPI Contributors) will lead the training for the public. We will train public partners to help teach the course.
Recruitment and delivery: We will then recruit and train 20 patient and public partner participants from Ireland and other countries, including low- to middle-income countries (LMICs). We will make the course available online for easy access for these participants.
Evaluation: We will ask those who participate in the course to tell us how effective the course is. We will analyse the data and create an infographic to show key findings and recommendations.
This project aims to improve the public’s involvement in future systematic reviews by helping them understand and participate in evidence syntheses, benefiting health research worldwide.