My experience of participating in the IMAB-Qi PhD workshops:

Being involved as a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) contributor on the IMAB-QI embedded PhD workshops has been a genuinely rewarding experience. From the beginning, it was clear that lived experience was valued and that my involvement would help shape the research in a meaningful way. 

My role within the project was as a facilitator, working alongside patients and healthcare professionals during workshops focused on scenarios and behaviour change techniques to be delivered on IMAB-QI. Together, we explored whether proposed approaches would work in practice, how they could be improved, and what other factors needed to be considered. 

These discussions helped ensure the intervention was realistic, equitable, and practical for the people it is intended to support. 

I feel my involvement helped keep the patient perspective central throughout the process. Having PPI contributors involved in discussions with healthcare professionals ensured conversations stayed grounded in real experiences and practical challenges, while also highlighting accessibility and usability considerations that may otherwise have been overlooked. 

 One of the most positive aspects of the project was the collaborative and inclusive approach taken throughout. Because the same participants attended over several weeks, it created a supportive environment where people became more comfortable sharing honest opinions and experiences, and helped strengthened discussions and encouraged genuine partnership working. 

 Before each workshop, we had preparation calls which helped everyone understand the aims of the session and my role as a facilitator. Materials were shared in advance and in accessible formats, making it easier to prepare confidently. Having co-facilitators also created a supportive environment where we could learn from one another during the workshops. Importantly, involvement did not stop once the workshops ended. I was included in post-workshop synthesis calls where reflections were discussed, feedback reviewed, and changes to the intervention shared as the project developed. Seeing how feedback directly influenced ongoing improvements and the final outputs made the process feel valuable and demonstrated what good inclusive PPI involvement should look like in practice. 

 Through participating in these workshops, I developed and strengthened a range of skills. Facilitating discussions improved my confidence in guiding conversations and encouraging different perspectives to be heard. Working with the same participants over several weeks also strengthened my rapport-building and communication skills. In addition, the experience increased my awareness of accessibility and usability within healthcare research, encouraging me to think critically about whether interventions and materials are understandable, realistic, and practical for the people using them. 

 Overall, this experience reinforced for me how important PPI involvement is in healthcare research. When we are properly supported, listened to, and involved throughout the process, research becomes stronger, more inclusive, and more relevant to the people it is designed to help.