Public and patient engagement evaluation tool (PPEET) [24]
The PPEET survey is available in multiple languages, such as English, French, and Dutch. The survey was created in 2011 as a product of a Canadian collaboration at McMaster University composed of researchers and public and patient engagement practitioners. Many benefits of the PPEET lie in its continuous improvement, as a result of surveying diverse stakeholders who implemented the tool and shared their experiences of success and challenges. This feedback led to the latest version of the PPEET published in 2018. Due to its wide usage, there is a rich literature validating the tool for different cultures and settings thereby improving its applicability to assessing partnerships in range of circumstances [27,28,29,30].
For this project, we used the participant questionnaire version 2.0 from the PPEET, which assesses various features of engagement, including: (1) the organization’s capacity for meaningfully engaging diverse stakeholders and culture of public and patient engagement, (2) participants’ assessments of their engagement, and (3) the planning, execution and impact of the engagement activity after it has been completed. The participant questionnaire is designed to obtain participants’ assessments of features of an engagement initiative. This 22-question survey includes sections on communication and support for participation, sharing views and perspectives, and impacts and influence of the engagement initiative. Respondents are asked to indicate their level of agreement, from strongly disagree to strongly agree, with statements such as “I am able to express my views freely.” The questionnaire included additional open-ended questions. The partners had the opportunity to complete this questionnaire from July to September of 2023. Individual support over the phone was provided to mitigate impairments or barriers with technology use. The PPEET allowed for anonymous expression of perspectives, which is important to allow partners to mention negative aspects in their experience. A total of seven partners participated.
Photovoice
Photovoice serves as a qualitative method employed to tackle intricate and sensitive subjects, providing individuals with a platform to candidly express their viewpoints [25, 26]. By employing photographs taken and chosen by the participants, individuals are able to contemplate and delve into the motives, emotions, and experiences that underlie their selected images.
We employed the photovoice approach to support our partners as they reflect on their own experiences and those of others, prompting them to create or capture images that convey their thoughts and analyze the images chosen by others.
Five partners first attended a 90-minute virtual photovoice workshop on Zoom, where they participated in interactive activities to gain/further their understanding of photography and how we can use photovoice.
Supported by the research team to present her experiences, one partner shared her journey of completing a photovoice activity (using a different prompt unrelated to this project) to provide reflections on the process and an example for others. At the end of the workshop, the partners were invited to develop a submission composed of a description and image response to the prompt “What would the ideal partnership/engagement of older adults be in the Collaborative?”. The recording of the workshop was available for those who did not attend. About a week later, 5 out of 9 partners shared their submissions and engaged in a 90-minute virtual discussion on Zoom regarding the impact, process, and responses to the photovoice prompt. One person was not able to submit due to health reasons but participated in the discussion by sharing reflections and experiences of viewing others’ submissions.
In addition to the recorded training workshop, partners were offered individual support through additional phone calls/Zoom.
Focus group
The focus group aimed to encourage the partners to express their individual and collective experiences as older adult partners within the Collaborative. There were two sections to the focus group guide: (1) Overview and Impact of Participation within the Collaborative and (2) Partnership Challenges and Successes. The focus group, which lasted 90 min, took place online (via Zoom) and was attended by 6 out of 9 partners. See focus group questions below:
Section 1: Overview and impact of participation within the Collaborative
-
1.
What impact has your participation in the Collaborative, as a partner, had on you?
-
2.
How has your participation in the Collaborative as a partner influenced your self advocacy/general advocacy skills? (if at all)
-
3.
What different perspectives do you bring to the Collaborative?
Section 2: Partnership challenges and successes.
-
1.
What are some anticipated challenges for others who may be more marginalized due to social or health-related factors when participating or adopting the role of a partner? (Socioeconomic, gender/sex, race/ethnicity, religion/spirituality, physical and mental/cognitive capabilities)
-
2.
Reciprocity is an important principle for partnership; what do you feel like you are “getting back” from your involvement in the Collaborative?
-
3.
When you think about how this team works together as a group (a) what makes the initiative successful? (b) what gets in the way of success?
Most focus group questions were developed in collaboration with the partners whileothers were added by the research team in response to findings from the PPEET and other evaluation methods.
Add Comment