Tuesday, 11 July 2023

We started the meeting by welcoming all members. Kate briefly reminded the group of the purpose of our group and what patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) is. Our new members introduced themselves. Next, we got into small groups around the room and all groups were given a quiz to complete. The quiz was made up of some general knowledge questions and some questions about hearing and brain health. Once everyone had the chance to complete the quiz, Kate went through and read out the answer to each question. A few questions initiated some interesting discussion such as about hearing aid use and why there is a stigma and what are the modifiable risk factors for dementia. Congratulations to our winning group!

After a short refreshment break, Tracey presented a new project called ‘Have you heard? Cochlear implants work in older people’ which we are in the early, development stages for. The study design and project idea were discussed with the group, and we noted down valuable feedback and comments. It was highlighted that it is important to raise awareness of how people qualify for a cochlear implant – people need to understand the eligibility criteria. Another point was that people need to better understand the biology of our hearing, that when you lose most of your hair cells in the cochlea, hearing aids will no longer provide benefit and therefore a cochlear implant may be suitable.

Next, Kate briefly discussed the ongoing Evaluation of the group. The aim of the evaluation questionnaire was to evaluate the impact, effectiveness, and engagement of the PPIE group using the National Standards for Public Involvement. The questionnaire was co-designed with members of the group – the questionnaire went live – the data were analysed and interpreted – next steps are to disseminate findings and build action plan for the next 18 months. Kate gave an overview of the findings from the questionnaire. A handout with a summary of the rest of the data was provided. Kate will continue to work on writing up the evaluation and will share with members of the group as the piece develops.