I still pinch myself as I can’t believe I am involved in such a fantastic research centre. AUKCAR is a unique virtual centre incorporating 13 institutes which all have teams of dedicated researchers wanting to make the lives of people with asthma better by addressing three key areas: encourage good asthma control, maximise treatment benefits, and reduce asthma exacerbations and asthma deaths. Something which is desperately needed as every day there will be someone somewhere in the UK dealing with the consequences of a loved one dying from an asthma attack.
Since the start of my involvement in AUKCAR I have done things and been involved in things I would never have even dreamt about. By the end of this year (or perhaps January depending on whether it is Dec or Jan issue) I will have had an article published in the British Medical Journal, I will have been to 2 annual scientific meetings for AUKCAR, I have commented on a variety of different things, attended focus groups, sat on patient advisory panels, been part of the PhD reviewing team, spoken to PhD students via a webinar to give them the full story of what living with asthma is really like, but for me there are two things I am particularly proud of, firstly being invited to join the Centre Management Committee (CMC) for AUKCAR and secondly is to be part of setting up the Children and Young Persons group.
Back when I was first asked about joining AUKCAR’s PPI Group I was ecstatic about the opportunity to be involved in such a group breaking centre. I fell into it and had absolute no idea where it would take me- all I knew at the start was that I could do as much or as little as I wanted. It turned out I love doing all of the different tasks we get asked to do so find over the last year and a half I have done quite a few things!! As emails came through I would read things and comment and find the different projects so fascinating that it was really no chore to spend some time putting comments together for the researchers.
From the outset of joining AUKCAR I knew I would be involved in helping with the children and young peoples (CYP) side of things and trying to build PPI for the CYP group. When it started out I really didnt know what I was doing but in time we (myself, a research fellow from AUKCAR and an asthma nurse specialist at the RHSC in Edinburgh) got a group of children and young people and have had several meetings where they have all been so enthusiastic and we have done a few bits of PPI but our first big PPI task will be in the next meeting where a researcher is coming to speak to them and get their feedback. The enjoyment you see them having is great and they have so much enthusiasm that often we don’t get through what was planned as they have so many ideas and there is much discussion. We were worried at the start about how to get children involved and if they would get bored but it has been quite the opposite. It is really exciting. Even more so now that there is a group name and logo designed which will be launched soon!!!
Earlier this week I went to my first CMC meeting for AUKCAR. I never dreamt I would ever be part of this, it never really registered with me what the CMC was when I was at my first scientific meeting in Oxford last year. But now having been invited to be part of it I think it is a big deal. To me it is a big deal. It means being part of the team that manage the centre. I was sitting in a room with what can only be described as some the best asthma researchers in the world. I really didnt know what to expect. I have met all of them several times before and all of them are lovely but when asked my opinions on something I was kind of shocked as to me these are the guys who do all this research and understand all these statistics etc that fly around yet they were asking for my views, initially I was thinking I only have asthma what do they want to know from me, but as the meeting went on it was so clear to see how much the centre value the input from the “people who just have asthma” and see it as far more than that. Their research is shaped around what the needs of people with asthma are which is what makes the centre so unique. Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) is embedded in all the research they do from PhD researchers, early career researchers to the researchers at the top of their field. No research is exempt from PPI. The meeting was a really good experience even if the statistics and data parts went totally over my head. I am really excited and looking forward to the next few months with the annual scientific meeting, going to the FARR Frontiers meeting thing and another CYP Group so lots going on.
ANONYMOUS-ASTHMA 