Star patient and public involvement representative wins top impact award
One of Glasgow Caledonian University’s star patient and public involvement (PPI) representatives has won a prestigious impact award for her dedication and commitment to our research.
Margaret Graham, 63, from Ayrshire, won the PPI Impact Award at the Patient and Public Involvement Event, hosted by NHS Research Scotland and the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government, last month.
She was nominated by researchers in the School of Health and Life Sciences’ Research Centre for Health (ReaCH) for her amazing contribution over the years to vital pelvic organ prolapse research which has changed women’s lives.
Dr Kirsteen Goodman, Trial Manager in the ReaCH Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions Research Unit (NMAHP RU), put Margaret’s name forward for the award because of the huge impact she had in getting the message out to the public about a new research project published back in December.
Margaret helped spread the word about the ‘Treatment of Prolapse with Self-Care Pessary (TOPSY)’, which showed that self-management of a pessary used to treat pelvic organ prolapse in women leads to fewer complications and could save the NHS money while maintaining quality of life.
The findings of the six-year £1.1million study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), were great news for the 40% of women over 50 in the UK who suffer from this condition.
The study, led by researchers Professors Carol Bugge and Suzanne Hagen, involved 340 women of all ages from 21 NHS centres across the UK and the results could change the lives of thousands of women with pelvic organ prolapse, and identified big benefits from pessary self-management.
Dr Goodman, Professors Bugge and Hagen, and ReaCH Co-Director Professor Carol Emslie were absolutely delighted that Margaret won the prestigious PPI Impact Award.
Dr Goodman said: “We are absolutely delighted that Margaret won the PPI Impact Award for her commitment to the TOPSY study and got this recognition from outside the study team! She created and starred in results videos, published her PPI story in the Trials journey, and she has been inspiring throughout. We think she has been great, and it is fantastic to see others do too.”
Margaret, who has been using a pessary for the past 10 years for prolapse and was a patient representative in the study, said she was "impressed and amazed" at the rigour and care taken in the research.
She even had her own research paper published about her involvement in the TOPSY study here, starred in a TOPSY study video and appeared on STV News - watch here.
Margaret said: “I am so very pleased that Glasgow Caledonian University nominated me and that I have won an award. I really appreciate the recognition of my PPI contribution by the TOPSY team, NHS Research Scotland and the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government.”
Professor Emslie: “This is fantastic news – and very richly deserved! Many congratulations to Margaret - we are delighted that her wonderful work has been recognised.
“She was a co-applicant on this NIHR-funded study, has written a commentary article about her experience which was published in a high impact journal, provided valuable advice about interviewing women to the research team, and appears in the study results video talking about self-managing pelvic organ prolapse.
“Our health research can only benefit people when we work closely in partnership and learn from patients and members of the public with lived experience. Thank you also to Dr Kirsteen Goodman who nominated Margaret for the award.”