Abstract
BackgroundPatient and public involvement (PPI) in health education is a practice whereby research and education are carried in collaboration ‘with’ patients and/or citizens, maintaining their role as a team member or expert. PPI in health education is of great interest for all stakeholders in the field, as it can make program development more relevant to the public and increase its utilization by the target population. However, little is known about how PPI should be implemented in different settings particularly in rural and remote areas. Therefore, a deeper understanding of how PPI works in different environments is needed. We aim to explore how information and communication technologies (ICT) are used for PPI in health education programs in rural and remote areas.MethodsWe performed a scoping review. Two reviewers independently selected 641 studies from five electronic databases. Data were extracted, charted and validated by the senior researcher and study lead. We performed a narrative synthesis to map the literature.ResultsOf the initial 641 articles identified, 5 fit the eligibility criteria. Most of the studies targeted community members at large. Consultation and collaboration were the main levels of PPI, which included communities at large and specific at-risk groups. The main forms of ICT used were telephone and Internet, followed by teleconferences, electronic health records, and weblogs. No study measured the effectiveness of ICT for involving patients in health education in rural and remote areas.ConclusionTelephone and Internet were the most frequently used forms of PPI in health education in rural areas with consultation and collaboration as the main levels of PPI there. No study measured the impact of ICT for PPI in health education in rural areas. Due to this, measuring the impact of ICT in rural and remote areas as a means for PPI in health education of medical students, health professionals and patients requires further study.
Highlights
Patient and public involvement (PPI) in health education is a practice whereby research and education are carried in collaboration ‘with’ patients and/or citizens, maintaining their role as a team member or expert
PPI can be applied in research, education or policy development, whereby, patients and/or citizens are included as consultants, advisors and contributing team members
PPI in health education in rural areas?; and 2) How effective is the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for PPI in health education in these areas? We found that there is a shortage of studies that use ICT for PPI in rural health education, and none that assess its effectiveness
Summary
Patient and public involvement (PPI) in health education is a practice whereby research and education are carried in collaboration ‘with’ patients and/or citizens, maintaining their role as a team member or expert. Patient and public involvement (PPI) refers to a ‘project’ carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ patients and members of the public rather than them remaining solely subjects and/ or ‘recipients’ [1] To this end, PPI can be applied in research, education or policy development, whereby, patients and/or citizens are included as consultants, advisors and contributing team members. Partnership happens when patients or citizens are involved in decision making at the institutional level This can include student selection [2], reviewing grant applications [2], sitting on advisory boards or curriculum committees [2], and allocating resources to patient education programs [7]
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