faculty of health the comensus project john coxhead mick mckeown nat solanki lisa shoja
TRANSCRIPT
Faculty of Health
The COMENSUSProject
John CoxheadMick McKeownNat SolankiLisa Shoja
Faculty of Health
What is Comensus?
Comensus is a new way of involving service users, carers and the wider community in the work of the Faculty of Health.
Faculty of Health
How do we do this?• We support, empower and train a
group of dedicated volunteer service users and carers who have come together to get their voices heard by the staff and students of the Faculty of Health ( The Community Involvement Team).
• We act as a central hub for the co-ordination and facilitation of user and carer involvement.
Faculty of Health
How do we do this (continued)
• We facilitate a group of representatives from the academic, voluntary and statutory service sectors who together provide expertise and guidance to the project( The Advisory Group)
• We help the Faculty of Health make important decisions
Faculty of Health
Why are we doing this?• To provide added value to the
learning experience• To ensure that service users and
carers voices are heard• To provide a unique insight into
lived reality• To bring about positive change in
practice
Faculty of Health
Research Method
Modified participatory emancipatory action research, using a process of iterative cycles of planning-action-observation-reflection-planning (Carr and Kemmis 1986).
Involvement to action
Faculty of Health
Emergent themes• Making a difference• Supportive relationships• Authenticity & being valued• Connectedness and solidarity -
friendships• Mutual respect and diversity• Empowerment & moving on• Independence and university affiliation• Added value for community
Faculty of Health
John Coxhead - CIT member
• Views are valued and acted upon – for the first time feel my points are taken seriously
• Feel someone has listened• Part of planning meetings that develop and
shape our work• Support is available for whole group but
personal support is given according to my needs
• Can get involved in as much or as little as I want
Faculty of Health
Natverlal Solanki CIT Member• Comensus provides a hub for people to
get involved in education passing on their experience , as carers and service users.
• We are educating educators to empower people to improve health education.
• The group is inclusive with many people having more than one disability, coming from different cultures and are all experts by experience who are willing to share their insights and input them into Comensus project
Faculty of Health
Website address
www.uclan.ac.uk/comensus
Faculty of Health
How to contact us
The COMENSUS ProjectBrook 328University of Central LancashirePrestonPR1 2HE01772 [email protected]