Our latest blog in this series features\u00a0Lucy Hulme and Hannah\u00a0Brennan n\u00e9e\u00a0Talbot,\u00a0founders of the\u00a0Health Behaviour Change Professional and Public Advisory Group (HBC-PPAG). Lucy and Hannah\u00a0were\u00a0winners in the newcomer category at the 2025 PPIE Awards.<\/i>\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Lucy and Hannah are postgraduate researchers (PGRs) at the Manchester Centre for Health Psychology,\u00a0The University of Manchester. Early on in their research, they recognised the\u00a0difficulty of embedding PPIE into\u00a0practice due to the time and resource constraints of PhD\u00a0students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To tackle this, they created the\u00a0Health\u00a0Behaviour Change Professional and Public Advisory Group (HBC-PPAG),\u00a0recently renamed to\u00a0PPrEG.\u00a0This group\u00a0aims to involve\u00a0relevant professionals and public contributors in their PhD research, with a focus on psychology and maternity healthcare communication.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Lucy](\"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025\/08\/HBC-PPAG-e1755595841346-225x300.jpg\")
Lucy and Hannah with their PPIE Award<\/p><\/div>\n
Through the HBC-PPAG, Lucy and Hannah gained practical insights from maternity service users, midwives, and GPs,\u00a0enabling\u00a0them\u00a0to\u00a0design meaningful data collection strategies\u00a0that\u00a0became increasingly\u00a0accessible and inclusive over time.\u00a0This collaboration ensured that\u00a0women with lived experiences and key stakeholders remained\u00a0at the heart of their\u00a0research, while\u00a0giving\u00a0contributors a genuine opportunity to shape the studies that matter to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following the success of the HBC-PPAG, Lucy and Hannah\u00a0became key\u00a0PGR leads of\u00a0larger funded PPIE outreach projects. In these roles, they not only supported\u00a0PPIE activities but also\u00a0helped\u00a0other PGRs\u00a0develop essential skills\u00a0and\u00a0build meaningful\u00a0relationships with communities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The impact of the HBC-PPAG does not end here. Lucy and Hannah\u00a0also organised their\u00a0reflections and documentations\u00a0of running PPIE outreach initiatives\u00a0into\u00a0useful resource packs\u00a0for PGRs who may want to kickstart their own PPIE journey.\u00a0To date, their achievements include:\u00a0<\/p>\n
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- Securing funding for an animation illustrating how PPIE can be innovatively used within systematic reviews.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- Presented a reflection on challenges and strategies for embedding PPIE in qualitative health research at the 2025 Qualitative Methods in Psychology Conference\u00a0(hosted by\u00a0The British Psychological Society<\/a>).\u00a0<\/li>\n
- Designing and delivering a PGR-focused PPIE workshop.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- Developing a PGR PPIE toolkit aimed at making PPIE achievable within the constraints of a PhD\u00a0timeframe.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Additional\u00a0information:\u00a0<\/p>\n
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- Manchester Centre for Health Psychology<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n
- PhD Journeys: Getting Started ep.1 with Hannah Talbot<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n
- PhD Journeys: Getting Started ep.2 with Lucy Hulme<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
To find out more about PPIE: watch our\u202fshort film<\/a>, sign up to the monthly\u202fPublic Engagement Digest<\/a>, visit the\u202fPPIE blog<\/a>, or contact\u00a0srbmh@manchester.ac.uk<\/a>.\u202f\u202f\u202f\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
- PhD Journeys: Getting Started ep.1 with Hannah Talbot<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n