We are delighted to announce the winners of the Rosamund Snow Prize. This prize will enable two people aged under 30 with experience as health service users to join other healthcare consumers*, researchers and health professionals at Cochrane’s global conference (the Cochrane Colloquium), which takes place on 16th - 18th September 2018 in Edinburgh.
The Rosamund Snow Prize
Rosamund Snow (1971-2017) will be remembered by many for her work to champion patients’ involvement in healthcare. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in her teens, Rosamund was later asked to help a consultant at her outpatient clinic investigate its high ‘did not attend’ rate; she explains what she found in this talk. Urging her audience to involve patients in service quality improvement, Rosamund said: “All you have to do is ask us. And we can turn your bag full of question marks into a lightbulb moment.”
At the time of her death, Rosamund’s work included helping to develop patient involvement in curriculum design and teaching communication skills to medical students in Oxford, and championing the increased involvement of patients at the BMJ, where she was Patient Editor.
Rosamund’s mother, Mary Snow, has established a prize in Rosamund’s name to enable two people aged under 30, with experience as health service users and an interest in evidence-based medical research, to attend the Cochrane Colloquium 2018.
Rosamund was one of the first people involved in consultations about the possibility of involving patients and other healthcare consumers extensively in this conference and suggested that it should be a PatientsIncluded event; co-designed, co-produced and co-presented by healthcare consumers, where everyone’s input is valued equally. You can read more about that here.
It is with pleasure that we announce the Prize recipients:
Emma Cartwright (@emmacartwrigh1)
"My name is Emma and I am so excited to be one of the recipients of the Rosamund Snow prize.
At the age of 4 I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and during the last 24 years of living with the condition I have regularly engaged with many different parts of the health service. As part of my Diabetes management I see a Diabetes consultant at least once a year, have regular contact with Diabetes Specialist Nurses and my GP to help me manage my Diabetes.
I have always had an interest in understanding why we behave in the way we do especially in regards to our health. This interest has led me into health behaviours research and I am currently working as a Research Assistant at the University of Oxford. I have also been involved in setting up peer support projects to help young people with Diabetes manage and live with the condition.
I am really pleased to be a recipient of the Rosamund Snow prize as I am excited to have the opportunity to meet with healthcare professionals and researchers to better understand how they decide what areas to focus on in their research and how their research questions are developed. I am keen to explore with them how patients can be involved in these decisions and also in supporting to conduct and implement research. I am also interested in investigating how research can be communicated in a way that patients can engage with and learn from.
I hope that by attending this colloquium, I can advise healthcare professionals and researchers of ways in which a wider group of patients can be involved in research and health service design using social media, support groups and charity events. I also hope to be able to share the work presented at the conference with patient groups and start the conversation on how patients, who are not currently involved in supporting research/service re-design, can become involved to ensure their voices are also heard."
Jess Rees (@jessrees_)
"I’m Jess, a nursing student at the University of Birmingham. I will be attending the Cochrane Colloquium in Edinburgh as a grateful recipient of the Rosamund Snow Prize. As a health service user, personally I have been receiving long term primary healthcare for minor conditions. In my experience, evidence for and against my treatment decisions aren’t often discussed explicitly in consultations. I would like to see more patients feeling empowered to ask questions about their care in line with current evidence and to be made aware of research opportunities. From my nursing placements, patients are often willing to partake in research but they are unsure of their subsequent contribution in the creation of improved best evidence. Cochrane have worked hard to promote ‘Patients Included’ and I feel very passionate about supporting this initiative. The Colloquium is a brilliant networking event and I am so pleased to be attending for the educational benefit I can obtain and share with my peers.
I have more experience in the health service as a relative of a user. My grandparents have complex medical histories and I have supported them throughout their care. Their experience has involved chronic issues being misdiagnosed or incorrectly treated which has been challenging for them in the face of limited evidence. I’m interested in research in a personal and professional capacity as a service user, student and a future nurse. I aim to use this opportunity to discuss research with a wider community and make it more accessible to all. I have seen first-hand the work of research nurses in hospitals throughout the West Midlands and I have taken part in research myself when practising on my clinical placements. I know how valuable and innovative research can be to healthcare when utilised effectively and by all. I am active on Twitter (@jessrees_) and I hope to use this platform to help share key messages from the Colloquium."
We very much look forward to welcoming Emma and Jess to Edinburgh in September. We have invited them to participate in the Colloquium as Citizen Reporters. This could involve them reporting in whatever formats appeal – social media, blogs, interviews, photos or film, drawings – or maybe something else. Over the coming weeks, we will work with Emma and Jess to find something that suits their skills and interests. In the meantime, join in the conversation on Twitter ahead of the event using #CochraneForAll
*Cochrane uses the term ‘consumer’ to include patients (or people with personal experience of a health condition), health and social care service users, care-givers and family members who are involved with someone with a health condition, and people who represent (or advocate for) patients and carers. You might be interested in this Evidently Cochrane blog on the language used to talk about patients/consumers.