The Public and Community Engagement with Research (PCER) Fund is an internal grant scheme supported by the University’s Higher Education & Innovation Fund (HEIF) allocation and Participatory Research Fund from Research England.
The project, “Making it Personal” uses theatre as a creative medium for engagement to explore the implications (benefits, limitations, perceptions) of a new genomic test aiming to personalize pregnancy recurrence risks for parents of children with serious genetic conditions.
Theatre creates a unique opportunity to “set the scene” on a personal level, depicting individual experiences and combining emotional with rational responses. This is particularly useful for talking about perceptions of risk because we know these differ greatly between people. This participatory theatre project aims to generate new knowledge and inform best practice in clinical conversations.
Project lead Dr Alison Kay, a postdoctoral researcher in the Goriely Group, said:
We’re really excited to have this opportunity to offer something different. Script co-production and workshop theatre offer a dynamic and unique opportunity to explore the myriad influences on a couple’s perception of recurrence risk in pregnancy. This engagement project will move beyond the clinic and the risk percentage to explore how people make sense of risk in their relationships, communities and everyday lives.
This innovative engagement project is also supported by the Centre for Personalised Medicine (CPM), where Dr Kay is a research fellow.
Learn more about the fund and the other award winners on the PCER Fund website.