Understanding Patient Data Weeknotes: Immerse Stage

INTRODUCTION

I am a junior researcher at Comuzi and very excited to be doing this interesting work with the Understanding Patient Data team. As I continue my journey with this studio, I am stepping out of my comfort zone more often. I am gaining more experience in applying my knowledge of Agile principles and Comuzi’s radical brand of creativity and I am better able to engage with all aspects of projects commissioned by our client partners. Currently, as we go through major changes affecting how we live and work, the team has found ways to work remotely with each other, our client partner and research participants.

IMMERSE STAGE OF PROJECT
The second phase of COMUZI’s 6 step process

This involves speaking to participants, in this case to:

• Understand how much they know about the role health data plays in their life and the lives of others.
• Find touchpoints in people’s healthcare journeys to develop their understanding about how data is used.
• Get a better sense of ways people interact with health services.
• See how often they use health and care information to inform their choices about their wellbeing.

The week started really well with feedback regarding the intentions written for the interview guide. This was my first time doing such work. Getting positive feedback gave me a sense of achievement in contributing to the valuable work we are doing for our client partner.

The rest of the week was a “roller coaster” with one task after the other, and at times I thought OMG, am I ready for the challenge? Tutorials with Akil, Head of Research, included using Google Meet Hangouts to connect with others. I was also introduced to platforms such as CUBE ACR, a recording application and SLACK, which we’re using to keep in touch with the Understanding Patient Data team. I now understand why this is called the ‘immerse stage’ as the teams are deeply engaged with the research. It can be challenging and time consuming to ensure that we are asking the right questions. However, we got there.

(Interview Question Card -Understanding Patient Data Living Deck)

WORKING REMOTELY

Working remotely has many benefits as it encourages the Comuzi team to have daily check-in meetings. Online check-in meetings with the UPD team have been productive and allowed the project to progress smoothly. Seeing faces of others has a positive impact on my mental health in these times of isolation.

INTERVIEWS

We started interviews Monday, and although nervous, got the job done. Over the course of the week, I have conducted more interviews with public and professional participants. Akil’s feedback on my first interview was very useful. It reminded me to focus on the information we are trying to gather as researchers. Subsequent feedback remains positive, with comments such as ‘built good rapport with participants’ allowing them to talk more about their experiences.

Continuing my journey as a junior researcher, we’re getting a better sense of the role data plays in participants’ lives. On a personal level, my knowledge of ways data can be collected about individuals has increased. It has highlighted how much data is held about health and care journeys, coupled with the many ways better use of such information could benefit the individual and other people. A highlight on this journey is working collaboratively with our client partner Understanding Patient Data, to improve the quality of research we are doing. Their input has been very useful and valuable allowing Comuzi to add the ‘sauce’ to the radical mix. Overall, I am enthusiastic about this project and confident that we will deliver some really rich insights.

WHAT’S NEXT

We’re close to finishing generating insights from data collected from research. So the next step is sharing them with the Understanding Patient Data team.