This week we are happy to say EPoCH hosted its first Research Advisory Panel meeting. As we were no longer able to host this event in person due to Covid-19, we embraced the online video apps to help us make sure this event could still take place. And we are pleased to say that the meeting was a great success, with members from varying geographical locations able to attend…and all from the comfort of their own homes.
So why have we created the advisory panel? We wanted to make sure that any findings we may have from the EPoCH study are able to reach people in the right way, and that we don’t end up accidentally adding to the confusion around health advice during pregnancy. This is why the Research Advisory Panel was assembled! Within this panel we currently have members from varying backgrounds who have all expressed an interest in taking part. Each panel member is sent an update on our progress from the project every 3 months and invited to a ‘face to face’ or more likely atm a “computer screen to screen’ meeting every six months, to discuss what we’ve been doing.
This week’s first meeting gave us all a chance to meet each other, as well as provide the panel with updates on our progress in the project so far. Gemma and I were joined by Lindsey Pike who brilliantly chaired the meeting, as we ventured into the online world of group video calls.
Alongside Gemma, Lindsey and myself, attendees at our first meeting were:
- Kirsty Budds (Leeds Beckett)
- Rebecca Goldman (Fatherhood Institute)
- Jon Symonds (University of Bristol)
- Line Hjort (Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen)
- Carina Venter (University of Colorado Denver)
- Sangeetha Shyam (International Medical University Malaysia)
- Rebecca Blaylock (BPAS)
We are very thankful to all current members for such an enjoyable meeting and look forward to our next catch up in six months’ time!