Welcome

The challenges of integrating service user and carer experiences into the Health and Social Care curriculum Reflections on an Open University podcasting initiative Mo McPhail and Peter Blackledge

To enhance student learning by provision of podcasts of people who use health and social care services and their carers Aim of the podcast project

… “people who use health and social care services and their carers”? … the students? Who are…

Feedback on social work programme  opportunity to create resources to help students prepare for practice learning placements in specific settings Loss of SSSC funding for ‘users & carers’ work  opportunity to explore cost effective approaches to involving service users and carers SSSC rationale for funding cut  opportunity to engage service users and carers across professional disciplines Background: challenges and opportunities

Student selection Practice learning Feedback on students’ performance in practice Programme approval Programme management Quality assurance Etc. User and carer involvement in the Faculty

Podcasts of service users and carers talking about their experiences of health and social care services Available to OU students and potentially to others as open-learn resources Objectives of podcast project

Protect identity and privacy of speakers Obtain informed consent Involve service users and carers whose voices are seldom heard in professional education Include interviews with user- and carer-led organisations to provide broader view of services Criteria

“What has been your experience of service X?” “What has been helpful or unhelpful? Why?” “What would you want to tell a student who is about to begin a placement in service X?” Questions

Establish project management team Telephone meetings Issues and options: consent, confidentiality and control Draft documentation Trial interviews Initial recordings Process

Development of management team Documentation procedure for pilot stage of the project information sheet for potential participants data protection Agreement to participate and Consent to use of recording Initial interviews recorded Further interviews planned Results to date

Three further interviews Prepare recordings for publication Annotate and edit audio Draft written introduction/study guide Initial evaluation Next steps

“An interesting and thought provoking journey - I have got a lot out of it” “Being completely outside my comfort zone… have developed a whole new set of skills” “Challenges of co-production – learning as we go along” “How long it takes…” Feedback from management team members

Project based on principles of co-production and co- learning Co-production – a relationship between service provider and service user that draws on the knowledge, ability and resources of both to develop solutions to issues…. challenging the balance of power from the professional towards the service users (2011, Scottish Community Development Centre) Acknowledge impact of interviewing and recording on participants Impact on intended audience? Reflections on key learning

Tensions: project aims/respect for participants/ limitations of resource Valuing different contributions Managing differences in status and power "…partnership is about managing power; it requires constant attention and is always 'work in progress'." (Taylor et al, 2006) Reflections on the process

Place of personal, authentic learning in HSC curriculum Role of direct and unmediated learning? Acknowledges what learner brings to the learning situation Role of individual and collective voices in the curriculum Reflections on implications

Co-produced podcasts are a rich source of authentic real life experience A respectful learning activity – needs time and resource to achieve Strengthen individual and collective voices of service users and carers – potential to listen to seldom heard voices Conclusion