Study Protocol for the PARTICIPATE Project: Co-Creating Resources for Public Engagement in Maternity Care Clinical...

Public and patient involvement (PPI) is increasingly recognised as essential in health research, service development and clinical audit. However, while Irish national guidance encourages PPI in audit, there is limited evidence on how to implement it meaningfully in maternity care. The PARTICIPATE Project aims to address this gap by exploring awareness and barriers to PPI in maternity clinical audits in Ireland, co-creating accessible resources to support engagement, and establishing sustainable PPI panels for ongoing collaboration with a national clinical audit centre.

This mixed-methods study is led by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre and informed by participatory principles and international models such as the ENGAGE Project. The study is structured into three phases. Phase 1 consists of a national online survey exploring public awareness, interest, and perceived barriers to engagement in maternity clinical audit. In Phase 2, co-design sessions will be conducted with members of the public and service users to develop practical, user-informed resources to support future PPI activities. Phase 3 involves the creation of PPI panels to contribute to audit and research activities within the audit centre. Data collection and analysis will follow ethical standards, with support from the PARTICIPATE Project Advisory Group.

This project will generate practical guidance on how to embed PPI in maternity clinical audit in a feasible and meaningful way. The focus on co-produced resources and long-term engagement structures aims to support more inclusive clinical audit practices and reinforce public confidence in the maternity care system.

An advisory group, including individuals with lived experience and expertise in maternity care and PPI has informed the development of the study protocol and survey so far. Public and patient contributors will also co-produce project resources and be invited to participate in long-term advisory panels. All contributors will be acknowledged in project outputs and publications.