The PARTICIPATE project
What is project Participate?
Project PARTICIPATE is a national initiative led by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre (NPEC) that aims to strengthen public and patient involvement in maternity clinical audits. The project explores how people with lived experience of maternity care can help shape how audits are designed, interpreted, and communicated. Through a national survey, co-designed resources, and the creation of patient and public panels, PARTICIPATE seeks to make audit processes more inclusive, meaningful, and responsive to the needs of service users.
Aims of the project:
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To understand public awareness and perceptions of clinical audit in maternity care
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To identify barriers and enablers to patient and public involvement (PPI) in audit processes
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To co-create practical resources that support meaningful involvement
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To establish ongoing public and patient panels to contribute to audit and research activities at NPEC.
The project includes the following phases:
Phase 1: National Survey
An anonymous online survey to explore public awareness, attitudes, and experiences of involvement in maternity audits, as well as preferences for future engagement.
Phase 2: Co-design of Resources
Workshops with patients and members of the public to co-develop clear, accessible resources that support participation in audit activities.
Phase 3: Creation of Patient and Public Panels
Development of topic-specific panels of PPI contributors who will collaborate with NPEC on shaping audits, interpreting findings, and improving communication.
Participant information and project resources
Project PARTICIPATE is being developed with patients and members of the public to explore how public and patient involvement can be meaningfully embedded in maternity clinical audit.
In September 2026, we held a series of introductory sessions for people who had expressed an interest in becoming involved following Phase 1 of the project. These sessions introduced the work of NPEC, explained what patient and public involvement means in the context of clinical audit, and outlined the next stages of PARTICIPATE.
We have developed a Project PARTICIPATE information booklet so that this information is available to everyone, including people who were unable to attend the sessions or who discover the project at a later stage.
The booklet includes:
- an introduction to NPEC and maternity clinical audit;
- an explanation of patient and public involvement;
- an overview of the three phases of PARTICIPATE;
- information about the planned Phase 2 co-design work;
- ways in which members of the public can contribute;
- frequently asked questions; and
- information about future opportunities to become involved.
Download the Project PARTICIPATE information booklet here: Project PARTICIPATE booklet.pdf
Project updates
Phase 1 – National survey
The national PARTICIPATE survey is now complete. Thank you to everyone who took part and expressed an interest in staying involved. Analysis of the survey findings is ongoing.
September 2026 – Introductory sessions
We held a series of online introductory sessions for people interested in learning more about PARTICIPATE and future opportunities to contribute.
Current stage – Phase 2
We are now preparing the next phase of the project, which will involve working with patients and members of the public to co-design practical resources to support public involvement in maternity clinical audit.
Further updates and opportunities to get involved will be shared on this page.
Research Team and Contact information
The PARTICIPATE project is led by Dr Tamara Escañuela Sánchez and Dr Joye McKernan, with the involvement of all NPEC staff and in collaboration with the PARTICIPATE advisory group.
For more information about this project please email tamara.escanuelasanchez@ucc.ie or npec@ucc.ie
Ethical approval for this study was granted to us from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee (CREC). If you have any concerns about this study and wish to contact someone independent, you may contact the Clinical Research Ethics Committee at crec@ucc.ie or +353(0)21 4901901