Methodology of workshop project

 

Why have a workshops project?

We decided that we wished to run workshops for two reasons:

•  First, to check with the people who live with these dilemmas whether we have successfully captured the issues in our ethical analysis and whether what we develop is useful to them; and

•  Second, to tell the public and those people who helped in the research the results of the research.

The results of the workshops would help us to refine our results even better. It would also help us develop a report on the public which would appear as this web report and a printable report, which would be available on a website so that it continues to be accessible to a larger number of the public and professionals than could attend the workshops.

 

When and where were the workshops?

There were a total of five workshops organised over four months from September 2006 to December 2006, in Oxford , Wokingham in Berkshire, London , Edinburgh and Liverpool . The first two workshops were ‘in-house' for two mental health centres which had assisted in recruiting participants for the studies; the other three were open to the public. All workshops were free of charge and welcomed people with anorexia nervosa or who had anorexia nervosa, their carers and parents, and any health or social care professionals involved in the care of eating disorders as participants. A total of 115 participants took part in the five workshops, with attendance ranging from 13 in one workshop, to 22 to 30 participants in the other four.

 

How did the workshops work?

Each workshop lasted half a day and was facilitated by Jacinta Tan and one to three other professionals. The programme, which was refined over the first two workshops, consisted of four different sections, each covering one aspect of the research results. The results were presented and the participants were invited, through group exercises and free discussion, to think about and comment on these results. The comments and feedback were recorded on flip charts.

 

To read about what came out of the workshops, click on the Themes from Workshops button on the top bar of the screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph: Anne, Tony and Jacinta facilitating the workshop in Edinburgh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph: Emma and Jacinta running the workshop in Liverpool