Hello
“Janine is approachable, supportive and extremely skilled at bringing people together.”
Raya Vinogradov
Senior Research Radiographer Sonographer
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust
Hello, I’m Janine.
I have been working with parents since 2002, supporting families through pregnancy, birth, early parenthood and the transition back to work.
Over the years, I’ve had thousands of conversations with parents about their experiences, challenges, hopes and concerns. Those conversations have shaped my understanding of different family experiences and needs and they have impacted everything I do today.
Today, I work with researchers, communities and organisations to bring different voices into maternity and family research and I partner with employers to strengthen support for working parents.
“Janine is particularly skilled at facilitating PPIE sessions, creating a welcoming and safe environment in which people feel comfortable sharing their experiences, and ensuring that those voices are heard and meaningfully considered by research teams. She is highly professional, organised and reliable, while also being approachable, thoughtful and willing to provide constructive feedback to ensure the public perspective is adequately considered.”
Dr Nicola Heslehurst
Professor of Maternal & Child Nutrition
Newcastle University
My work centres around engagement, involvement, communication and connection, focusing on:
Maternity & Family Research
As an Involvement and Engagement Lead, I work alongside research teams to ensure parents can inform and shape studies. With parent panels and discussion groups, parents and families can share their experience, provide feedback, assist with strategies and co-produce documents and resources. They can also join advisory groups to provide oversight on progress and become a public co-applicant on future research studies.
Parent & Community Engagement
By building relationships with parents and community groups, I provide a safe space for parents to talk, share and take part in research sessions in a way that feels respectful and worthwhile. I work with different communities and I am interested in bringing research closer to the parents who may not attend groups and who may be unheard in research.
Working Parents & Employers
Returning to work after having a baby can be one of the most significant transitions parents experience. I work with employers to better understand and support parents before, during and after maternity leave, creating workplaces where parents can thrive.
Writing & Communication
As a former journalist and sub-editor, I develop and create content, resources and communication strategies to inform and engage with parents and to bring research to life with their stories.
Why I do this work
After many years working with parents, my strength is in listening to parents and being interested in what they have to say. This has given me an insight into understanding the different needs and challenges experienced by parents and how they navigate their return to work.
- I have seen the difference involvement in research can make to studies and to researchers and this motivates me to embed involvement throughout research studies.
- After working with parents as they return to work after maternity leave, and speaking to them as they adjust to life juggling their new work and family responsibilities, I understand many of the challenges. These insights have been reinforced and broadened by conversations with employees as part of recent work with national organisations.
“Janine provides welcoming spaces to ask questions, share experiences, offload, celebrate successes and build friendships.”
Louise, mum of two
Let’s work together
Whether you’re a researcher looking to strengthen PPIE, an organisation wanting to better engage with families or an employer seeking to support working parents, I’d love to hear from you.
Join the parent research community
Would you like to help shape maternity and family research?
- share your experiences
- influence future studies
- help improve services
- participate when and how you choose