NEW HORIZONS

After a short trip back to the UK (partly to swap the winter wardrobe for a summer one) I have now started the second and final leg of my Churchill Fellowship travels. For this set of  research visits I will be based in Sydney where I am really lucky to be meeting researchers and research groups from a number of different universities who are based here. 

The journey to Australia always feels like a long one (it's 10573 miles from London), and for this trip I decided to fly into Perth and then get a domestic flight over to Sydney. As well as having my first ever view of Perth, it gave me plenty of time to reflect on what I have been learning so far and what I hope to achieve over the next few weeks in Sydney.

What I learned in Canada was the impact that the different legal frameworks and research governance landscape has on legal planning arrangements and how research is conducted. Given that advance research planning (the main topic of this fellowship) sits at the intersection between these, its complexity feels a bit as though it is a jigsaw made up of other jigsaws - there are so many intersecting pieces that it could be almost impossible to see how it all fits together. How could we possibly predict ahead of time what we would like to do about being included in a particular study if we are unable to make a decision for ourselves, when the combination(s) of circumstances where this is needed are almost infinite (our medical condition at the time, the type of study and any risks and benefits involved, where and who is caring for us etc)?

But there is also a simple way of viewing this. It is essentially about raising awareness that, in addition to the sorts of conversations we might have with families and close friends about what is important to us and what we would like for ourselves should we lose capacity, we should also be able to communicate what our thoughts are about taking part in research at some future point if the opportunity arises. 

Flying over to Sydney made me think about other types of day to day preferences we have, such as when you are checking in and get to select your own seat. The factors that influence your decision about which one to pick are driven by your particular preferences and the options available to you. Do you go for a window seat (where the benefit is getting a good view), or an aisle seat (where its easier to get to the toilet and to access the overhead lockers)? This is balanced against the downsides of being in a window seat (having to clamber over and disturb others when you want to get up), or the downside of being in the aisle seat (you either get clambered over or have to move every time your neighbouring passengers want to get past you). Then there is extra leg room, emergency exits, front or back of the plane, any additional costs involved, who we are travelling with etc! And our preferences might change a bit over time depending on the circumstances.

But people in our lives might know what we are likely to prefer because they have travelled with us, maybe we've even chatted a bit about it, and they probably know something about our current situation. If push comes to shove, they could probably pick a seat for us if they have to. 

Maybe advance planning for research is like that too? Or maybe there are better insights or more helpful metaphors once the jet lag has worn off!