T65. SUPPORTING THE TRANSLATION OF RESEARCH INTO OUTREACH: FINDINGS FROM THE PGC OUTREACH COMMITTEE QUESTIONNAIRE

It is increasingly important for scientists to actively participate in outreach, fostering bi-directional communication across diverse audiences from researchers to clinicians, individuals with lived experience, and the wider public. This is particularly challenging for psychiatric genetics researchers due the complex nature of both psychiatric disorders and genetics findings, historical misuses of genetic data, and the ongoing stigma around mental illness. Sharing research findings and engaging with the public can help combat misinterpretations, support the translation of research advancements into improved clinical practice and public understanding. The Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) Outreach committee aims to promote PGC research and support members in their outreach activities. To enhance this support, we surveyed attendees at the 2024 World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG) to better understand awareness, perceptions, and utilisations of outreach and PPI (Patient and Public Involvement), as well as the barriers to adoption within the research community. The anonymous questionnaire was designed by members of the PGC Outreach committee using Microsoft Forms due to its simple, user-friendly and privacy-aware approach (no IP addresses or other personal data were collected). The questionnaire was shared via QR code at the WCPG in Singapore 2024 and four follow-up emails to the WCPG attendees. The questionnaire contained 31 questions across seven main sections: Consent; Understanding and Awareness; Usage; Perception; Barriers; and Future Learning and Supports; Demographics. Participants (N=101) were diverse in career stage and gender, representing the global psychiatric genomics community, though primarily based in Europe (61%). Results showed that participants were broadly familiar with terms like “Outreach” (87%) and “Community Engagement” (91%), but demonstrated notably less understanding of “PPI (Public and Patient Involvement)” (54%) and “Engaged Research” (25%). While 51% of respondents reported current use of outreach, 30% reported not currently engaging in outreach, with the remaining participants reporting they were unsure if they use it, highlighting the lack of clarity on the topic and the potential for confusion. The main reasons given for not participating in outreach were “It is not required of me” and “Lack of necessary skills”. Participants generally held a positive view of outreach, saying it is inclusive, informative and educational, though concerns about the historic mistrust in psychiatric genetics and a lack of current relationship with stakeholders, skills, time, funding and were noted as major barriers. Despite these concerns, 80% of participants expressed interest in learning more about outreach and PPI, especially through workshops, videos, and shared resources. While there is a strong desire to participate in outreach activities, there remains a significant gap in the uptake of outreach activities within the psychiatric genomics community, largely attributed to a lack of necessary skills, knowledge, and support. The tools considered by participants to be most useful in supporting their future outreach activities include online training and toolkits. The PGC Outreach committee hopes to make use of this information to improve support to the PGC community, increasing outreach engagement and leading to better understanding of psychiatric genomics across a range of audiences.