31 Mar 2021NIHR ARC North Thames has set out a new patient and public involvement (PPI) strategy to ensure that our research meets the needs of our communities and reflects their lived experiences.
What is patient and public involvement (PPI)?
Public involvement in research is research that is carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public rather than ‘to’, ‘about’ or ‘for’ them.
Members of the public can get involved in many different ways. This can include:
- offering advice on the research topics and questions that are important to them
- providing feedback as part of project steering groups and public committees
- reviewing and developing research materials such as consent forms and patient information sheets
- recruiting research participants and conducting interviews
- designing and delivering teaching or training
Our public contributors are active members of our ARC and are involved in every aspect of our work.
Who can get involved?
Anyone can get involved. It does not matter what background you have or what your level of experience or education is. We can support you in making the contribution you want to make, and put you in touch with our current public contributors to help you settle in.
Why is it important?
Inclusive involvement and engagement of the public is vital to making sure we are doing the right research. Our public contributors help to ensure that we are asking the right questions. Their lived experiences mean they have unique insights that researchers may not have.
We believe that collaborating with the public improves the quality and reach of our research, and ensures that we are developing health services and interventions that are needed, relevant and important to our residents, their families and communities.
Our PPI strategy
Our PPI strategy was created in collaboration with our current public contributors, researchers and staff from across the North Thames region.
The strategy is a flexible document, and we will be regularly reviewing and updating it based on the feedback of our public contributors, researchers, and health and care community.
If for any reason you are having trouble accessing the PPI strategy document, or would like more information on patient and public involvement in ARC North Thames, please get in touch with us by emailing arc.norththames@ucl.ac.uk.
Related links
Get Involved: Patients, service-users and the public