Help Shape Research

Involving patients, service users and the public in the design and delivery of research is critical. Known as Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) it helps improve the quality and relevance of studies.

Insights from lived experience, alternative views, and different aspirations and thoughts about health outcomes helps to ensure studies can be designed and delivered in more effective, relevant and cost effective ways.

Members of the public involved in research would typically:

• help identify topics for research and ensure topics are relevant to patients, carers and members of the public
• ensure researchers ask the right questions and in a way that the public understand.
• ensure people being researched are approached in the right way
• improve the quality of research by adding another point of view to the way research is undertaken

Patient and public involvement is now recognised as a UK wide commitment and a range of support is available for researchers, patients, public and carers.

A range of support is available for both researchers and members of the public - see the links on the right for more information.