Patient and Public Involvement
What do we mean by Patient and Public Involvement?
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) refers to patients and communities being actively involved, as partners, in shaping research design, process and outcomes. This is different to participation (where people take part in a study) or engagement (where information is shared with people).
There are lots of different ways the public can be involved in research activity. Some examples include:
- Identifying research topics or ideas that are important to them and their communities
- Giving opinions on what a research project should look like or how it should be conducted
- Contributing to the development of research materials such as research flyers, information sheets and questionnaires, making sure language is clear and easy to understand
- Helping to make sense of research findings within the context of peoples’ everyday experiences
- Co-leading focus groups or workshops
The type of activity people can become involved in is flexible and depends on what they would like to do, how much time they have and what their interests are. You don’t need any specialist knowledge to become involved in research, just a willingness to share your views.
PPI within Deep End Research
In line with the ethos ‘by the Deep End, for the Deep End’, we aim to embed the voice of Deep End patients across all of our activity and increase partnership working across research, the public and practice. This is important because it will strengthen the relevance what we do, ensure patient experience is accurately represented and also support our intentions to increase diversity within research participation.
Our team currently work alongside Deep End Practices, community groups and other research organisations to involve members of the public in our research. We are also working on expanding our PPI and engagement activity so patients can become involved in range of different projects, in a way that works for them. We aim for all our involvement opportunities to include payment for peoples’ time and expenses.
Opportunities to get involved
Are you interested in shaping research that goes on in or around your GP practice?
We are looking to establish a ‘Deep End Public Network’ – a network of patients and community organisations who live and/or work in areas of high deprivation, have an interest in health research and would like to be kept up-to-date on opportunities to inform our research projects. There are also upcoming opportunities to contribute to the development of our Deep End PPIE strategy.
If you would like to know more, or join our public network, please contact Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) lead, Dr Angela Wearn ([email protected])