Patient and public involvement in research
Path to involvement – how did people find out about it?
We asked people how they first got involved in research. The most common route was through having a particular illness or condition. Some learnt about involvement opportunities directly from staff caring for them. Some were inspired by taking part in medical research as a participant and then wanting to get more involved. Some took up other types of involvement first (such as helping to run a support group or advising NHS trusts on service improvement) and then moved into research. Medical charities and support groups can also provide a direct route to research involvement.
Learning about and improving the evidence for vitiligo treatments was a key motivation for Maxine. She got involved through the Eczema Society and NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence).
Learning about and improving the evidence for vitiligo treatments was a key motivation for Maxine. She got involved through the Eczema Society and NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence).
On my own account I was doing research into what was happening in vitiligo because, again through my job, I was able to search the literature and I could see that there was absolutely nothing, though at the time I didn't understand the difference between the types of studies and I would get very excited when I saw a study on vitiligo. And then I, you know, I learnt later through the people involved with the society on our medical council – they were a medical and scientific panel – they said, "Well you know, yes, but the study isn't terribly good and one swallow doesn't make a summer," was a saying I'll never forget actually [laughs]. And it's been a gradual process understanding the quality of research and what things are worth taking note of because there's so much that isn't really and so much quack stuff.
Fenella got involved in research through her consultant psychiatrist’s research activities. She has felt welcomed and valued.
Fenella got involved in research through her consultant psychiatrist’s research activities. She has felt welcomed and valued.
Yes, it was actually. My, it was basically because my psychiatrist was very active in clinical research. He was always writing papers and doing presentations and stuff. And I wanted to be part of that buzz. I would go to a lecture or something and think, “Wow, this is really interesting” because a lot of research had gone into stuff and it fascinated me. So basically I found out a bit more about it, and I made some contact. And it was really nice getting in touch with my local office. I was welcomed in. I wasn’t treated as, “Oh, you know, you’re not important” or anything. Because in actual fact now, basically the way governance arrangements are around research is that you have to have obviously service user involvement. So, and they didn’t just accept me because they knew they had to involve me to get their funding - because I know that that happens, where clinicians say, “Here, sign here. Fill in that box. Then I can get my money” you know [laughs] , type thing. I’ve heard that happen, I’ve heard where people have been taken out for dinner and, you know. It rarely happens now. But we are still having a bit of tokenism, though, where actually the meaningful involvement is still not quite there. However, I was fully, fully involved and, you know, and I’ve got my place within the department.
Marney found out research involvement was an option through volunteering at her local trust.
Marney found out research involvement was an option through volunteering at her local trust.
And what was it about the, that situation that inspired you to get involved?
Well I could immediately sort of relate to it as being an area of interest but I suppose it was the penny dropping that as a member of the public that you could just step forward and say, "Well I'd like to do that."
Both Dave A’s parents had cancer. A local friend told him about a research conference run by patients and he went along.
Both Dave A’s parents had cancer. A local friend told him about a research conference run by patients and he went along.
And, as a family we nursed my father through cared for him through his illness, which lasted longer than we expected, I think, really. He lived for about three years after that. And, just, just after he died a friend of mine lives two doors away, a breast cancer patient, told me about a conference at Sheffield University which was being hosted by a group of patients, who had been involved in cancer research. And I was aware of patients and carers getting involved in service delivery issues, but I’d never heard of patients and carers being involved in research.
So intrigued, I went along to the to the meeting and listened to cancer patients and carers talking about how they had helped with the management of cancer research projects and studies, and so interested, given my science background, science teacher for 22 years. So interested with that, that I actually joined this group of patients, a consumer research panel working through an academic department at the University.
Kath first got involved through the hospice where their son died. Initially face-to-face involvement was hard. Reviewing grant applications was better because it was less emotional.
Kath first got involved through the hospice where their son died. Initially face-to-face involvement was hard. Reviewing grant applications was better because it was less emotional.
Well my background is as a carer of a child with a chronic illness. And the very first involvement in research I had was through the hospice where he died who did some work on bereavement. And following that, one of those researchers asked me to be on the steering committee for another research project they did. That was really only a very minor involvement, just reviewing a few documents and not really very deeply involved in the research, just commenting on drafts and things like that.
I had sort of expected to get more involved. After my son died I went back to university and thought I was going to get involved in health service. But frankly I was just a bit too sore to really feel I could contribute very well to that. It, it was all a bit, a bit too confronting and I thought working with other people who were going through traumas probably wasn’t a good idea at that time.
So I stepped back from that and there was a sort of gap in, in my involvement… when I went and worked in community research and community empowerment work. So just stepping away from health, but still about, you know, getting involved in things.
And then I was sent an email that a colleague of mine had got through a disablement charity that she was involved in which was asking for lay reviewers for research proposals for National Institute for Health Research and also for funding panel member for Research for Patient Benefit Programme, and she said, “This looks like exactly your cup of tea.” And I thought, yeah, that’s looks like something that’s really interesting. It’s looking at the area that I already wanted to work in, and it’s a bit more stepped back. It’s not as sort of personal and face-to-face as some of the other stuff that I was looking at doing. So I thought that sounds like a good way of, of contributing really, and using the knowledge that I’ve got from being a carer.
Ben met a research nurse at a children’s party and got invited to take part in research as a healthy volunteer. That was how his involvement started.
Ben met a research nurse at a children’s party and got invited to take part in research as a healthy volunteer. That was how his involvement started.
And while I was there they suggested that I might be interested in becoming a recruitment officer for, getting more, or just people involved in the trials, and that opened a whole range of different avenues. And they then starting about PPI which I thought was Payment Protection Insurance. You hear about it in the newspapers and telly and things all the time, but obviously it was the alternative solution answer.
And you know, basically, they sent me pre… pre a trial various documents, the Patient Analysis Information Synopsis or the Patient Information Form and one or two other bits to have a look through, pre, before they published it, to see if it made sense and if I could turn it into layman’s terms or if I, you know, what I thought of it, my comments. So that was my sort of direct involvement as a PPI lay person.
Rosie volunteered at a local support group to help her own recovery. It was chance that she got involved in research through the group.
Rosie volunteered at a local support group to help her own recovery. It was chance that she got involved in research through the group.
You know so it really changed, you know, I've lost my confidence and I thought, 'Oh my god I'm going to be ill forever and I'm never going to be able to do anything.' But eventually time went on I gradually thought, 'OK I need to do something,' and because I'd worked in the past in the voluntary sector, in a charity, I knew there'd be probably be voluntary stuff around and I pitched up at [name of charity] which was down the road, you know, local to where I live so I could walk down there because I wasn't allowed to drive because of being detained, you know so it has all these kind of massive implications really. And a couple of things I thought about getting involved in: the first – they had a Helpline and they train people to be on the phone to people on the Helpline. I considered doing that but decided that I didn't feel up to it and they had a research project which was a user focus monitoring project going on there at the time and I got involved in that instead; and that had already started, they were already interviewing people and it was focused on inpatient care and acute mental health wards. So they were interviewing people and so they'd already produced the topic guide etc. but I did a bit of data collection and then was involved in helping to think about it and write it up.
So that's where I started and it was completely chance, you know, that that was happening there.
Richard was invited personally to get involved because researchers read a diary he wrote about having cancer and being in a clinical trial
Richard was invited personally to get involved because researchers read a diary he wrote about having cancer and being in a clinical trial
Do you think you would have got involved in PPI if you hadn't been ill?
I don't think I'd have got involved in PPI if I had stayed well throughout my life. It's something that's been there at the back of my mind, but it only triggered when I got ill. If it were not for my illness, I'd probably have followed my career through as a local government officer and a school governor and playing rugby as long as I could, and all the other things that I was doing. So it, I think, for me personally, PPI has come because I was ill and because I was on a clinical trial. But it's not just being ill; it's the fact that I took part in health research as a participant, which has opened the doors to PPI.
Catherine saw an advert for patient and public members of a research panel. There was a formal application and interview process.
Catherine saw an advert for patient and public members of a research panel. There was a formal application and interview process.
And so what did you do next?
I applied for the job.
There were lots of applicants across various topics. As I say, I mentioned that I applied for an allergy, immunity and infection group with parent involvement. I possibly was looked at for two others because of my academic background and other health issues that I'd had myself that I could help with, but we settled on that. I was interviewed on the telephone and then after that was invited to meet with, having been given the position, was invited to meet with all the other parents at a location in Liverpool, the, all the other people that were involved. So we were all inducted into the process of what it's like to be a parent involved in research and what that might entail. Then we were also involved in an exercise to look at existing research that was going to happen in Europe and vote for research that we thought would be most relevant, so we were getting a chance to impact the direction of a group of research projects that were planned across Europe.
Francesco wants more openness about what opportunities there are and how people are selected, rather than finding volunteers through personal contacts.
Francesco wants more openness about what opportunities there are and how people are selected, rather than finding volunteers through personal contacts.
OK the protocol when it got funded didn't indicate that it said it would be interviewed, but I had a word with the person, I told them, "I don't know if I can be part of this reference group because I believe in openness and transparency and equal opportunity." And as a result of that he made a statement of intent that he hadn't thought about it and he should have really opened up the opportunity for all people. But it's like the convenience because these people – I'm the new kid on the block, you know – these other people have been around a lot longer than me for ten, twelve years. I was, you know, I've just been there two years and that. So things have been done a particular way because it was convenient but, you know, I believe in openness.
Nadeem has found it hard to get involved as a research participant. Now he’s interested in wider involvement and thinks his diversity training could be useful.
Nadeem has found it hard to get involved as a research participant. Now he’s interested in wider involvement and thinks his diversity training could be useful.
One is for the betterment of the society in the future; the other one is because I have an equalities background from, since 1981/82. And, despite all the development which has taking place in the field of patients involvement and the field of communicating better with people from diverse communities, I think there are still barriers, yeah. And part of that is about how one can remove those barriers. And barriers are on both sides. One is about understanding and I'm one of them, yeah, and the other one is about how the health professionals respond to and deal with people from different backgrounds.
See also:
‘Reasons for getting involved – personal benefits’
‘Reasons for getting involved – helping others and medical science’
Last reviewed July 2017.
Copyright © 2024 University of Oxford. All rights reserved.