What is Patient and Public Involvement?

Patient and Public Involvement in research is where patients or members of the public become actively involved as researchers. They will help to shape the research and will not be a participant of the research itself. Research into Patient and Public Involvement suggests that research with Patient and Public Involvement return more reliable results and understanding of the participants. Many funders of research now require Patient and Public Involvement as a condition of funding.

What can you expect?

We have various opportunities for patients and members of the public to get involved in health and social care research. This may involve being a member of a steering committee to decide how the services work or you may be asked to help write a lay summary of a research project. We try to match patients and public to research that interests them and we would never expect anyone to get involved in a way that they don’t enjoy.

Why should I get involved?

There are many reasons to get involved in research. Maybe you want to know more about a particular topic or disease. You may wish to have a say in which topics are researched or you maybe even want to carry out questionnaires with the participants to gain skills in research. Many people feel empowered by the act of contributing to research, especially if they or a family member have been affected by the topic or disease being researched.

Who can I contact?

If you are interested in getting involved with health research or would just like to find out some more information then please contact Hayley Haines, our Patient and Public Involvement Officer at H.haines@soton.ac.uk, or on 02380 796742 who will be happy to discuss it with you.