Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in research
What is Patient and Public Involvement?
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) is more than lay people participating in research. It is an active partnership between patients/public and researchers in the research process.
NIHR definition of Patient and Public Involvement
When talking about Patient and Public Involvement, the term 'patient' refers to current, former and potential patients, carers, people who use health and social care services, and people from organisations who represent those using these services.
The public includes anyone else, people who may be patients in the future or recipients of public health service.
‘Involvement’ is distinct from ‘public engagement’ and ‘participation’. It refers to research done with or by patients and the public, not about or for them (NIHR, 2022).
Why is it important?
PPI contributors can make a difference to research by:
| Ensuring that research topics are relevant to patients, parents, sports coaches and other members of the public | Improving the quality of the research by getting perspectives different from professional researchers |
| Contribute with their own expertise and lived-experience of, for example, the impact of treatments or procedures | Increasing the response and recruitment rate, which in turn will improve the external validity of the research |
| Making sure that researchers ask the right questions and in a way that research participants understand | Making sure that research participants are approached in the right way |
Patient and Public Involvement at YAHiR
Patient and Public Involvement is important to the YAHiR collaboration. We work with people and communities to ensure that the research priorities and outcomes are developed in collaboration with people with lived experience of the condition. We involve patients, athletes, parents, sports coaches, clinician-researchers and others to bring diverse perspectives into our work.