Louise Hailey

I am responsible for coordinating patient and public involvement work at NDORMS in a team lead by Associate Professor Laura Coates. As the patient and public involvement coordinator, my role is supporting researchers in their patient and public involvement. We can help researchers access patient and public involvement in the early stages of research, such as grant applications and ethics applications.

We have set up a new patient engagement group for research called OPEN ARMS. We have monthly meetings for researchers to share projects and get patient feedback (at all stages of research) with patients, carers, and public members. OPEN ARMS has a committee made up of patients and carers, and researchers. I support patient and public involvement within the OPEN ARMS Committee, including recruitment of lay members, providing appropriate support and training for them.

I joined NDORMS in April 2020 as a Research Assistant in Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA), working with Laura Coates at the Botnar Research Centre. As a Research Assistant, I am involved in two projects that have patient and public involvement. The first is a James Lind Alliance priority setting partnership (PSP) examining the research priorities in PsA. This work will help identify true unmet needs or research priorities to guide the direction of future research in PsA. The second project is working with an international team of patients and researchers to develop patient-focused materials on lifestyle advice in PsA.

I have over 23 years of clinical experience with a strong interest in involving patients and the public in research for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders; in-depth knowledge of principles and methodologies underpinning evidence-based practice. I have a master’s in Evidence-Based Healthcare, experience in systematic reviewing and the research methodologies underpinning evidence-based practice. I believe it is vital to understand evidence uncertainties and issues that matter most to people who need to use research using reliable, evidence-based methods.