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How the public get involved in our research

We are transforming care by understanding and using experience

How to get involved in our research as a lay contributor

Getting involved in our research

We need you!

We work with patients, potential patients, carers, people who use health services, interested members of the public and people from organisations that represent people who use services, such as charities.  We call people who help us in this way PPI contributors.

How do we involve PPI Contributors in our research?

When we talk about involvement we are not talking about participation in clinical trials. We are talking about active involvement in working with researchers to prioritise and shape research, offering advice as members of a project steering group, commenting on and developing research materials.

PPI Contributors provide a different way of looking at things that can ground the discussion in practical experience. Some of the ways that PPI Contributors make a difference to health research are by:

  • Helping to decide if the research proposal is relevant to the needs of the patients
  • Helping to increase understanding and accessibility to clinical trials
  • Helping ensure that patient information leaflets are clear and understandable
  • Including the patient's perspective in research funding applications, helping to inform and shape research right from the start

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Current opportunities

Find out more about the research projects you can get involved in

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GetInvolved

We work closely with patients and the public, GPs, researchers and other health professionals to make sure our research is relevant and improves healthcare in the areas of greatest need. You can help us achieve our mission, whether you join one of our patient and public involvement panels, sign-up to a clinical trial or share your experiences of health to help others.

If you are a health professional, you can work with our Primary Care Clinical Trials Unit to help us recruit your own patients for our clinical studies.

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