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We want to make sure that Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) is a key part of the way we work at the MRC CTU at UCL (the Unit). We have developed a strategy for doing this.

 There are four strands to our PPI strategy:

  1. We involve patients and the public in all the clinical studies that we do. The way this is done may vary from study to study.
  2. Some of the work we do in the Unit aims to improve the way studies are designed, run and analysed. We are exploring how PPI can help in these areas too.
  3. We want to make sure that we are doing PPI well. So we try to learn lessons from all of our PPI, and share that with others in the Unit as examples of good PPI. We also link in with other organisations that do PPI, and learn from them too.
  4. As well as sharing what we learn about doing PPI within the Unit, we also share it with other researchers.

 

Our PPI Values

We think that PPI is important, and want to make sure we do it well. This means:

The input given by patients and the public who are involved in our research should be recognised, valued, and respected.

  • We need to support people doing PPI so that they can fulfill their role to their full potential.
  • We need to be sure that studies can deliver meaningful PPI. This means making sure that funding for PPI is included in study budgets.
  • We need to provide clear information about the aims and scope of PPI in our studies. We also need to feedback the outcomes of that involvement to people who have been involved.
  • The diversity of people doing PPI in a given study should reflect the population being studied, as far as possible.

 

How we do our PPI

The Unit has a PPI Group, which helps develop the Unit’s PPI strategy. Each year the Group decides what we will do to work towards the aims of the strategy. The Group also provides practical support for PPI in the Unit. It helps study teams develop and implement their PPI plan. It gives guidance on how to do effective PPI, and has examples of good practice.

We also have patient representatives who are part of other groups in the Unit, including those who review study protocols (plans) and check the quality of our studies.

Each of our clinical trials develops a PPI plan. This sets out how the study will involve patients and the public, and how the study will support those PPI contributors. Experienced members of our PPI group review these initial PPI plans, giving feedback to the study team. The plans are monitored every year to check progress and see whether any changes are needed.

Patients and the public may be involved in our studies through being part of trial oversight groups such as trial management groups or steering committees. They may also contribute in on-off activities such as discussion groups, or ongoing advisory groups.

We run regular PPI training for our staff. We also provide training and support for PPI contributors. We also present our PPI work to other researchers at conferences and seminars.