Get involved in research

Local Clinical Research Networks
- South London
  - Patients and the public

Get involved in research

What is Patient and Public Involvement?

Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in research gives patients an active role in devising and carrying out new research. This means becoming involved in the process. For example, through:

Giving feedback to researchers on recruitment materials, such as participant information sheets, to make sure they are clear and easy to understand
Helping recruit to studies by talking to patients or members of the public about research
Giving advice to researchers on study methods, design and recruitment approaches to make sure they are appropriate for the patient group

Patient and Public Involvement opportunities

Patient Research Ambassadors

The Patient Research Ambassador (PRA) Initiative is a national programme to support patient and public involvement in NHS research. Patient Research Ambassadors are volunteers who can help by raising awareness of research in their local Trust, working with patients to help them understand research, and working with research staff to help them develop their research projects. The role is open to all patients, carers, service users and members of the public.

If you are interested in sharing your experience of research and the NHS with researchers, healthcare professionals and other patients and members of the public, you could be an ambassador at your local Trust!

The role is flexible, and will vary depending on your interests and the activities taking place in the Trust.

To find out more about the role, contact the PPIE team.

You can also find more information on the national Patient Research Ambassador Initiative webpages.

Involvement opportunities at NIHR

To find out about other ways to get involved in NIHR research, such as through reviewing and commenting on research proposals, go to the NIHR pages. These pages also include links to useful training resources, to help you learn more about research and how it works.

People in Research

Other opportunities to become involved in research, such as being part of a board that puts questions to researchers, are also posted on the People in Research website. This site is where researchers and research organisations advertise opportunities to be a PPI representative and to comment on their research proposal. If you see an event or opportunity that interests you, you can contact the researchers directly.

Hear the experience of people who have been involved

Beccy Pile’s son Luke was diagnosed with epilepsy at age six, and she admits the family learned how to manage his condition as they went along. She is a part of the CASTLE study advisory panel and signed up to the panel after seeing an advertisement on Twitter. You can watch the video about Beccy's experience below and read more about her story here.

Watch more videos about Patient and Public Involvement from the playlist below, which is on NIHR tv. You can click the icon on the top left of the video sreen to see all the videos in the playlist:

This five-minute video created by HealthTalk features interviews with the members of a patient advisory group about their experiences of being involved.

You can read more patient and public involvement stories on our case studies page.