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:
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.
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.