This is an exciting time for patient and public involvement (PPI) in health and social care research internationally. PPI is a rapidly growing, important global movement aspiring to produce better and more relevant research resulting in services and treatments that patients and the public need.
Patient and public involvement in research can be defined as research being carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public rather than ‘to’, ‘about’ or ‘for’ them (www.invo.org.uk). We recognise that some countries and organisations use different terms, including ‘public engagement’ to mean this same activity, but for the purposes of this survey we will use the term 'Patient and Public Involvement' (PPI).
For this reason, a number of organisations and individuals came together to form the International Network for Public Involvement and Engagement in Health and Social Care Research. The Network was launched in London on 27th November 2017. Thirty-three representatives from ten countries joined the meeting. Participants ranged from PPI ‘practitioners’ and managers, involved members of the public, researchers, policy makers, and health professionals.
Read Tessa Richards’ BMJ blog Patient and public involvement in research goes global
The second Network meeting took place in May 2018 and was an exciting blend of presentations on the challenges and opportunities for consumer and patient involvement globally. The meeting was held physically at the Royal Society in London and online to enable global participation. You can read our blog post here and view the presentations here.
There was also a Special Session at the 25th Cochrane Colloquium.
Vision, Mission and Objectives
Discussion at the second meeting clarified the Network’s purpose:
Vision: A world where patient and public involvement is an integral part of health research.
Mission: Working together we will build a global partnership that shares knowledge and promotes, supports and strengthens patient and public involvement in health research.
Objectives:
- To promote and raise awareness of patient and public involvement in health research
- To support and enable patients and public to be involved in health research
- To develop ways of sharing experience, knowledge and expertise of patient and public involvement in health research
- To work with organisations across the globe, including those from low and middle-income countries, to learn from each other and build capacity for patient and public involvement in health research
- To support the assessment of the impact of public involvement in health research on practice, policy and outcomes
- To develop international standards and policies for patient and public involvement in health research
Next steps
The Network is continuing to develop and you can visit it's new website here. #https://intppinetwork.wixsite.com/ippin
Be part of the network
Over 280 organisations and individuals worldwide have already expressed an interest in joining the Network, from Australia to Zimbabwe.
If you have any questions relating to the the international network, please contact Richard Morley by emailing rmorley@cochrane.org . Richard will respond on behalf of the Network development group.
Webinar series
The Network is running series of Cochrane Learning Live webinars, all dedicated to the topic of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in health and social care research. We are pleased to be joined throughout the series by leading experts in this field, and you can find out more about each session and sign up to attend through the link below. You can also access the recordings of previous webinars. https://training.cochrane.org/international-ppi-network-learning-live-webinar-series
Network Development Group Members
Godwin Aja, Babcock University
Heather Bagley, COMET
Gary Hickey, NIHR/University of Southampton
Mogens Horder, University of Southern Denmark
Anne McKenzie, Involving People in Research, Australia
Richard Morley, Cochrane
Katie Porter, University of Southampton
Sophie Staniszewska, Warwick Medical School
Jeremy Taylor OBE, NIHR Director for Public Voice and Director of the NIHR Centre for Engagement and Dissemination