Working with patients and members of the public is a vital part of the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.
NIHR commitment to patient and public involvement during COVID-19 pandemic
The NIHR has released a statement highlighting its continuing commitment to patient and public involvement (PPI) during the COVID-19 pandemic and setting out new commitments to ensure PPI continues during this time, taking into account the different reasons why PPI activities are likely to have been affected. The new commitments are aligned to the UK Standards for Public Involvement.
The new NIHR Centre for Engagement and Dissemination (CED) – previously INVOLVE – will support these commitments by:
- collating and sharing relevant examples of PPI in the current situation
- coordinating responses to any significant issues that arise
Jeremy Taylor, Director of NIHR CED, said: “Health research should be a shared enterprise with patients, carers and communities. COVID-19 has not changed this. Please share your good practice and resources with us and also let us know of obstacles that we can seek to remove.”
Please email the BRC PPI Manager (polly.kerr@phc.ox.ac.uk) with any relevant examples, or for general PPI support, which continues to be available for all projects.
Our colleagues at the NIHR Oxford and Thames Valley Applied Research Collaboration have been speaking to three experienced PPI contributors about how COVID-19 has affected their personal lives and their PPI work. Unsurprisingly, the effects of the lockdown have been as diverse as the people it affected.
Read the article.
The BRC PPI advisory group
The Oxford BRC PPI advisory group (previously known as the Patients Active in Research (PAIR) group) comprises PPI contributors representing different themes of the BRC. The group aims to facilitate PPI across all themes and to offer support, advice and training.
The group’s vision is to improve the value of research to researchers, patients and society by working in partnership with researchers to identify and maximise opportunities for meaningful PPI across Oxford BRC themes.
For more information or to get advice from the group, please email: polly.kerr@phc.ox.ac.uk
Information for patients, carers and the public
Patient and public involvement helps ensure that the BRC’s research addresses what matters to patients and the public. We involve patients and the public in deciding what research to do, how to do it and what is done with the results. If you’re involved, you might act as a partner in a project to identify research priorities in a specific disease area, help create written material that is accessible to patients, get involved in research grant applications or monitor research as it progresses. We also have a programme of research itself assessing the impact of patient and public involvement.
If you are interested in any of these aspects of research and are based in the Thames Valley region, you can register interest in involvement through the listings section of this website. You will receive a weekly email bulletin of opportunities for patients, carers and members of the public to get involved with research at different stages, and will also have the option to receive additional, related information, for example about public talks or training.
We run regular training workshops for patients and members of the public with the aim of increasing knowledge and confidence to take part in PPI opportunities. Find out about our Patient and Public Involvement workshops in 2019/20.
The Oxford Blood Group encourages patients and members of the public to be involved with the Haematology and Stem Cells theme at the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.
If you are interested in volunteering as a participant in a research trial in Oxfordshire, visit the trials section on the OUH website. You can also find out about research projects happening across the UK on the Be Part of Research website (previously the UK Clinical Trials Gateway).
Information for researchers
We offer detailed resources and advice for health and social care researchers.
If you’re looking for people for a PPI opportunity, you can post a listing.
If you would like advice or support with incorporating PPI activities into your project, please contact:
Polly Kerr, PPI Manager, Oxford BRC
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
University of Oxford
Radcliffe Primary Care, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6GG
email: polly.kerr@phc.ox.ac.uk