How to take part in Research / Patient and Public involvement

As a members of the public, you can:

Bring valuable knowledge and experience of a particular condition or service relevant to the research topic.
Improve the quality of research by adding another point of view to the way research is undertaken.
Enhance the design and focus of research, ensuring researchers ask the right questions in a way that the public understand.
Help to shape best practice for public involvement in research.

There are many ways you can become involved in health research. You can be a participant in a research study or you could become part of the research team, advising on research questions, designing documents, and even carrying out some of the research.

Find out more about research that is taking place in the UK

UK Clinical Research Collaboration

Be Part of Research

Another way you can get involved is by joining one of the initiatives below:
SHARE

GoSHARE

Both are initiatives that allow members of the public to register their willingness to have their health records examined in order to identify them as potentially eligible for research projects. People who register for SHARE can also give consent to share any surplus blood or tissue if they have any procedures that involve them. These can then be used for valuable medical research instead of being thrown away.

If you have an interest in research in general, you can join the NHS Fife PPI group or, if you have been involved in research before, the R&D Users’ group. Becoming involved in these types of group will allow you to influence the research that takes place locally, ensuring that it is both valuable and relevant to the population of NHS Fife.