Patient and Public Involvement
Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) is an approach to carrying out research that involves the active participation of patients, carers, and the general public in healthcare decision-making, research, service design, and policy development. At Heriot-Watt, we work directly with a variety of individuals from outside of the University to meaningfully shape research and make it more relevant and impactful.
Involvement empowers individuals to contribute their insights into what matters most to them and the wider community. This insight can guide improvements in healthcare delivery and research relevance, ensuring that services are patient-centered.
PPIE can take place in various formats, from consultations and focus groups to more formal and ongoing roles on decision-making panels and steering committees. Such involvement is crucial in creating research outcomes that truly meet the needs of those they serve.
Our ‘North Star' is to involve the general public as early as possible in the research process. To this end, we will be setting up our own Citizen Advisory Network as well as exploring partnerships with other organisations to expand our reach with underserved communities.
Why PPI Is Important:
Improved Outcomes: Including patients' perspectives can lead to services and research that are more closely aligned with the needs and preferences of the people they aim to help. This results in better health outcomes.
Relevance and Quality: Research informed by patient involvement is more likely to be relevant to real-world challenges and address concerns that are important to the populations of interest.
Equity and Inclusiveness: PPIE helps ensure that diverse voices are heard, fostering healthcare systems and research that are inclusive and reflective of a broader range of experiences, including typically underserved communities.
Transparency and Accountability: When patients and the public are involved, there's a higher level of transparency in decision-making processes, helping build trust in the healthcare system and the research process.
If you would like to be involved in our patient and public involvement activities, contact Engage@hw.ac.uk.
Citizens Advisory Network
Launching in 2025, the Heriot-Watt Citizen’s Advisory Network (CAN) is a dynamic community of citizens working side-by-side with our researchers at the Health and Care Technologies Global Research Institute.
Our researchers develop solutions for many important health and care areas, from redefining non-invasive surgical techniques and tackling frailty using robotics to pioneering revolutionary imaging technologies for early disease detection. But we know that fresh perspectives lead to better ideas. When patients and the public are engaged in research, they bring insights that researchers may not have considered. This collaboration improves the quality and impact of our work, ensuring it’s robust, inclusive, and innovative.
The CAN is a collaborative initiative developed to involve patients and the public in health and care technologies research through Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) activities. In doing so, only research aligned with the needs and preferences of those it is intended to benefit will be pursued.
CAN members can participate in different stages of the research process. They help identify research priorities, design studies, develop materials, and disseminate findings. This involvement ensures that the research is relevant, ethical, and accessible.
The CAN comprises a diverse and ever-changing membership, including patients, caregivers, and community representatives. Members bring unique perspectives based on their lived experiences with health conditions, which are invaluable to researchers engaged in the five different themes of the Health and Care Global Research Institute:
- Engineering the Fight Against Cancer
- Technologies for Healthy Ageing
- Digitising Chronic Disease Management
- One Global Health Innovation
- Digital Mental Health
Managed by the Global Research Institute’s Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Specialist, the CAN “will play a pivotal role in shaping our Global Research Institute. By inspiring and empowering our researchers, the CAN will help us focus on the most pressing health and care research areas — addressing issues that matter most to real people” (Prof. Robert Thomson, Co-Director of the Global Research Institute for Health and Care Technologies)
If you are interested in finding out more, including how you can get involved, please contact us at ResearchInvolvement@hw.ac.uk. We look forward to hearing from you!