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Patient and Public Involvement

Patient and Public Involvement

Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) is at the heart of our research projects at Ulster. The engagement and involvement of service users, patients and citizens is vital to ensure that we are conducting research that provides relevant new knowledge and insights, and that makes a tangible difference to our world.

How we Engage with the Public

How we Engage with the Public

  • Engaging with patients and the public to set research priorities.
  • Involving patients and the public as members of our research project advisory groups.
  • Development and co-creation of information sheets that ensure research is effectively communicated and is understood by research participants.
  • Involving patients and public as research champions, or getting them involved in collecting research data, for example, helping with focus groups or interviews.
  • Engaging people to ensure we are communicating the results of research and making sure it is reported meaningfully.
  • Encourage patients and the public to disseminate research findings.

Across the four faculties of Ulster University: Arts Humanities and Social Sciences; Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment; Life and Health Sciences; and Ulster University Business School; there are many examples of research projects from Ulster that collaborate and engage with community groups, services users, and charities throughout NI, the UK, and globally. Our academics serve on advisory boards and provide advice and input to community groups and initiatives in many different ways.

Co-ideating with patients and the public at early stages of research & innovation

Grant funding organisations are increasingly becoming aware of the value and importance of demonstrating user, clinical and informed groups to guide research study design, to better meet people's needs, and to ensure research findings are effectively disseminated and adopted to make a difference in the real world. Therefore, at the research design and research governance stages, researchers are now having to incorporate PPI into their initial plans via research partnership reviews or workshops.