COVID-19: Public and patient involvement, now more than ever

Edel Murphy; Edel Tierney; Éidín Ní Shé; Martha Killilea; Casey Donaghey; Anne Daly; Mary Roche; Deirdre Mac Loughlin; PPI Ignite @ NUI Galway Public Advisory Panel; Sean Dinneen

doi:10.12688/hrbopenres.13067.1

COVID-19: Public and patient involvement, now more than ever

HRB Open Res. 2020 Jun 8:3:35. doi: 10.12688/hrbopenres.13067.1. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Edel Murphy¹, Edel Tierney², Éidín Ní Shé³, Martha Killilea¹, Casey Donaghey⁴, Anne Daly⁴, Mary Roche⁴, Deirdre Mac Loughlin⁴; PPI Ignite @ NUI Galway Public Advisory Panel; Sean Dinneen¹

Affiliations

¹ PPI Ignite @ NUI Galway, NUI Galway, Galway, Ireland.
² Public Advisory Panel, PPI Ignite @ NUI Galway, (voluntary co-facilitator), Ireland.
³ UCD School of Nursing Midwifery and Health Systems, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
⁴ Public Advisory Panel, PPI Ignite @ NUI Galway, Galway, Ireland.

Abstract

The research community is responding with speed to the COVID-19 pandemic, with rapid response mechanisms to fund research, shortened application turnaround times, and expedited research ethics processes. Public and patient involvement (PPI) is under pressure in this rapid response research, where it is easy for researchers and funders to dismiss PPI as non-essential, an added extra, a "nice to have". In this open letter, we, researchers and PPI contributors, argue that PPI is important, now more than ever. The pandemic is impacting everyone in society, with normal rules of engagement discarded. The solution to overcoming this virus will come from many different sources and many changes will emerge to healthcare delivery and to how we live our lives. It is essential that the research to find solutions is shaped by all who will be impacted: the public and the patient must be central contributors and their voice must be hear.

Keywords: COVID-19; PPI; Public and patient involvement.

Grants and funding

Health Research Board Ireland [PPI-2017-001].