Patient involvement in research boosts study success Involving patients in the design and implementation of research programmes increases the likelihood of studies recruiting to target, according to a new study by King’s College London. Delays in recruitment are a major reason why some studies fail, so better recruitment means studies are more likely to be successful and run on time and budget. The authors argue that researchers need to involve patients more comprehensively in research. Published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the researchers analysed 374 studies registered with the Mental Health Research Network (MHRN). Studies which included collaboration with service users in designing or running the trial were 1.63 times more likely to recruit to target than studies which only consulted service users. Studies which involved more partnerships - a higher level of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) - were 4.12 times more likely to recruit to target. Professor Til Wykes, senior author of the paper, Director of the MHRN and co-Director of the Service User Research Enterprise (SURE) at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s said: "The aim of Patient and Public Involvement is to improve the quality, feasibility and translational value of research. At the individual level, we know that being involved in research promotes social inclusion and provides a sense of wellbeing for patients, but this is the first time we can see that patient involvement in research is linked to higher likelihood of reaching recruitment target – and as a result, study success. “We have witnessed a slow change in the past 20 years – from seeing patients as ‘subjects’ to ‘participants’, but there is much more that can and needs to be done to ensure patients are given an active voice in every step of the research process.” The IoP at King’s has an established history of PPI. Set up in 2001, SURE undertakes research to test the effectiveness of services and treatments from the perspective of people with mental health problems and their carers, by collaborating with them throughout the research process, including design, data collection and analysis as well disseminating results. Patient and carer participation is also at the heart of the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health (NIHR BRC) at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) and King’s College London with a dedicated patient and carer participation theme meaning research is led and managed by patients. The MHRN is part of the NIHR and helps facilitate mental health research within the NHS. One of its key priorities is to increase involvement of patients and their families or carers in research – beyond taking part as participants.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 15:31:21 +0000
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