Formalising the induction of patient and public involvement contributors on trial oversight committees

• Main Authors: Emily C. Pickering, Bec Hanley, Philip Bell, Jacqui Gath, Patrick Hanlon, Robert Oldroyd, Richard Stephens, Conor D. Tweed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2021-06-01
• Series: Research Involvement and Engagement
• Subjects: Patient and Public Involvement; Induction; Oversight committee; Clinical trials; Trial steering committee; Trial management group
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-021-00269-y

Plain English summary Clinical Trials Units are encouraged to integrate Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) into all aspects of their trials. This research explored the induction and training of PPI Contributors (e.g. patients, carers and members of the public) joining trial oversight committees. These committees regularly review trial progress and ensure participant safety. PPI Contributors sit on the committees to provide important guidance and advice on what the trial is like for a participant taking part. We looked at existing materials and research to find out what is already in use and how useful PPI Contributors felt it may be. We also held a workshop with existing PPI Contributors who had experience of participating in trials and sitting on oversight committees to find out what information they felt would be useful during the induction of a new member. Our research was used to create an induction pack for new PPI Contributors at the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London (MRC CTU at UCL). We have made this resource available to all researchers and in this report we describe how it was created.