The impact of patient and public involvement on COVID-19 immunology research: experiences from the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium.

🤖 Plain-English Summary

Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in clinical trial research is recognised as relevant but the active involvement of patients and the public in basic science or laboratory-based research is seen as more challenging and not often reported. The ability to conduct meaningful PPI with basic immunology research has been shown possible through the UK-CIC in the context of the fast-moving COVID-19 pandemic.

🔑 Key Findings

• PPI within the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium (UK-CIC), a translational research project aimed at tackling some of the key questions about the immune system's response to SARS-CoV-2, is an example of overcoming negative perceptions and obstacles.
• Given the widespread impact of COVID-19, it was important to consider the impact of UK-CIC research on patients and the public throughout, and the PPI panel were an integral part of the consortium.
• Building in funding for a PPI panel to value involvement and ensuring effective expert administrative support and management of PPI were crucial to success.

🔗 Related Resources