Becoming a member of a TASC PPI group

A lot of medical research carried out in Tayside aims to improve the health and treatment of the local, national and global population. When developing research ideas, it is important to understand the needs of patients, carers and their families to ensure that the research is in the best interests of patients and the general public, as well as answering the clinical research question.

Tayside Medical Science Centre (TASC), based at Ninewells Hospital, is looking for patients and members of the public to be involved in a Patient and Public Involvement group to inform the design and delivery of medical research that takes place here.

Our vision is that all health and social care research in Tayside is carried out "With people, for people".

What is PPI? 

The aim of a PPI group is for members of the public to have a say in medical research led from the University of Dundee and NHS Tayside, giving a different perspective about how projects could be developed and what the research priorities should be taking in to account what is important to patients and the general public.

Group members can be: 

1. A patient or carer representative who can bring experience of their own condition and medical care. 
2. A general public representative who can bring their own experiences and opinions of how research should be performed. 

PPI group members do not need to have any knowledge about medical research or have experience as a research participant.

We are looking for a varied group of people, who will bring different perspectives, experiences and opinions. 

PPI members

Patient PPI members or patient representatives:

• These group members bring unique experience of their medical condition or from the position of caring for people with a medical condition. These group members will help researches understand what is most important to a particular patient group when dealing with their condition on a day to day basis and design the research questions to answer this.

Members of the public representatives:

• These group members provide more general, independent perspectives and feedback on whether the research project ultimately benefits those affected by the condition in question and answers the research question.

TASC PPI Group

If you are interested in becoming a member of a TASC PPI group these are the types of activities that you could be involved in:

• Advising on projects, including the research question and the design of the project
• Reading project specific information documents intended for patients and providing feedback on how easy they are to understand
• Being asked to join a research team as a lay member
• Advising on the best way to share research results at the end of projects

What to expect

• Your contact details will be held on a secure database which only the PPI lead will have access to.
• You will only be contacted when a researcher has asked for PPI support, and you will be asked if you are happy to be involved in the PPI activity.
• If you are interested in becoming a PPI member, we will hold an online induction session to introduce and discuss the role of the group and answer any questions you may have.
• Members must have an email address and access to a computer. 
• Members must agree to be contacted by email when a researcher requests PPI support.
• Most of the contact will be through email, although some online meetings will be required. Group members will be compensated for their time, with a payment of £25 per meeting.