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Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Newsletter |
December 2024Hello,
Welcome to our second monthly Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) newsletter. Here, we will be sharing news, events, training and opportunities with you from across our NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). |
Thanks for 2024 and season's greetings |
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Thank you for all your insights, commitment and interest in research in 2024. Whether you’ve been part of a discussion on a grant application, offered views on patient information sheets, offered ideas on shaping trials or numerous other ways of sharing your unique, lived experience, thank you for making time to do this and shaping health research. We cannot do this research well without you. We wish you a wonderful time over the Christmas period, however you are spending it. We look forward to involving you in more activities and opportunities in 2025. |
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Research involvement opportunities |
Research Together event: Patients guiding the future of scienceWhat are we doing?
Holding a free event on 11 February 2025 at Edgbaston Park Hotel to bring together patients, researchers, clinicians, carers and charities to discuss recent research advancements as well as how to improve research targeting healthcare improvement in the future. The event will focus on conditions relevant to the attendees, bridging the gap between patients and scientists. There will be patient stories, we will hear of current research, have guest speakers and hold roundtable discussions.
How can you help?
Register to attend if available and you have lived experience personally or as a person caring for someone with any of the following conditions:
How will we support you? If you register, Research Together may be able to organise your travel and offer payment of reasonable expenses. See more details here. |
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GLO-Surgery clinical trialWhat are we doing? We are looking for adults with lived experience of cancer (particularly childhood cancer - either personally or a family member etc) to be involved in the clinical trial’s management committee, and occasionally to help with reviewing patient-facing documents for the trial. The trial is exploring whether using a dye can help surgeons identify the tumour and lymph nodes during surgery in adults and children with tumours located in their chest, abdomen, lungs or kidney. How can you help? By joining our committee, you will share your experiences, perspective, and ideas with the trial team to ensure the research is designed and delivered in the most effective way, considering the patient’s needs. We expect the trial management committee will meet approximately every 3 months whilst patients are being recruited to the trial (which should take around 2 years in total). The meetings are expected to be mainly online, but if any are arranged in face to face, an online option can always be made available if needed. We may need patient-facing documents reviewing as the trial progresses, but this will be only very occasionally. How will we support you? You would be invited to an introductory meeting to explain the trial to you, what will happen at the trial management meetings and how we hope you can help us at these meetings.
If you want to get involved, please contact the trial coordinators for GLO-Surgery by email in the first instance: Glosurgery@trials.bham.ac.uk |
Research news from the BRC |
New way to run clinical trials with GPs recruits over 1,000 patientsAn innovative approach to deliver remote clinical trials within NHS Primary Care has reached a major milestone of more than 1,000 patients recruited. The trial platform is now active in over 400 NHS sites, supporting GPs and their teams to recruit patients for clinical research that can advance public health. |
Stem cell transplant research breakthrough gives hope to those with blood cancerResearchers at the Birmingham BRC have identified a key target to reduce the likelihood of graft-versus-host disease, which people with blood cancer can develop after receiving a life-saving stem cell transplant. Read about our study and the experience of patient Jane Leahy. |
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UK-Sri Lanka partnership tackles life-threatening multiple long-term conditionsHealth experts from the Birmingham BRC are developing an integrated care pathway to improve the care of people with multiple long-term conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and mental health issues in Sri Lanka. They are doing this by using electronic patient record systems in primary care centres, with the aim of helping standardise care and improving the patient experience using digital technologies. |
Research engagement events from the BRC |
Dry Eye Association Patient Education DaySaturday 11 January 2025 | 9.30am – 4pm | Vision Sciences building, Aston University You're invited to join this free day of education and networking (including lunch) where dry eye patients, researchers and specialists will discuss disease management, new treatments and much more. Register here. |
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Public events at The ExchangeThursday 16 January 2025 | 10am-1pm | The Exchange, 3 Centenary Square, Birmingham Did you know that the Exchange, the University of Birmingham’s city-centre venue, hosts a public programme of free exhibitions, events and family-friendly activities? Book onto their next engagement event, titled Unlocking the Vaults: Step into History Taster Day, to dive into the rich history and enduring legacy of the Birmingham Municipal Bank. |
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University of Birmingham Community DaySaturday 21 June 2025 Save the date for this free community event to learn more about the University of Birmingham and its research. More details will follow in future editions... |
Can you help us share good practice?Have you been involved in a piece of research that you feel shows good practice for public involvement? Are you willing to share that with us so we can improve how we involve the public in our research? The case studies will be examples of PPIE which will help our researchers to increase their knowledge of good practice, leading to better research outcomes and PPIE practices.
Please let us know if you have something you think we can share, and we are happy to offer support to create it (including offering payment). Just contact us via brcppie@contacts.bham.ac.uk. |
What is the BRC?The NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) does research into the causes, effects, and treatment of inflammation to improve people’s health.
We research into 11 different themes covering a range of conditions affected by inflammation.
There are over 150 public contributors across our 11 themes and this number is growing all the time.
We have groups covering inflammatory arthritis, liver and gastrointestinal conditions, women’s health, muscle health, cardiovascular research, cancer and patient reported outcomes. All the groups work differently. Some have regular group meetings, some are led by public contributors themselves.
If you’re interested in observing a meeting (where available), joining or finding out more about any of our groups, please email brcppie@contacts.bham.ac.uk. |
ContactGot any queries or would like to enquire about joining one of our PPIE groups? Get in touch at brcppie@contacts.bham.ac.uk or call 07824841785. |
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