PPI 2015 Unit III

The PLEASANT trial

The PLEASANT trial is the first example in the INVOLVE report ‘Exploring the impact of public involvement on the quality of research: examples’

The trial aims to reduce asthma exacerbations in school children at the start of a new school term by a simple intervention in primary care. The researchers involved children with asthma and their parents prior to submitting their grant application, so they could demonstrate impact on the research design as follows:

1. There was a lot of support for the idea for the project, which the researchers could use in the application to show that it was endorsed by people with the condition.
2. Discussion with parents and children resulted in agreement that the invitation letter should go to the parent or guardian rather than the child.
3. The wording of the letter was significantly changed. The original was quite long and complicated – it was refined and simplified at the meeting. Of particular importance was the opening paragraph which now starts ‘Please read this important letter about your child’s asthma’ in bold to get their attention.
4. The timing of the intervention was discussed and it was agreed that the letter should go to parents two weeks after the beginning of the holidays.
5. The children chose the logo for the project.

A second meeting was held when the funding was awarded to update the parents, to discuss changes to the letter, and to contribute to the lay summary of the Research Ethics Committee submission. Two parents were invited on to the Trial Steering Committee. Another consultation event was held at the end of the study to present the findings, to discuss the interpretation of the data and to produce a lay summary of findings.