PPI 2015 Unit IV

How does public engagement differ from patient and public involvement?

This is how INVOLVE distinguishes the two:

Involvement – where members of the public are actively involved in research projects and in research organisations. Examples of public involvement are:

• as joint grant holders or co-applicants on a research project
• involvement in identifying research priorities
• commenting and developing patient information leaflets or other research materials
• undertaking interviews with research participants
• user and/or carer researchers carrying out the research

Engagement – where information and knowledge about research is provided and disseminated. Examples of engagement are:

• science festivals open to the public with debates and discussions on research
• open day at a research centre where members of the public are invited to find out about research
• raising awareness of research through media such as television programmes, newspapers and social media
• dissemination to research participants, colleagues or members of the public on the findings of a study

You’ll see that this list includes a range of activities: many are based on researchers providing information and expertise (i.e. one-way communication), with fewer on exchanging information and collaboration between researchers and the public.

There is some overlap between involvement and engagement and they should be complementary. You have seen from previous units how patients involved in research studies and programmes often include dissemination to a public audience in their activities, for example, Olivia’s blog. Also, members of the public who understand about research are more likely to want to get involved, so public engagement is a crucial element in promoting involvement opportunities.