Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A patient partner co-authoring a paper on living-with-diabetes research, having contributed to study design and analysis interpretation
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A research participant whose data is included in the study is not a patient partner — they are a subject of the research
Editorial commentary
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) contribution is substantive input from patients, service users, carers, or members of the public into the design, conduct, analysis, or dissemination of health and care research — as partners shaping the research process, not as subjects the research is done to. Many health research funders now mandate a PPI statement describing how patients or the public were involved, independent of whether any individual is also credited as an author.
How it differs from related terms: A citizen scientist typically contributes data collection or classification labour to a broader research effort; a patient partner contributes lived experience to shape the research question, materials, or interpretation of a specific study, and the two roles can overlap but are not the same. The key line PPI guidance draws is against the research participant — someone whose data is collected in the study — who is a subject of the research, not a partner in designing or interpreting it.
Where a patient partner’s contribution meets ICMJE’s authorship criteria — for instance, shaping study design and interpreting findings — co-authorship, with appropriate support and compensation, is the correct credit rather than a generic PPI acknowledgement.
References
- GRIPP2 Reporting Checklist (Staniszewska et al., 2017, BMJ)
- INVOLVE National Standards for Public Involvement (2018)
Also known as
PPI contribution · Patient and public involvement · Lived-experience contribution
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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