Public and patient involvement (PPI)

Members of the public are closely involved with the work of the Public Health Review Team. We have a public representative co-applicant and public panels which help and advise us throughout all stages of each project.

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How do we work with the public?

Members of the public are closely involved with the work of the Public Health Review Team. We have a public representative, as well as co-applicant and public panels who help and advise us throughout all stages of each project. We work with networks of voluntary and community groups who offer expertise for particular topics.

The public is involved in roles including helping the research teams to shape the research questions, adding knowledge to help understand what the findings mean, giving advice on sharing the findings, and contributing to the production of materials to ensure understanding of the findings amongst the wider community.

Read a personal account from a member of the PPI group on gambling-related harms (PDF, 65KB)


Get involved

We have a public involvement panel specifically for the Public Health Review Team, which provides ongoing advice regarding public involvement for all the projects. This group meets around three times a year for three hours in Sheffield (although we do have members who join the meeting virtually).

In addition to this group, we look for members of the public who have experience which can help us with a particular topic. Members of these groups usually contribute via telephone meetings and commenting on written documents, rather than coming to Sheffield.

We reimburse members of the public for their time, and also cover reasonable travelling expenses. We can offer training and support if you are new to a public advisory role.


Becoming a public advisor

We're looking for people who are passionate about healthcare and public health to join us as public advisors.

As a public advisor, you would comment on plain English summaries on a wide range of research topics, as well as advise on reviews and attend meetings (either in person or virtually).

We don't always know what topics we will be asked to research very far in advance, but will post on this website when we are looking for people with particular expertise.

If you would like to join the list of people who would be interested in getting involved, email Sue Baxter (s.k.baxter@sheffield.ac.uk) or call +44 114 222 0852 and let us know of particular public health topics that interest you.

Public advisor training videos

These training videos are for public advisors who are involved in evidence synthesis research.

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