Patients as partners in research: The challenges for researchers of patient involvement

Modern clinical research often includes Patient and Public Involvement (PPI), in which patients play an active role in the research process. While the benefits of PPI are well recognised, little attention has been given to the challenges researchers face in implementing it. Recently, Professors Mogens Hørder and Marie Konge Nielsen of the University of Southern Denmark set out to discover the challenges researchers face in PPI, the effect of PPI on the research process, and, crucially, the support researchers need in order to achieve the full potential of patient involvement.