BMC Rheumatology and BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders called for papers on Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in rheumatic and musculoskeletal research. This Article collection aimed to prompt prioritization of patient perspectives and create a constructive learning experience to more meaningfully integrate patient and public partners into the healthcare cycle.
Patient and public involvement (PPI) is research being carried out by researchers alongside members of the public rather than to, about, or for them (National Institute for Health Research, UK). Patients and the public may be research partners or researchers themselves. PPI as a concept is not new, and it has gained support in recent years due to increased awareness and commitments placed on researchers by scientific societies and funding agencies. Musculoskeletal and rheumatic healthcare practitioners have played a leading role in developing strategies to engage patients in the research process. Yet many active researchers still believe that they do not have the knowledge or resources to contact, plan or manage patient involvement.
In this Article collection, patient/public referees were commissioned as authors and also engaged to provide a peer-review report, which can be viewed in each article's Peer Review reports. Authors were encouraged to co-produce alongside the public, as well as supplementing their contributions with a plain language summary, statement of inclusive language and the GRIPP-2 checklist.
Publication date: May 31, 2023.