Involving patients and the public in cancer associated thrombosis research: A strategy for success

The role of public involvement (PI) in biomedical research has never been greater, with accumulating evidence demonstrating its ability to improve the quality of research and the likelihood of translating findings into clinical practice. As the demand for meaningful PI in research continues to grow, research teams are required to provide more than a tokenistic acknowledgement of the role of public contributors to the success of a project. This paper presents an overview of PI as a whole and specifically reflects on how it has added value, to an international cancer associated thrombosis research program. It introduces tools designed to guide teams unfamiliar with PI, introducing the Public Involvement in Research Impact Toolkit (PIRIT) which provides a structure for planning and reporting on PI activities from the study inception through conduct, to its impact. • Overview of public involvement for the uninitiated: what it is and what its not. • How to embed public involvement in research. • Description of the Public Involvement in Research Tool to support researchers. • Examples of successful public involvement in cancer associated thrombosis research. • Description of a cross Europe, multi institutional public involvement strategy.