Help shape our research

The Centre for Epidemiology Versus Arthritis offers a range of opportunities for people who want to be involved in research.

You could shape our research with your expertise by getting involved in consultation activities, such as attending interviews or focus groups, or collaborative activities where you might join a study team as a patient partner.

Consultation activities

Activities may include involvement in identifying research priorities or suggesting ideas/questions for specific research projects.

This could involve:

• presentation of study results to inform discussion of their implications, which may in turn lead to helping to plan the dissemination of research to lay audiences;
• approaching the research user group,
• hosting interviews, focus groups or consensus meetings,
• sending surveys out to relevant groups to gather their feedback.

Collaborative activities

Collaborative activities are those in which the decisions about the research are shared between all members of the team and are likely to comprise more long-term patient and public involvement (PPI).

Activities may include:

• being a project partner (ideally as a co-applicant on funding applications)
• membership of a project advisory or steering group
• co-designing  participant facing documents and research materials
• being a co-author and/or co-communicator of results to a range of lay and research audiences.

Email us at cfe@manchester.ac.uk to find out more about getting involved.

Research user group

The research user group (RUG) is a patient-partner initiative supported by the University, The National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, and Versus Arthritis.

The group is made up of people with an active interest in musculoskeletal health, either because they have a condition themselves or they care for someone who does.

The purpose of the group is to advise and help shape research at the Centre for Epidemiology, including:

• research design
• management of research
• dissemination of study results
• identification and prioritisation of research topics for investigation.

The RUG is not currently open to new membership, but you are welcome to contact us to express an interest in future opportunities.