Mature students standing and walking outside in the autumn, talking and socialising.

Involvement Opportunities

Get involved in our research

If you would like to find out about involvement opportunities available within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, we'd love to hear from you. Please get in touch via email at citizens.academy@uea.ac.uk

Email Us

Do you have lived experience of an acute mental health condition as a patient or carer?

We are looking for to people to assist with a small study looking to adapt existing resources for treatment of physical conditions to mental health treatment settings. As a PPI contributor you will be asked to co-produce documentation, help with dissemination of the eventual findings and get your overall insights on the study.

Your contributions will be reimbursed at £25 per hour.

If you are interested in getting involved in this study please take a look at the PPI role description, which gives a more detailed overview of the project, and get in touch with us at citizens.academy@uea.ac.uk to express your interest.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Opportunity to contribute to pre-surgery smoking cessation trial development

Caitlin Notley, Sylvia Barnes (Senior Research Associate, University of East Anglia) and project lead Dr Ian Pope are seeking to engage with PPI members for our study 'Quitting Using E-Cigarettes before Surgery Trial' (QUEST). In this study we are looking at peoples’ attitudes to stopping smoking prior to having elective surgery.

We are looking for:

People to take part in a one off, one hour discussion (online or via phone)
Who have recently had surgery (in the last year) or are awaiting surgery
Who currently smoke tobacco, or have recently quit smoking
English speaking is preferred but happy to include people who have a close family member or friend who may be able to translate to English

During the discussions people will be asked about:

smoking habits, previous stop smoking attempts and views on stopping smoking prior to surgery and,
views on plans for a future research study that aims to find out the best ways to support people like you who are waiting for an operation, to stop smoking for good.

The one-off discussions will be held in June/July and people who take part will be offered a £25 voucher for their time.

Findings from these discussions will be used to inform future research grants.

Please indicate your interest by adding your details to this Microsoft form.

Or alternatively please contact Dr Ian Pope and Sylvia Barnes at quest@uea.ac.uk or phone 01603 591235 and leave a voicemail and we will phone you back.

Do you have a partner or a close friend or family member who has experience of smoking or trying to quit in pregnancy?

Would you be able to help us shape a new research study by giving your thoughts on digital support for stopping smoking in pregnancy? We would want you to help us by:

Attend a few online meetings
Tell us how you think the research should be carried out
Help developing participant documents and research questions
Share your thoughts on the best ways to recruit participants

We expect this will take around 10 hours over 15 months. Your time will be compensated.

If you would like more information, please contact Lisa McDaid via email at l.mcdaid@uea.ac.uk.

Have you smoked or tried to stop smoking in pregnancy?

Would you be able to help us shape a new research study by giving your thoughts on digital support for stopping smoking in pregnancy?

Attend a few online meetings
Tell us how you think the research should be carried out
Help developing participant documents and research questions
Share your thoughts on the best ways to recruit participants

Around 10 hours over 15 months. Your time will be compensated.

We believe in ensuring diverse experiences are represented. We particularly encourage interest from women aged under 25 and ethnic minority groups.

If you would like more information, please contact Lisa Mcdaid via email l.mcdaid@uea.ac.uk.

Have you or someone you care for suffered from heart failure?

We are looking for patients and carers with experience of heart failure to be a part of developing a research project that is currently seeking funding. The project is called 'PRORENAL-AHF'. We would like you to help us by:

Giving us your views on the study design, the need for the study, the possible benefits and any specific ethical concerns.
Joining our Trial Steering committee and giving comments on study conduct, the patient information sheet and any specific ethical concerns.
When the study is completed, we would like to involve patients and public volunteers in the dissemination of the results in order to enhance the process.

You can read a more detailed overview of the project.

This role will be compensated at Citizens Academy rates. If you would like to register your interest, or have any questions about the role, please contact citizens.academy@uea.ac.uk.

Opportunity to take part in a smell self-care study

Do you suffer from a smell disorder or a loss of smell? We are seeking PPI members to advise on a study investigating the effectiveness of smell self-care. We would like your input on a new digital smell training programme. As part of the project, we would like to invite members of the public to:

Take part in smell self-care at home, using the tools and methods provided by the study.
Attend bi-monthly meetings to discuss your progress and any queries and to allow you to contribute your thoughts.
Attend workshops to discuss future research directions.

You can read a more detailed view of the project.

This project is led by Professor Mariana Obrist, Professor Carl Philpott and Dr Ava Fatah.

This role will be compensated at the rates specified in the public partner information document. If you would like to register your interest, or have any questions about the role, please contact citizens.academy@uea.ac.uk.