IPPOSI’s Patient Dragon’s Den – bringing patients & other healthcare stakeholders together

In IPPOSI we educate & train patients to provide their input in an informed, evidenced way across research, policy, services and innovation. We are also passionate about preparing healthcare professionals, researchers, state agencies and companies to develop partnerships with patients.

The IPPOSI Patient Dragon’s Den is a tool for the education and training programmes for these other health stakeholders to ‘pitch’ their PPI/partnership concept to a group of patients and carers who are experienced with healthcare and research. The goal is to provide practical on-the-spot help and advice for students seeking to receive patients’ and carers’ inputs on their project proposal. Similar to the popular television show, “Dragon’s Den”, the students go head-to-head to present their projects to the ‘Patient Dragons’ .

To date IPPOSI has run Patient Dragon’s Dens for students of the MSc. In Digital Health Transformation programme led by the University of Limerick, as well as the Marie Skłodowska Curie EU-Neuroinsight doctoral education programme, which is led by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. The ‘Patient Dragons’ are selected by IPPOSI, typically from the members of the Irish EUPATI National Platform or from our patient organization membership.

In the Den, Dragons and students together focus on the PPI aspects of the project as well as the potential (direct and/or indirect) benefits that the proposed project can potentially bring to patients in Ireland. The ‘Dragons’ score each project idea according to the criteria co-developed and agreed in advance with the course coordinator and provide advice on the scope, risks, design, and impact of the students’ proposals as well as adding quality to the implementation of the project itself in the future.