PARTNER: Optimising Public and Patient Involvement in Regulation of Pharmacy and Healthcare Professions
Introduction
Research Area:
Health care regulation; Public and Patient Involvement
What is the research about?
Healthcare profession regulators make decisions that shape the standards and practices healthcare professionals must follow, directly impacting the quality, safety, and consistency of patient care. In our project we want to ensure these decisions are more patient-centred by integrating the voices of patients/the public into how healthcare professionals, like pharmacists, are regulated.
Our team is made up of staff from the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI), researchers, and experienced PPI contributors who have all been involved in designing the research project (in the early planning and grant application writing stages). We will also be setting up a PPI Advisory Committee to support how we make decisions across the project. By integrating patient and public voices into healthcare regulation, we aim to make regulatory processes more transparent, inclusive, and responsive to public needs, ensuring safer, fairer, and more effective healthcare systems for all.
- Who is this opportunity for?
We are seeking engaged and motivated individuals (18 years and older) to join our PPI Advisory Committee from the Republic of Ireland. No prior experience is needed. If you would like to find out more about the project before deciding if you want to apply, we can arrange a phone call to answer any questions you may have.
- PPI Plans
The PPI Advisory Committee will be involved with different parts of the project, such as helping to design parts of our interview study, reviewing results to assist with our final guidelines and helping to decide on how to share findings widely for a range of audiences. Members will be reimbursed for their involvement on the committee, from funding received for this research project from the Health Research Board (HRB) and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI). While most of our meeting will be online, we will also provide travel reimbursement and catering/refreshments for any in-person events.
Opportunity for:
Involvement Opportunity Details
Time
Time commitment:
Our PPI Advisory Committee which will meet three times a year. We will provide induction & training at a longer online meeting (2.5 hours with breaks) at the beginning of the project on Tuesday 26th May. The rest of our meetings will be one hour long, will be scheduled 6–8 weeks in advance and will be online or hybrid to enhance accessibility.
Contact between meetings:
Between meetings, PPI Advisory Committee members will be contacted via email to review research materials and documents (up to a maximum of two hours per person per year). Other involvement opportunities may arise during the project and these can be discussed with the committee members in advance.
Length of involvement:
1.5 years (until 30th of November 2027). Ideally individuals would agree to stay on the committee for the full duration of the project. However, we understand people require flexibility and will work with this in mind.
Start date for involvement:
26/05/2026
Logistics
Where?
If online, explain how:
Teams, Email
If in person, explain where:
Not applicable
Other ways of communicating:
teams meetings
Funding available for:
If no funding available, explain why:
Not applicable
Other Information
Stage of the research study/ programme:
Funded but not yet started
Is this opportunity for PPI in a PhD:
No
Closing date to contact researchers:
15/05/2026
Research Team
Contact person:
Niamh Dillon (PPI Programme manager, pictured) & Jenny Smyth PARTNER Project Manager
University/organisation:
RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
Contact email:
smythjenny@rcsi.ie
Researcher background:
We are a mixed team of researchers, PPI contributors, pharmacists, designers, and health profession regulators who all bring our different expertise to this project. We look forward to welcoming members of the PPI advisory committee to our team to share their perspectives on the research project.
Research funder:
Health Research Board (HRB)/ Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland
Photo:
Interested in this PPI Opportunity?
Please complete this form and click SUBMIT