How our SUAC community shapes research

Service users sat around talking about research Istock 626007360 800x400

Service Users and Carers (SUC) are becoming increasingly involved in research, not just as study participants, but as co-researchers helping to inform priority areas for research and the subsequent design and conduct of studies.

We are keen to increase public involvement to ensure our research meets the needs of those using health services.

If you would like to get involved in research, here are some ways in which you can work with us:

  • help researchers design projects so that they address important and relevant areas
  • help develop understandable information sheets for people taking part in research
  • join a research management or advisory group
  • train to carry out some of the research (e.g. interviews)
  • help interpret the results of the research
  • help make sure the research is reported in understandable ways
  • help make sure good research is heard about.

Some of the ways that members of the public make a difference to health and social care research are by:

  • making sure that researchers ask the right questions and in a way that the public understand
  • keeping the research on track so that it stays relevant
  • making sure the people being researched are approached in the right way
  • improving the quality of the research by adding another point of view to the design and conduct.