The NHS Research Scotland (NRS) Mental Health Network’s Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) took place on 30 October 2023 in Glasgow. It was a terrific day with a wide and engaging spectrum of presenters, all showcasing some of the most exciting mental health research studies that have been taking place over the last year.

Lived experience roles within the network

For any of you unable to make it along to the ASM itself, we wanted to share two important parts of that day that could prove enormously helpful for University of Glasgow’s Mental Health and Wellbeing researchers. These are as follows:

The Mental Health Network now offers a variety of PPI and lived experience resources in addition to our other, more familiar research staff and research resources.   

Over the last few years patient and public involvement (or PPI), as well as other types of lived experience involvement, have been recognised as an integral component of high quality clinical mental health research. As such, PPI is now required by most UK research funding bodies.  

You might be reflecting on your own research just now and how PPI might benefit that? The next question to consider then is "Where can PPI impact on your study/trial?".

Okay, cards on the table, this is kind of a trick question. The answer is that PPI has the potential to impact positively on EVERY single part of the research study or trial process.  

So, how do you implement meaningful and impactful PPI within your research? This is where, we, the Mental Health Network can help.

The network now offers several lived experience resources to assist both your PPI needs and to help you trouble shoot any trial issues – be that recruitment or retention issues, or creating effective participant communications for example, information sheets, posters, consent forms or lay summaries.

Please head to our webpage or email Suzanne.Syrett@glasgow.ac.uk for more information. Failing that, pop along to the Psychosis Research Group on Level 2 of the Clarice Pears building to have a chat with Suzy in person.

We’re also in the process of developing our own, in house, fully functioning mental health PPI research group which we have been planning towards over the last few months and we hope to be able do this from as wide and diverse a Scottish population as possible.

The Mental Health Network ASM (2023) was recorded and speakers slides and recordings of talks will be available in due course on both our website and our MS Teams Network.  

Please note, some of our speakers have requested their slides not be shared.  If you have not yet joined our Teams community, please use the link below to request access using this link, or email catherine.deith@ed.ac.uk to be added.

If you want to talk more about any of the above, or have other questions about how the Mental Health Network can support your research needs, then please email us at catherine.deith@ed.ac.uk.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Suzy Syrett
Research Assistant/Service User Researcher (Mental Health and Wellbeing)

Find out more about the NRS Mental Health Network

First published: 29 November 2023

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