CRN North Thames Participant in Research Experience Survey now live

The 2020-2021 NIHR Participant in Research Experience Survey (PRES) is now open in North Thames!

The annual survey gives research participants the opportunity to feed back on their experience to NHS trusts and social care settings, which in turn allows research professionals to make improvements to the way they conduct research based on this information.

This year, research participants can either complete their survey online or on paper. There are four categories, one for adults and three for children (and their carers) and young people.

During last year’s PRES, 91% of adults had a good experience of taking part in research. Christine Menzies, Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Lead for CRN North Thames, said: “We had some great results during the 2019-20 survey and we’re hoping for more of the same this year.

“It’s really heartening how so many sites in North Thames take up the PRES and give participants the opportunity to talk about their experience, while also taking on board recommendations for how sites can improve the way they go about research.

“We’re still collecting impact stories from sites as to how they used their local data. No doubt there will be more interesting findings coming this year.”

PRES is delivered using a network of leads based at sites, who are responsible for ensuring the survey gets to research participants.

Ben Sartoris, of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, is helping to deliver the PRES at his trust this year.

He said: “Delivering the PRES in 2019/2020 was my first experience within this initiative, which was both enlightening and rewarding. It was great to be able to receive feedback on patient thoughts and opinions of various aspects of their own trial journeys.”

He added: “The survey allows us to measure not only how participants rate the services provided, but also asks questions regarding why patients have agreed to be a part of research. To see so many responses stating that these participants are looking to find future treatment methods to help other people in the future is truly inspiring.”

Feedback from the 2019/20 surveys allowed the trust’s research team to reflect and make changes. Having learned, for example, that it was important to participants to know the results of a trial or study, the trust decided that it would be beneficial to ask the trial sponsors if they would be providing information on results to patients during the setup stage of a trial. This would empower participants to share information that they had helped researchers to discover by taking part in a study.

“We are very keen to take another snapshot of participants’ research experience over the coming year,” added Sartoris. “Although it has been a strange and challenging time, the results observed and recorded this year will help us understand the participant experience further and continue to improve trust in the clinical research process.”

The surveys can be accessed here: https://rdn.nihr.ac.uk/lcrn/north-thames/patients-carers-and-the-public/