There is a long overdue push to get patients engaged at the earliest stage possible of the research cycle so there is earlier collaboration between the public/patients and the researcher rather than much later on in the research process. For this reason there are successful patient and public meetings that occur in various specialities within the NHS. However, attending these meetings can be difficult as timings for multiple people to attend at the same physical location can be logistically difficult. It can be further compounded if potential members are unable to attend due to their illness. For example, patients may be on home oxygen and therefore may not be selected by the facilitator or perhaps they themselves may decide to exclude themselves.
Previous research has had an online forum to engage the public/patients with the research process. However, the findings were that there was room to improve from an engagement perspective and furthermore, the real-time communication was limited due to how forums functions.
For this reason, the investigators have suggested using iPads so the investigators can have virtual meetings which negates the need to attend meetings physically. The investigators have used iPads instead of other tablets due to their higher encryption standards and because the in-built FaceTime is easier to use than other systems that install a separate application. Virtual meetings where a group of people are not in the same physical location and are communicating via telephone or the internet. Many patients who may not have been considered/been approached about being part of PPI can now participate virtually. In addition, the time commitment is significantly reduced as it would only involve the time the meeting would be held and not the travel time, which can be extensive.
