Introduction
The idea of involving patients in the design and testing of healthcare products that they may one day need, is essential in producing quality products which serve the need for the users. However, the principles developed for good quality PPIE (patient and public involvement and engagement), are often overlooked by companies, yet to realise the immense benefit for involving the right patients and public at the right stages. Across the globe, new digital and technology based healthcare products, from smartphone apps, to surgical robots, are being designed, built, tested and adopted every day. This process, from concept to adoption, can be painstaking, slow, and wrought with complex challenges. However, many of the pitfalls can be avoided by engaging and listening to the patients, and their carers, who will use the products.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) represents the research arm of the NHS, driving research and innovation through funded programmes that focus on health and social care research needs, including clinical priorities. They fund 14 HealthTech Research Centres (HRCs) that are NHS hosted centres of excellence that accelerate the development of healthcare technologies (HealthTech). These operate across 14 different NHS locations and clinical research areas and some have over 15 years’ experience of bringing innovative technologies into the NHS.
The recently established HRC Network aims to unite and harness the expertise, impact and influence of the HRCs, by driving cohesion, consistency and visibility of the excellent work the HRCs do. One key area that the HRC Network will support is Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) and Research Inclusion, core areas of activity for each of the HRCs and fundamental parts of the product development process.
Why are PPIE and Research Inclusion so important in HealthTech?
PPIE helps to ensure that innovations are grounded in the lived experience of the people who will use or be most affected by a product or technology. Although sometimes likened to traditional ‘user research’, PPIE activities are distinguished by an emphasis on collaboration and listening to and learning from the public throughout the full lifecycle of a product’s development, from the initial idea to final product launch and beyond. As well as becoming a core requirement of many research funders including the NIHR, the value and impact of PPIE on research and innovation is increasingly recognised. Research that has been shaped by the needs and priorities of the public is more likely to be relevant and effective, and the outcomes more readily adopted into practice. When the public is engaged, they can also become advocates and help to ensure that the knowledge generated leads to tangible improvements in services and outcomes.
High quality PPIE also plays an important role in addressing the pervasive health inequalities that are well recognised across health and care services and research. NIHR defines Research Inclusion as the principle of intentionally designing, conducting, and communicating research so that it includes people from diverse populations to reduce health and care inequalities. The active inclusion of individuals and groups who have been historically underrepresented or excluded from research, creates a more diverse and representative voice that reflects more accurately the population that the product aims to benefit. Findings from clinical studies that use narrow, unrepresentative samples of the population, may not apply to, or may even be harmful to, other groups of patients. Evidence generated by clinical research using diverse groups is therefore more robust and can be more widely applied, and can lead to interventions and treatments that are more effective for all of society.
Harnessing decades of expertise in HealthTech inclusion
The Government recently published their 10 Year Health Plan for England (July, 2025) stating the importance of integrating the patient voice in developing services and products that support patients and the NHS more broadly. Across the country, HRCs have a strong track record in supporting industry to meaningfully engage and involve the public. As a network, the HRCs are well positioned to facilitate innovators to reach and involve a wide range of people and communities in different activities to support the development of products and design of research. From advising on the rationale behind the idea, to usability and product testing, HRCs can support this key aspect of HealthTech development. The depth of community engagement from HRCs nationally and locally can support companies to reach and engage with an extensive range of diverse populations with lived experience of different health conditions from different geographic, ethnic and social backgrounds. This helps to reduce health inequalities and bring health innovations to patients more equitably.
A core strength of the HRC Network is in harnessing the expertise and impact generated from decades of excellent PPIE practice within the centres. The HRC network aims to unite the PPIE and Research Inclusion leads from across the 14 HRCs. Through this activity the HRC network hopes to facilitate the coproduction of operational frameworks, toolkits, guidance, and training. This will help support widescale upskilling, consistent excellence, and knowledge sharing across the HRCs and their collaborators including industry, public contributors, NHS, academia and UK plc more broadly. Specifically, the HRC Network aims to develop industry-focused PPIE resources including training and case studies of PPIE impact in practice.
Summary
The importance of integrating meaningful and well executed PPIE into HealthTech product development cannot be overstated. Its value extends across the full lifecycle of product development, from initial conception to genuine real-world impact, elevating the quality, functionality and usability of products. Uniting the expertise of the 14 HRCs, the Network is poised to become a leading figurehead in delivering excellent PPIE in a HealthTech context.
Get involved
If you, or anyone you know is interested in knowing more about PPIE opportunities, developments and resources, or would like to contribute to get emerging technologies to patients faster, please contact