Diversity and Scope of Senior Nurses’ Informal and Formal Experiences of Patient and Public Involvement

Patient and public involvement (PPI) has been recognized internationally. In England, NHS poli-cies have increasingly emphasized the importance of patient-centered services, but limited evi-dence exists about the implementation of PPI policies and strategies within organizations. Few studies have explored health professionals ’ perceptions of PPI and comparatively little is known about the experience of senior nurses. A national consultation utilising three focus groups aimed to explore senior nurses ’ PPI experience. Four Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) and eleven Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England, with fifteen senior nurses with leadership roles and direct PPI experience, participated. Focus groups were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim; anonymised transcripts were validated by participants and analysed with thematic analysis. Six-teen categories emerged within five sub-themes of PPI experience: provision of information and raising awareness (1 category), informal generic PPI-activities not perceived as PPI (3 categories), formal generic PPI (3 categories), involvement of specific groups (5 categories) and PPI in com-missioning and strategy (4 categories). Findings provided new insights into senior nurses ’ expe