Integrating the patients' voice in designing and delivering a research study: The Yorkshire Cancer Research funded PREHABS study's experience

IntroductionEngaging with patients when designing a clinical or research project is beneficial; feedback from the intended audience provides invaluable insight form the patients’ perspective. Working with patients can result in developing successful research grants and interventions. The benefit of including the voice of the patient in the Yorkshire Cancer Research funded PREHABS study is described in this article.MethodsPatients were included in the PREHABS study from inception to completion. The Theory of Change methodology was used to provide a framework to implement patient feedback to refine the study intervention.ResultsIn total, 69 patients engaged with the PREHABS project. Two patients were recruited as co-applicants on the grant and were members on the Trial Management Group. Six patients attended the pre application workshop and provided feedback on their lived experiences of being a lung cancer patient. Commentary from the patients influenced the interventions selected and the design of the prehabs study.Following ethical approval (21/EE/0048) and informed written consent, 61 patients were recruited into the PREHABS study between October 2021 and November 2022. The breakdown of recruited patients was 19 males: mean age 69.1 years (SD 8.91) and 41 females; mean age 74.9 years (SD 8.9).ConclusionIt is practicable and beneficial to include patients at all stages of designing and delivering a research study. Patient feedback can help refine the study interventions to allow for maximum acceptance, recruitment and retention.Implications for practiceIncluding patients in the design of radiotherapy research studies can provide invaluable insight that can support the selection and delivery of interventions that are acceptable to the patient cohort