An approach to implementing patient and public involvement in investigator-initiated clinical trials

Summary

As patient and public involvement (PPI) in academic clinical research, especially clinical trials, is gaining recognition, including acceptance and implementation, questions arise about how to establish an effective “basic framework for PPI in academic clinical research” for all stakeholders in Switzerland. In this Viewpoint, the authors focus on one aspect of the survey and interview results reported by Eberle and colleagues from PPI contributors, researchers, academic research infrastructure staff, and representatives of regulatory and funding bodies to identify a possible direction for a basic PPI framework in Switzerland. Specifically, they describe how they prepare two groups of stakeholders – clinical researchers and PPI contributors – for collaboration. They present clear definitional distinctions to help clinical researchers prepare for the 2025 call for proposals from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) for Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials (IICT) and provide important background information that is essential for understanding the fundamentals of PPI.