Involving parents as service users in an interprofessional research project

This report describes the process of involving parents in the development of a research study. The involvement of participants in the design and development of research is now a requirement of publicly funded research (INVOLVE, 2002).

In response to a call for proposals from the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) funding scheme, a collaborative team of academics and therapists began the process of designing a study which aimed to improve postural management for children with physical disabilities who attend mainstream schools.

Children with physical disabilities require support from both education services and the National Health Service, and their postural care programmes require specialist equipment and exercises that are ideally incorporated into the daily routine at both home and school.

Therapeutic input is designed to prevent longer-term health problems and to promote the child’s comfort and active participation in functional activities at home and school. To be successful, the interprofessional team needs to work closely with both families and the child’s school (Lightfoot, 2002).