Join CA:RING!
CA:RING brings together young people and parents with researchers working in children’s healthcare.
We believe that people should have a say in research which can improve their care and well-being. Young people and parents can help researchers understand what’s important and how they can be fair and inclusive.
If you would like to apply to join CA:RING, please read the information below and then click the “Join CA:RING” button at the bottom.
What is Patient and Public Involvement?
Patient and Public Involvement (or “PPI”) is about anyone who helps doctors or researchers make their research better. It’s not the same as being a “participant” in a clinical study! For example, when doing “PPI” people can:
- Explain to researchers what is important to young people and what kinds of things researchers should study
- Check study documents and make sure they “make sense” and are written in plain language
- Help researchers find study participants
- Help researchers explain their study results and what they mean
Who can join?
CA:RING is open to anyone who:
- Currently lives in the UK (you don’t need to be British!)
AND
- Is a young person aged 11 to 24
OR
- Is a parent, carer or guardian to a young person aged 24 or younger
What’s in it for me?
- An opportunity to really make a difference to research and young people’s health and well-being
- Learn something new and pick up new skills (for fun, or to enhance your UCAS or CV)
- Become part of a community and meet new people
- Use your experiences to make research involvement better for others
- Get paid for your effort and contributions (around £15 an hour if you’re under 18, or £25 if you’re over)
You need:
- To be living in the UK
- To be a young person aged 11 to 24 or a parent or carer to a young person under 25
- To be interested in making a difference to young people’s healthcare research
You don’t need:
- To have any physical or mental health problems. We work with all sorts of researchers who are interested in speaking to people with different experiences.
- To be worried that you won’t understand complicated medical studies or won’t have anything to say. We will explain everything in plain terms!
- To have any experience at all with research or “patient and public involvement”. We will get you up to speed!
What is the process for joining CA:RING?
1. Complete the application questionnaire. The questionnaire should take you about 20 minutes. We will ask you for your contact details, why you are interested in joining the group and some questions about your experiences and background. Some of the questions are quite personal, but it is very important to us to understand who our members are and ensure we prioritise diversity and inclusion. The link to the questionnaire is at the bottom of this page.
2. An introductory interview. We will invite you to meet with us online. This is an opportunity to start getting to know each other, ask any questions and make sure you are comfortable with everything. To keep our members safe, we will also need you to show a photo ID and proof of address on camera. We won’t take any copies, we just want to be sure that everyone is who they say they are. If you are under 18 you will also need to bring along a parent or guardian.
3. Start receiving opportunities for involvement to your inbox. We will email you updates about the community and opportunities for working with researchers on a regular basis. Every project typically has a set of criteria for taking part, such as age, or particular personal experiences. Some projects will ask participants to attend online workshops. Others might ask people to read some information and complete a questionnaire.
