Involving service users in research

South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust places great emphasis on involving service users in research. This is because:

• people who are affected by research have a right to have a say in what and how research is undertaken 
• it benefits researches and improves the quality of the research
• it can improve the treatment received by service users
• funding bodies increasingly require service user involvement in research.

We have set up a user involvement group, the Peer Expertise in Education and Research (PEER) group. The PEER group advises on how to carry out research, and identifies new areas for research. This will help provide more opportunities for people to get involved in evaluating services which affect them.