TY - JOUR T1 - Participatory and evidence-informed general practice JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 397 LP - 398 DO - 10.3399/bjgp09X420897 VL - 59 IS - 563 AU - Sandy Oliver Y1 - 2009/06/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/59/563/397.abstract N2 - Evidence-informed health care requires clinicians to combine their clinical experience with research evidence, in addition to the values of their patients.1,2 There is a complementary argument for participatory approaches that integrate clinical experience and patient values within evidence-informed clinical guidelines and standards of care. This melding of patients' values and evidence is challenging for two reasons. The first challenge is how to integrate, rather than choose between, these different forms of knowledge when making decisions about how services should operate. The second challenge is how to involve many clinicians and many service users in decisions with wide-reaching consequences. Making decisions collectively about priorities and standards raises questions about whom to involve and how, and about the evidence to inform these decisions.Public participation at a collective level has often been initiated by the public. In 1960s Britain, parents campaigned for better hospital services for children. Since then, pregnant women and young families have campaigned for improvements in British maternity services. Breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, and mental health survivors have campaigned internationally for better care and more relevant research.Now public participation is often initiated by research and service organisations who wish to involve patients more broadly, not only those aligned with campaigning organisations. Public involvement meets evidence-informed health care in prioritising issues for research, in conducting research, in developing evidence-informed guidelines and standards of care, and in monitoring that care.There is strong policy support for public involvement in research. INVOLVE is the national advisory group, funded through the … ER -