Here are our take out tips from this morning’s TSANZ concurrent session chaired by Hayley Haines and Dr Peter Franklin from  the Telethon Kids Institute on the reasons why all respiratory researchers should  involve consumers.

1. Funding and publication – Research funding bodies and scientific journals are increasingly moving towards requiring statements of consumer involvement.

2. Different perspective. Consumers provide a different perspective – they may help you think of an aspect of your research that you hadn’t thought about.

3. Relevance. They can assist you in identifying outcome measures that are relevant and important to consumers.

4. Increased participation. Engaging consumers means you’ll get a better response from study participants.

5. Understanding. Consumers can help you translate your research into consumer friendly language.

6. Dissemination. They can also assist you in getting your research results out into the public domain.

For advice on how to get started visit: www.involvingpeopleinresearch.org.au