“Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement” (PPIE) means researchers working with members of the public as genuine partners, rather than doing research on, for, or about them. When done well, it improves the quality, relevance, and real-world impact of what we produce. These FAQs are designed to help researchers get started or go further with PPIE in Hong Kong.

Please click here to view the PPIE FAQs for researchers.

Your lived experience is a valuable form of expertise. Our faculty would like to work with members of the public, including but not limited to patients, family caregivers, and health service users/consumers, together with a wider group of key stakeholders such as educators, community service users, health and social care professionals, representatives of community-based organisations, and policymakers across Hong Kong. Our aim is to make health and social science research better and more meaningful through Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE). Here’s what PPIE is, how it works, and how you can get involved.

Please click here to view the PPIE FAQs for the public.

FHSS-CTU PPIE sub-committee will organize a series of webinars and training sessions over the coming months, followed by a symposium in 2027. Updates will be posted on this webpage and shared with colleagues via email.

Past Activities

Seminars

Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) – how to incorporate into our research?

Speaker: Prof. Jacqueline Sin (Professor, SN)

Link for the recorded seminar (Intranet Access only)

PPIE experience in Hong Kong and the GBA*

Speaker: Prof. Yan Li (Assistant Professor, SN)
_{* This is a brief sharing during a seminar. A detailed seminar will be released later this year.}

Link for the recorded seminar (Intranet Access only)

Publications referenced in the brief sharing session:

1. Lu W, Li Y, Evans C, Currow D, Bayuo J, Zheng T, Lu Z, Li M, Wray J, Yorke J. Evolution of Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement in Health-Related Research: A Concept Analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2026;82(5):4827-4839. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.70140
2. Li Y, Lu W, Ho EKY, Takemura N, Li M, Li M, Wray J, Yorke J. Patient and public perceptions of involvement and engagement in healthcare research: a descriptive exploratory qualitative study in Hong Kong. Research Involvement and Engagement. 2026,12(1):59. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-026-00895-4
3. Lu W, Li Y, Montayre J, Li M, Ho KY, Li J, Yorke J. A Bibliometric Analysis of Healthcare Intervention-Related Studies Reporting Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement. Healthcare. 2025;13(3):305. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13030305

Symposium

Innovating Together: Integrating Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement with Co-Design in Health Research

Date: 7 March 2026 (Saturday)
Time: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Venue: Chiang Chen Studio Theatre, PolyU
Website: https://events.polyu.edu.hk/ppie2026/

FHSS-CTU Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) sub-committee has established partnerships with four local NGOs to support PPIE activities: Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service; Cancerinformation.com.hk Charity Foundation; Mind HK; and The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation.

When staff plan to conduct PPIE consultation sessions to support a grant application and/or to obtain input from patients, carers, and members of the public, the FHSS-CTU PPIE sub-committee will provide support by coordinating consultation sessions with the PPIE members based in our NGO partners in accordance with the specific needs of the applicant. The consultation provides an opportunity to seek feedback on the relevance of the proposed research, the acceptability of study procedures, and the clarity of information intended for patients and the public.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this service, applicants must meet both of the following requirements:

• Be PolyU staff applying for funding for health-related research.
• Have completed both PPIE webinars. For each webinar, applicants must have attended the live session or watched at least 90% of the recording, as recorded by the system.

Webinar registration

Cost

The service is provided free of charge. Costs are covered by the FHSS-CTU PPIE sub-committee.

Format

Each consultation session lasts two hours maximum and will be held either face-to-face at the partner NGO or online. Each session will involve around 4–6 NGO members and will typically bring together two to three research projects with similar target populations, health conditions, or topics. Researchers may therefore share a single session with other colleagues.

Apply

Please complete the Request Form.

The following PPIE consultant will provide regular webinars and online training sessions to PolyU staff and students, and members of partner NGOs in our PPIE network.

Ms. Helen Chiu, MSc, MHA, PMP

Ms. Helen Chiu is a quality improvement and PPIE specialist with experience across healthcare and research networks, including emergency, cancer, kidney, long COVID, and palliative care. As Quality Lead with the Provincial Health Services Authority in British Columbia (BC), Canada, she leads and supports strategic and quality improvement initiatives across provincial chronic care networks. Helen has helped build patient and family engagement in research through Can-SOLVE CKD, Canada’s largest kidney research network, and serves as a peer reviewer for various journals in patient experience, PPIE, and health services research.

Helen holds Master of Science and Master of Health Care Administration from the University of British Columbia and has completed training in healthcare quality improvement through the BC Quality Academy. She is passionate about enabling meaningful partnerships, co-design, and knowledge translation with patients, families, clinicians, researchers, policymakers and community partners to advance optimal, equitable people-centred care.