Open access publisher BioMed Central has announced plans to publish the new innovative journal Research Involvement and Engagement, which aims to publish its first articles in June 2015.
Research Involvement and Engagement is an interdisciplinary, health and social care journal focusing on patient and wider involvement and engagement in research, at all stages. The journal will have a novel structure, co-produced by all key stakeholders, including patients, academics, policy makers and service users. All articles within the journal will be reviewed by both academics and patients, with both reports carrying equal weight in the editorial decision.
The journal will be led by two Editors-in-Chief: Sophie Staniszewska, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, UK, and Richard Stephens, an involved and engaged patient from the UK.
Sophie Staniszewska is based at the Royal College of Nursing Research Institute at Warwick Medical School where she leads the Patient and Public Involvement Research Programme. Richard Stephens is a survivor of two cancers, a heart emergency and sundry other health challenges. He has participated in five clinical trials and six other research studies. As a patient advocate and representative in health and medical research, Richard Stephens' formal roles include chairing the UK National Cancer Research Institute's Consumer Liaison Group and membership with the English National Evaluation of Trials and Studies Co-Ordinating Centre's Patient and Public Involvement Steering Group.
