“How can we involve patients?” - students’ perspectives on embedding PPIE into a doctoral training centre for AI in medical diagnosis and care

Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to transform healthcare research. However, patients and the public are still not widely involved or engaged within this research area. There is a growing recognition of the importance of incorporating Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) earlier into researcher training. Doctoral training programmes train and support cohorts of PhD students all within a similar research field and therefore may provide the perfect environment to train researchers in PPIE. This paper describes and evaluates the PPIE activities and training within the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Artificial Intelligence for Medical Diagnosis and Care (“AI-Medical”), at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. Authored primarily by PhD candidates from the AI-Medical CDT, it provides an overview of the PPIE activities conducted by students in the CDT between 2021 and 2024. The paper includes first-hand accounts of student experiences, evidenced by quotes, and reflects on these experiences whilst also sharing key learning outcomes. The paper also reflects on the suitability, difficulties, and benefits of including PPIE activities as part of doctoral training programmes, which both develop research leaders of the future and support the students in completing their PhDs. This is particularly important given the current lack of examples incorporating PPIE into AI research projects. It also offers some actionable recommendations for integrating PPIE into future PhD research, whether in other PhD training programmes or within individual research projects. Although written from the viewpoint of the PhD students, this paper will be of interest to patients and the public too, given the increasing use and exploration of AI in health research and therefore the need for the involvement of patients and the public in that work.