Patient and public involvement for ethnic minority research: an urgent need for improvement

Inequalities in health by ethnicity persist in the UK, and there is a history of health research failing to address the needs of ethnic minorities. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted ethnic health disparities1 and emphasised the need for a greater ethnic minority contribution to all aspects of research. Ethnic minority patient and public involvement needs to go beyond just inclusion in research design, but to encompass active involvement in setting research questions, helping shape study design, being co-applicants, actively informing study implementation, data analysis and interpretation, and dissemination of findings.2,3 A prerequisite for this is the development of a wider patient and public involvement community which is reflective of our growing population diversity.