{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,2]],"date-time":"2026-05-02T12:24:01Z","timestamp":1777724641290,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":16,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,26]],"date-time":"2026-03-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774483200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,26]],"date-time":"2026-03-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774483200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Health Expectations"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:label\/>\n                    <jats:p>Public involvement, or patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE), is widely embedded in health and care research and is valued for its moral, ethical, and methodological contributions. However, its application in workforce research raises important questions about the voices that might be missing from the \u2018public\u2019 when research's primary object of inquiry is healthcare staff, organisations, and systems, rather than patients and service users. This viewpoint explores tensions arising from the extension of standardised public involvement requirements, which were originally developed for research where patients and service users are the primary target of focus, into workforce\u2010focused studies. We argue that while patient and public perspectives remain crucial, the lived experience and voices of frontline staff are often under\u2010recognised in existing involvement frameworks, including those used in NIHR domestic programmes, as they are not fully accommodated within either public involvement or stakeholder engagement activities. We therefore call for greater clarity, flexibility, and, where appropriate, expansion in how public involvement is conceptualised and operationalised in workforce research, to better centre the voices of frontline staff. Rather than offering definitive solutions, we invite debate and future research on how public involvement can be made more meaningful, proportionate, and fit\u2010for\u2010purpose in health and care workforce research.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Patient or Public Contribution<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This viewpoint article is written by researchers in the health and care workforce, PPIE, and community engagement, and a public contributor with interest and experience of involvement in health and care workforce research. We drew on our respective perspectives and experience to shape the framing and arguments presented in this viewpoint.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/hex.70616","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,26]],"date-time":"2026-03-26T19:46:37Z","timestamp":1774554397000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The \u2018Public\u2019 in Public Involvement: A Call to Centre Frontline Staff Voices in Health Workforce Research"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"29","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4937-4703","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yingxi","family":"Zhao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Oxford Nuffield Department of Medicine  Oxford UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6975-4570","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Justin","family":"Aunger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NIHR Midlands Patient Safety Research Collaboration University of Birmingham  Birmingham UK"},{"name":"Department of Applied Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Health University of Birmingham  Birmingham UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-3972-7989","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hilary","family":"Garrett","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Public Contributor National Institute for Health and Care Research and Health Data Research UK  Lancaster UK"},{"name":"Honorary Researcher Lancaster University  Lancaster UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Paul","family":"Hewitson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Oxford Nuffield Department of Population Health  Oxford UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7784-9000","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alun","family":"Davies","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Global Health network University of Oxford  Oxford UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Manish","family":"Pareek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Public Health and Epidemiology University of Leicester  Leicester UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sassy","family":"Molyneux","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Oxford Nuffield Department of Medicine  Oxford UK"},{"name":"KEMRI\u2010Wellcome Trust Research Programme  Kilifi Kenya"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_11_2_1","unstructured":"NIHR New Research 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https:\/\/www.nihr.ac.uk\/get\u2010involved\/public\u2010involvement."},{"key":"e_1_2_11_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1355819617750688"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/hex.13215"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/01944366908977225"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4337\/9781802205718.00024"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.healthpol.2022.07.007"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1363459312438563"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_11_1","unstructured":"NIHR Guidance for Developing Community Engagement and Involvement in Global Health Research Applications 2025 accessed January 30 2026 https:\/\/www.nihr.ac.uk\/research\u2010funding\/global\u2010health\/community\u2010engagement\u2010and\u2010involvement\/guidance\u2010developing\u2010cei\u2010applications."},{"key":"e_1_2_11_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/cts.2024.668"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.p1721"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_14_1","unstructured":"University of Oxford Global ROOTs Network Launched to Examine Moral Distress in Health Research accessed February 6 2026 https:\/\/www.tropicalmedicine.ox.ac.uk\/news\/global\u2010roots\u2010network\u2010launched\u2010to\u2010examine\u2010moral\u2010distress\u2010in\u2010health\u2010research."},{"key":"e_1_2_11_15_1","unstructured":"University of Leicester The UK\u2010REACH Patient and Professional Expert Panel accessed February 9 2026 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