Capabilities & Capacities

Patients' capabilities

Patients have a range of capabilities based on their experience, skills, knowledge, interest, or time. Patients have developed knowledge from their own experience and are able to transpose this experience to represent the views of others.

In the SCCL-PPI model, patients are supported, trained and categorized for their capabilities (defined by the patient) to engage meaningfully and represent effectively for people affected by cancer.

Capabilities refer to:

• Experience: participants have an experience of cancer as patient, survivor, family member, or informal caregiver.
• Motivation: participants show an interest to engage in research.
• Understanding the setting: participants will develop an understanding of the research context.
• Adaptation: participants will develop their skills to meet the requirements of their role.
• Availability: participants define their availability and commitment possibilities.
• Knowledge: participants have or lack knowledge regarding research or the research topic.
• Learning: participants undertake learning to build their expertise.
• Support and networking: participants seek support to perform their role through involvement in patient’s organizations, support groups, networks, etc.

Capacities of the research group

Estimation of resources available in terms of PPI experience and knowledge, time, and costs. Resources may determine the number of patients, their level of involvement, or the selection of methods. All these factors might have an impact on the PPI outcomes that researchers have to consider.

In the SCCL-PPI model, researchers are trained and coached on their requests based on their specific needs and resources.