WELCOME!

Thank you for visiting Verity's website following your attendance at ECE2024 and AE-PCOS in Stockholm.  We greatly appreciate you, and the work you are doing improving the lives of the 1 in 8 living with PCOS directly seeing patients and/or indirectly through your research.  This page has some resources that we hope will be useful to you, as well as ways that we can work together to put your great work in front of patients and our significant (and global) professional stakeholder audience.

Verity is the oldest PCOS organisation globally, having been established back in 1997.  We initially began as a patient support group but as understanding of PCOS has grown - so to has our core focus and how we feel we can have the greatest impact for patients.  So, in addition to still staying true to our patient-support roots through things like webinars, local groups and providing a safe online space for peer-to-peer support, much of our work is now focused heavily in the areas of advocacy, awareness raising and research.
SHARE YOUR PCOS RESEARCH
​It is increasingly important for researchers to have clear patient dissemination plans post-publication.  If you have recently published your paper, Verity can work with you to re-write it in patient-friendly language and then disseminate it to our audience.
REQUEST A RESOURCE  PACK
​If you missed out on picking up some of our tri-fold leaflets at ESE, then we are happy to send you  some.  The leaflet is an evidence-based summary of PCOS, perfect for patients. A donation to cover our costs is appreciated but not required.
DONATE TO SUPPORT OUR WORK
​Verity is a small charity with no paid staff, and no fixed regular income.  We rely heavily on the kind support of donations and fundraisers to continue the work we do.  Please do consider making a donation if you are able to do so.  Thank you!
FEATURE IN OUR EARLY CAREERS RESEARCHER SERIES
​Earlier this year, we launched a new series on our blog where we interview an early careers PCOS researcher to learn more about them and their work. 

We often hear from our community that there is little to no research being done into PCOS, and we know that is not true - because we see and hear all about it through events like ECE2024 and AE-PCOS!  We also really deeply appreciate new researchers choosing a career in PCOS research and want to celebrate them and give them a platform to showcase their work - both to patients but also to the global network of clinicians and researchers we reach.

If you would like to feature in our Early Careers series, or nominate someone, please complete this form and the Verity team will get in touch with you.
VERITY CAN HELP YOU RECRUIT RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
When it's time to recruit participants for your study, Verity is here to support you. We'll reach out to our extensive PCOS community through social media and email, directing interested individuals to your team.

OUR PROCESS
  1. Ethics Approval: If applicable, we'll request to review your ethics approval to ensure compliance and ethical standards.
  2. Outreach: Utilising our signifcant social media presence and email network, we'll connect with our PCOS patients to spread the word about your study.
  3. Support: As a volunteer-led charity reliant on donations, we appreciate your consideration of our time in your recruitment efforts. If our support wasn't included in your grant, we kindly ask for a donation to help enable us to continue our work (we would suggest a minimum donation of £200). This is not mandatory, but appreciated.
UNDER-SERVED COMMUNITIES
Where there is significant requirement to reach under-served communities, we partner with specialist women's health charities that directly serve them.  This does require financial support, so please do factor this into your costings.

GET IN TOUCH
To work with Verity on patient recruitment, please email [email protected] with details of your study and we will get in touch.  Please keep in mind that we are run by volunteers, so there may be a delay in our response.
VERITY JOINING YOUR RESEARCH TEAM BRINGS INVALUABLE INSIGHTS AND CREDIBILITY
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There is a growing requirement by research funders to ensure studies are co-designed with patients.  Patients' involvement in co-designing research is crucial for a number of reasons, including:
  1. Relevance and impact: Unique insights from their lived experiences with a condition like PCOS. By involving them in research design, studies become more relevant to their needs and priorities, leading to outcomes that are more likely to make a real impact on their lives.
  2. Improved study design: Valuable input on study design, helping researchers develop methodologies that are more sensitive to their needs and preferences. This can lead to better recruitment and retention rates, as well as more meaningful data collection.
  3. Ethical considerations: Ensures that studies are conducted in an ethical and respectful manner. Patients can help identify potential risks and benefits, as well as provide guidance on informed consent processes.
  4. Empowerment and ownership: Empowers patients to take an active role in shaping the direction of research in their condition. It gives them a sense of ownership over the research process and fosters a collaborative relationship between researchers and patients.
  5. Knowledge mobilisation: Patients are more likely to understand and engage with the findings of the study. This can facilitate knowledge mobilisation and dissemination, leading to broader awareness and uptake of research findings within the patient community.
Working with Verity, with the deep knowledge we have of the patient experience and our outstanding professional reputation, we will bring invaluable feedback and credibility to your bid and study.  Our time and involvement will need to form part of your overall costings, and we will work with you to scope this prior to submission.

To invite Verity to represent the patient voice and co-design your application and join as a co-applicant please get in touch by emailing [email protected] with 'research co-design' as the subject heading.