We're pleased to hear about the winners of the Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) award, and would like to extend our congratulations. Dr Keith Geraghty has a long standing relationship with the ME Association, as we've helped fund many of his ME/CFS studies and continue to do so.
Manchester University Introduction
Dr Keith Geraghty, Research Associate of Health Psychology, and Prof Aneez Esmail, Emeritus Professor of General Practice, have collaborated at the University since 2016. Their work has focused on myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition that profoundly impacts quality of life.
Their research challenged the long-standing biopsychosocial model that had shaped the understanding of ME/CFS, providing evidence that led to major changes in the diagnoses and management of the condition, as outlined in the 2021 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
Keith Geraghty comments
Myself and Professor Esmail were delighted to have been recognised by the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health’s (FBMH), at the University of Manchester, with an award for Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE), for our research and public engagement in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
The award recognises the impact our work has had, in terms of helping to shape treatment guidelines for ME/CFS, and how our work has had a positive impact on patient care, policy, and understanding of related conditions, such as Long-Covid, which arose after the pandemic in 2020.
Most of all, the award recognises that we put people living with ME/CFS at the forefront of our research and advocacy. Since 2016, we set out to improve the care of people living with ME/CFS, from first visit to the GP, right the way through to support in hospital, or in the community. Our goal has been to raise awareness of the disease and its impact on physical and mental health.
We challenged out-dated attitudes and models of the illness, and we have sought to inform the next generation of doctors and allied health care professionals. Our greatest achievement has been helping to highlight harms associated with graded exercise therapy (GET) approaches, and moving forward, we call on health professionals to view the illness as a complex disease, that impacts all body systems, and produces a wide array of symptoms, that can have a profoundly negative impact on patients’ quality of life and social function. We have sought to advocate for a new approach to ME/CFS, one that involves patients, family members, and stakeholders.
We are grateful to the ME Association for supporting our work over the years, and we plan to continue our research in ME/CFS, at University of Manchester, in 2026 and beyond.