University Hospitals of Nottingham Citizen Observation of Recovery to Normal participation (UNICORN)

Patients recovering from serious illness or injury will help design a new questionnaire that measures what it really means to get back to normal life. Current rehabilitation research often measures recovery in narrow terms—whether someone can walk again, return to work, or manage daily tasks. But patients themselves may define "returning to normal" differently: resuming hobbies, reconnecting with friends, or feeling confident in social settings. This gap matters because existing patient-reported outcome measures may miss what patients actually value, leading to rehabilitation programmes that target the wrong goals. The UNICORN project treats participants as citizen scientists, not just data sources. Over the study period, patients and the public will observe and record what "participation in life events" looks like after rehabilitation. Their input will be used to develop a new Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM)—a standardised list of participation events that reflects what patients themselves consider meaningful recovery. If successful, this new PROM could give clinicians and researchers a more accurate tool for assessing rehabilitation outcomes. It would shift the focus from what professionals think matters to what patients actually experience as a return to normal life. The project has no immediate clinical application; its primary output is a validated measurement tool that future trials and rehabilitation services could adopt.