This is the introductory work in the 'Promoting Patient Choice' series. It provides a guide to understanding individual user involvement as well as the wider issue of public involvement in health care decision making. It defines the terms and concepts used and describes the debates and strategies concerned with increasing user involvement in health care, including an account of the current state of user involvement in the NHS. The aim of the publication is to inform managers, professionals, and voluntary and public agencies about the strategies and processes which they might use to achieve greater patient and public involvement in health care decisions.