Research Involvement and Engagement (Oct 2021)

Evolving partnerships: engagement methods in an established health services research team

  • Stephanie A. Chamberlain,
  • Andrea Gruneir,
  • Janice M. Keefe,
  • Charlotte Berendonk,
  • Kyle Corbett,
  • Roberta Bishop,
  • Graham Bond,
  • Faye Forbes,
  • Barbara Kieloch,
  • Jim Mann,
  • Christine Thelker,
  • Carole A. Estabrooks

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-021-00314-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Plain English Summary Engaging non-academic research partners is becoming an expectation for Canadian health research teams. Research specifically on citizen (patient) engagement has identified benefits and challenges of partnered research; however, most research has only examined one time point. Less is known about how the perception of engagement may change with exposure to engagement in research activities. Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) is a research program that aims to improve the quality of care and quality of life for residents, and quality of work life of staff in nursing homes. The team includes academic researchers, citizens (the term preferred by our members to reflect persons with dementia, family/friend caregivers of individuals living in nursing homes), decision-maker stakeholders (e.g., ministries of health, operators of nursing homes), trainees (Masters, PhD, postdoctoral fellows), and staff. The TREC team initiated several activities to deepen the partnerships with our citizen members. This paper describes the teams’ perceptions of engagement and the benefits and challenges of citizen engagement in an established health research team. We invited the TREC team to complete an online survey (May 2018) before undertaking engagement activities (e.g., training, priority setting) and after 15 months of activities (July 2019). We asked respondents questions about their experience with citizen engagement, their perceptions of the potential research activities citizens could be engaged in, and the benefits and challenges of citizen engagement. Research team respondents reported an increase in citizen engagement in their research but that needs for support persisted. We identify specific areas where research teams need more training and support to ensure that engaged research is possible and sustainable.

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