Peer researchers’ experiences of a co-produced research project on supported decision-making

Abstract

Plain English summary Making your own decisions is important. There are disabled people who need support to make some decisions. Supporting disabled people to make decisions is needed so that they are not excluded from society. However, the evidence is limited on disabled people’s experiences of how best to support decision-making. This article will explore the experiences of four researchers with mental health problems or an intellectual disability who worked with other researchers to conduct a project on how people have, or have not been, supported to make their own decisions. These researchers are called peer researchers. The peer researchers interviewed 21 people with mental health problems and 20 people with an intellectual disability. These interviews were conducted in order to gain a detailed understanding of the experiences and preferences for how decision-making should be supported. Blogs written by the peer researchers, discussions in team meetings and a workshop at the end of the study enabled the peer researchers to reflect on their experiences. The peer researchers reported a number of positive effects of being involved in the research project which included improvements in skills and self-confidence. The peer researchers’ involvement challenged assumptions about the inability of people with an intellectual disability and/or mental health problems to participate in a research project whilst also highlighting the importance of training for all team members.

Keywords

• Peer research
• Experiential expertise
• Benefits and challenges of co-production