Anderson et al. Research Involvement and Engagement (2024) 10:122 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-024-00647-2
Research Involvement and Engagement
Open Access
RESEARCH
Building trust and inclusion with under‑served groups: a public involvement project employing a knowledge mobilisation approach Anna M. Anderson1*, Lucy Brading2, Laura Swaithes3, Nicola Evans3, Sophia E. Fedorowicz4, Darren Murinas4, Elizabeth Atkinson5, Alice Moult3, Tatum Yip6, Parveen Ayub6, Krysia Dziedzic3, Philip G. Conaghan2,5, Gretl A. McHugh7, Amy Rebane5 and Sarah R. Kingsbury2,5
Abstract Background Certain groups are commonly under-served by health research due to exclusionary models of research design/delivery. Working in partnership with under-served groups is key to improving inclusion. This project aimed to explore the use of a knowledge mobilisation approach to start building partnerships with under-served groups based on trust and mutual understanding. Methods This co-produced public involvement project employed a knowledge mobilisation approach. The project team involved public contributors from four community organisations and staff from two Universities. A series of ‘community conversations’ were co-produced. These involved open discussions with local people in community settings. The conversations provide an informal space to engage in a multi-directional dialogue about health research and incorporated approaches such as prompt questions, live illustrations, and themed boards. The findings were reviewed collectively. Dissemination/feedback activities and lessons learned for future engagement with community organisations and under-served groups were also co-produced. Results Over 100 people attended the community conversations. Attendees varied widely in their sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., socioeconomic status and ethnicity) and brought diverse lived experiences (e.g., experiences of homelessness and disability). A strong appetite for change and desire to mobilise public knowledge were evident. Attendees reported wide-ranging barriers to inclusion in health research and suggested ways to address them. Three inter-related take-home messages were identified: ensure relevance, appreciation, and trust; prioritise language and accessibility needs; and maximise flexibility in all research-related activities. Feedback about the community conversations and dissemination activities was largely positive, with all parties planning to continue the partnership building. The lessons learned provide practical suggestions for promoting inclusion in research and highlight the importance of addressing research teams’ training/support needs.
Amy Rebane and Sarah R. Kingsbury should be considered joint senior author. *Correspondence: Anna M. Anderson a.anderson@leeds.ac.uk Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.