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Objective To investigate health researchersÕ attitudes to involving the public in research.Background Public involvement in research is encouraged by the Department of Health in the UK. Despite this, the number of health researchers actively involving the public in research appears to be limited. There is little research specifically addressing the attitudes of health researchers towards involving the public: how they interpret the policy, what motivates and de-motivates them and what their experiences have been to date.

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Article:Boote, J., Ward, P.R., Thompson, J. et al. (4 more authors) (2009) Critical perspectives on 'consumer involvement' in health research: epistemological dissonance and the know-do gap.

Objectives To characterise the literature on public involvement in health research published between 1995 and 2009.Methods Papers were identified from three systematic reviews, one narrative review and two bibliographies. The analysis identified journals where papers were published; countries of lead authors; types of public involved; health topic areas; and stages of research involving the public. Papers were also classified as to whether they were literature reviews or empirical studies; focused on participatory/action research; were qualitative, quantitative or mixed-method. The number of papers published per year was also examined.Findings Of the 683 papers identified, 297 were of USA origin and 223 were of UK origin. Of the 417 empirical papers: (i) participatory/action research approach was dominant, together with qualitative data collection methods; (ii) the stage of research the public was most involved was question identification; (iii) indigenous groups were most commonly involved; (iv) mental health was the most common health topic. Published studies peaked in 2006.Conclusions The present study identifies publication patterns in public involvement in health research and provides evidence to suggest that researchers increasingly are 'walking the walk' with respect to public involvement, with empirical studies consistently out-numbering literature reviews from 1998.

Objective To obtain consensus on the principles and indicators of successful consumer involvement in NHS research.Design Consensus methods were used. An expert workshop, employing the nominal group technique was used to generate potential principles and indicators. A two-round postal Delphi process was used to obtain consensus on the principles and indicators.Setting and participants Participants were drawn from health, social care, universities and consumer organizations. A purposive sampling strategy was used to identify people who had experience and/or knowledge of consumer involvement in NHS research. Six researchers and seven consumers participated in an expert workshop. Ninety-six people completed both rounds of the Delphi process. Main outcome measures Consensus on principles and indicators of successful consumer involvement in NHS research.Results Eight principles were developed through an expert workshop and Delphi process, and rated as both clear and valid. Consensus was reached on at least one clear and valid indicator by which to measure each principle.Conclusions Consensus has been obtained on eight principles of successful consumer involvement in NHS research. They may help commissioners, researchers and consumers to deepen their understanding of this issue, and can be used to guide good practice.

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As service user involvement in health and social care research has become more firmly embedded in health policies, both in the UK and internationally, there is increasing interest in evaluating its potential benefits and outcomes. Impact studies have highlighted a range of different types of service user involvement, using diverse research methods, within various research topics and involving different stakeholders. Potential benefits to research, researchers and the service users actively involved in research have been identified, along with the possibility of some negative consequences. Many impact studies have been criticized for being based on informal retrospective accounts of researchers and service users working together. Few have been underpinned by conceptual models, and there is a paucity of detailed accounts of the process of involvement that would enable replication. This paper reports an account of a prospective, qualitative exploration of service user involvement within a study, where the aims of the evaluation were agreed beforehand. Reflective discussions about the process and progress of service user involvement at different stages of the study were recorded, transcribed and analysed. The qualitative analysis identified perceived benefits to research, researchers and service user researchers that endorsed previous findings. The analysis also highlighted subjective and interpersonal aspects of service user involvement that have seldom been reported. This evaluation demonstrates the benefits of allowing time for structured reflection and adds to the understanding of the process and meaning of service user involvement in research.