Evidence Library

Abstract:

This article discusses the process and outcomes of involving service users in the analysis of data from a palliative care research project. The service user group was made up of people with different life-limiting illnesses and they were involved throughout the project.
                                                                                                                                                            The researcher reflects on his experience of involving users in the analysis stage of the project and his initial concerns about maintaining objectivity. However, he also explains that he came to realise the value of drawing on service users' first hand experience to interpret the data, and the usefulness of the group's insights.                                                                                                                                                                

The article describes how the researcher and user group identified quite different themes from the same data. The themes identified by the user group had a far greater emotional resonance and a more critical component, whilst the researcher's analysis had a more professional emphasis. The involvement of users thus steered the analysis towards the issues of importance to service users, and a more social model of disability. This meant that some issues were raised, for example, the societal impact ofliving with a life-limiting condition, that might have otherwise been missed.

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Categories: health
public health
social care
Analysing and interpreting
impact on research
impact of public involvement
reflecting on public involvement in research
journal article

Date Entered: 2010/09/28

Date Edited: 2012/11/21