Evidence Library
Title: User involvement in the design and undertaking of nursing, midwifery and health visiting research.
Author: Smith, E., Manthorpe, J., Brearley, S., Ross, F., Donovan, S., Sitzia, J. & Beresford, P.
Date Published: 2005
Reference: London: National Co-ordinating Centre for NHS Service Delivery and Organisation (NCCSDO).
Are service users or carers authors: No/Not Known
Abstract:
Aim: To find out what is known about user involvement in nursing, midwifery and health visiting research.
Method: The authors carried out a systematic review of published and grey literature and a survey of current activity and practice. A service user reference group provided advice throughout the project.
Findings/tecommendations: The report discusses:
- the context and drivers of user involvement
- the best ways of involving users in these three areas of research
- the outcomes of involving users
- the capacity of researchers and research organisations to involve service users.
Some of the main conclusions are:
- There is little evidence of benefits of involvement and more work is needed to explore the meaning and importance of user involvement in research in different circumstances.
- Different approaches need to be tested to understand what works best and when.
- Measuring the impact of user involvement on the relevance and appropriateness of research can be problematic as it depends on who exactly decides whether research is relevant and appropriate.
- User involvement is different in every research project - no one size fits all. So there is no single "how to do it" model. The report recommends that a better way forward would be to identify triggers for decision-making to guide researchers in nursing, midwifery and health-visiting in the various stages of user involvement in research.
External link: The following links will take you to information on this entry on an external website. INVOLVE is not responsible for the content or the reliability of the external websites. Link to full report and summary
Related entry: none currently available
Categories: health
public health
social care
nature and extent of public involvement in research
report
Date Entered: 2007/02/20
Date Edited: 2012/12/06
Additional Info: