Developing, testing, and sustaining rehabilitation interventions via participatory action research

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation research
• Health services research
• Community-based participatory research

Background:

• Consumer involvement in rehabilitation intervention research is limited, often restricted to participation.
• This exclusion may hinder the development, translation, dissemination, and sustainability of evidence-based rehabilitation interventions.
• Integrating consumers actively can improve the relevance and impact of research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for and outline the integration of participatory action research (PAR) in rehabilitation intervention research.
• To demonstrate how PAR can be applied across all phases of intervention research.
• To provide practical recommendations for implementing PAR in this field.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of PAR applications in rehabilitation intervention research.
• Description of a PAR model across five key intervention research phases: agenda setting, methods, implementation, diffusion/dissemination, and sustainability.
• Illustrative example from a randomized controlled trial incorporating PAR.

Main Results:

• PAR offers a framework to actively involve consumers throughout the research lifecycle.
• The reviewed literature and example demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of PAR in rehabilitation.
• Specific recommendations are provided for promoting PAR adoption.

Conclusions:

• Integrating PAR into rehabilitation intervention research is crucial for addressing existing gaps.
• Active consumer involvement through PAR can enhance the development and implementation of effective interventions.
• Adoption of PAR principles can lead to more sustainable and impactful evidence-based practices in clinical settings.