Flourishing together: research protocol for developing methods to better include disabled people's knowledge in...

Area of Science:

• Health Policy Research
• Social Determinants of Health
• Disability Studies

Background:

• Disabled people require meaningful participation in policy development to address social determinants of health.
• Barriers to consultation and challenges in articulating recommendations hinder disabled people's influence on health policies.
• This research addresses health outcome inequities by empowering disabled individuals in policy co-production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop innovative participatory co-production methods and tools for health policy development.
• To empower disabled people, including tāngata whaikaha Māori, to articulate their experiences and expertise.
• To generate policy recommendations for equitable housing (kāinga) access and maintenance for disabled people in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Main Methods:

• A realist methodological approach will guide participatory co-production with disabled people.
• Theory-building workshops and qualitative surveys will explore enabling contexts for housing access.
• A realist review combined with co-production workshops will synthesize evidence.

Main Results:

• Development of co-production methods and tools tailored for disabled people's knowledge articulation.
• Identification of contextual factors influencing disabled people's housing needs and aspirations.
• Co-production of policy recommendations for equitable housing and health policies.

Conclusions:

• The research will yield novel participatory co-production methods and tools.
• These tools will enhance the creation, synthesis, and articulation of disabled people's knowledge.
• The findings will contribute to policies that positively impact the social determinants of health for disabled individuals.