Health researchers' experience collaborating with patient partners: a qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Patient and Public Involvement in Research

Background:

• Patient-oriented research (POR) and patient engagement (PE) are increasingly adopted in health research.
• While barriers for patient partners (PPs) are known, researchers' experiences remain under-explored.
• This study investigates health researchers' challenges when collaborating with PPs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand the challenges health researchers encounter when working with patient partners.
• To identify factors hindering effective collaboration between researchers and PPs.
• To inform strategies for improving the integration of PPs in research.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive study involving 20 semi-structured interviews with health researchers and coordinators.
• Participants recruited from diverse health science fields via email, newsletters, and social media.
• Thematic analysis of interview transcripts to identify key themes and subthemes.

Main Results:

• Six main themes emerged: PP-related challenges, institutional barriers, genuine involvement difficulties, collaboration issues, time constraints, and recruitment/representation problems.
• Identified challenges are often interconnected and complex, influencing each other.
• Researchers experience multifaceted difficulties in integrating PPs effectively.

Conclusions:

• This study offers insights into the challenges health researchers face with PPs.
• Recommendations are provided for current practices, ethics, and time management to enhance PP involvement.
• Addressing these interconnected challenges is crucial for meaningful patient-oriented research.