Involving Service Users in Care Regulation: A Scoping Review of Empirical Literature

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Regulation
• Patient and Service User Engagement
• Quality Improvement in Care Services

Background:

• Quality and safety in care delivery require multi-stakeholder collaboration, including external regulatory organizations.
• Service user involvement is a growing policy focus for care regulators, yet scholarly attention remains limited.
• This review examines service user involvement in care regulation across all service types and age groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To scope the peer-reviewed literature on service user involvement in care regulation.
• To analyze the characteristics and focus of empirical studies in this area.
• To investigate how studies report the practical use of service user input and regulators' perspectives.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across five major databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, Scopus).
• The search covered literature from the inception of the databases up to July 14, 2023.
• A total of thirteen empirical studies met the inclusion criteria for the review.

Main Results:

• Motivations for service user involvement include legal, political, legitimacy, and decision-making factors.
• Care regulators utilize both reactive and proactive methods for service user engagement.
• Challenges identified include potential bias, time commitment, and the need for specialized inspector skills; service user input is sometimes undervalued.

Conclusions:

• Further research is needed on user preferences for involvement and optimal communication strategies.
• Understanding inspector challenges in fostering meaningful involvement is crucial.
• Aligning regulatory practices with service user needs and experiences requires addressing these identified challenges.