Methods of Engaging Interest-Holders in Healthcare Evidence Syntheses: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Evidence Synthesis Methodology
• Stakeholder Engagement in Healthcare

Background:

• Engaging stakeholders in healthcare evidence syntheses can enhance their relevance, utility, and accessibility.
• Previous reviews identified a need for better understanding of effective stakeholder engagement methods due to poor reporting.
• This study addresses the gap by updating the evidence on stakeholder engagement in healthcare evidence syntheses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and collate current publications on stakeholder engagement in healthcare evidence syntheses.
• To describe the reported methods of stakeholder engagement.
• To compare current findings with a previous scoping review.

Main Methods:

• An updated scoping review following JBI guidance with a pre-published protocol.
• Systematic searches of five electronic databases from January 2016 to February 2024.
• Independent screening, data extraction, and coding using the ACTIVE framework, with a 'traffic-light' system for description comprehensiveness.

Main Results:

• 302 publications were identified, with 272 reporting engagement in a single evidence synthesis.
• Patients/carers (74%) and other interest-holders were engaged, primarily in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia.
• Engagement often occurred at initial (scope) and final (interpretation) stages ('top and tail' approach); 19% provided comprehensive engagement descriptions.

Conclusions:

• Stakeholders are involved across all stages of evidence synthesis using diverse methods, with no clear patterns related to synthesis type.
• Patients/public and professionals are commonly engaged, but variations exist in the groups involved.
• Recommendations are proposed for conducting, reporting, and future research on stakeholder engagement in evidence syntheses.