6.1 Introduction
A stakeholder in research is defined as: “…an individual or group who is responsible for or affected by health- and healthcare-related decisions that can be informed by research evidence.”
Other definitions of stakeholders (broadly considered beyond research): “Stakeholders are those who may be affected by or have an effect on an effort. They may also include people who have a strong interest in the effort for academic, philosophical, or political reasons, even though they and their families, friends, and associates are not directly affected by it.” (Community Tool Box)
To learn more about engagement methods, please use the educational and interactive tools at DICEmethods.org
- Salloum RG, Shenkman EA, Louviere JJ, Chambers DA. Application of discrete choice experiments to enhance stakeholder engagement as a strategy for advancing implementation: a systematic review. Implement Sci. 2017;12(1):140. Published 2017 Nov 23. doi:10.1186/s13012-017-0675-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-017-0675-8
6.2 Identifying Your Stakeholders
Determine who has already been engaged in this project.
Who else might be important to engage? The 7Ps matrix (see sidebar) is a useful resource to help you consider multiple socio-ecological levels: community members, patients, setting staff, setting leaders, policymakers, etc.
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Concannon TW, Meissner P, Grunbaum JA, et al. A new taxonomy for stakeholder engagement in patient-centered outcomes research. J Gen Intern Med. 2012;27(8):985-991. doi:10.1007/s11606-012-2037-1
6.3 Defining Your Purpose
Identify the purpose(s) of engagement – research planning, implementation, conduct, dissemination of results.
Where are you in the process of developing and implementing your study protocol? Are you open to redirection at this point?
6.4 Gathering Your Resources
Decide what resources (including time) you have available to support your engagement efforts, as well as what assets you have for this work.
Be sure to consider existing community or patient partners, and access to key technical expertise and experience.
6.5 Key Questions
Questions to ask as you determine the engagement methods you will use:
6.5.1
Considering the pragmatic research planning framework you have selected, in what phases or stages of your research will you engage potential adopters, influences and end users? What strategies, if any, does the framework specify for how, when, and for what purposes to engage these people in the planning process?
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Kim KK, Khodyakov D, Marie K, et al. A Novel Stakeholder Engagement Approach for Patient-centered Outcomes Research. Med Care. 2018;56 Suppl 10 Suppl 1(10 Suppl 1):S41-S47. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000790
6.5.2
Do you need to convene a panel or community advisory board? What will their responsibilities be and for how long? How will you identify and invite them to participate? How will you fund their time? How will you track and report on stakeholder engagement activities and outcomes?
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Gesell SB, Halladay JR, Mettam LH, et al. Using REDCap to track stakeholder engagement: A time-saving tool for PCORI-funded studies. J Clin Transl Sci. 2020;4(2):108-114. Published 2020 Feb 6. doi: 10.1017/cts.2019.444
add Embeded Video element for “A Tour of Stakeholder Engagement Methods – Community Engagement and Stakeholder Panels (Nease, 2020)”
6.5.3
What strategies (e.g., group facilitation techniques) will be useful to elicit the perspectives of these people?
add Embeded Video elements for
- Think Aloud: User-centered Design Usability Testing (DeCamp et al., 2020)
6.5.4
What will be the role of potential adopters, influencers and end users in decision making? Will consensus be required? How will you establish consensus?
- Waggoner J, Carline JD, Durning SJ. Is there a consensus of consensus methodology? Descriptions
and recommendations for future consensus research. Acad Med. 2016. May; 91(5):663-8. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000001092
6.5.5
How will you assess the extent to which your partners agree that your pragmatic study design features reflect real world systems, structures, and processes of care? How can you use engagement strategies in ways that foster co-creation, social justice and inclusion in order to increase health equity? What could make stakeholder engagement more challenging in dynamic, diverse, and complex settings?
- Maar M, Yeates K, Barron M, et al. I-RREACH: an engagement and assessment tool for improving implementation readiness of researchers, organizations and communities in complex interventions. Implement Sci. 2015;10:64. Published 2015 May 4. doi:10.1186/s13012-015-0257-6
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Bombard Y, Baker GR, Orlando E, et al. Engaging patients to improve quality of care: a systematic review. Implement Sci. 2018;13(1):98. Published 2018 Jul 26. doi:10.1186/s13012-018-0784-z