Series: Public engagement with research. Part 3: Sharing power and building trust through partnering with communities in primary care research

Jessica Drinkwater; Michelle Farr; Gary Hickey; Esther Van Vliet; Sophie Söderholm Werkö; Ingrid Klingmann; Steven Blackburn

doi:10.1080/13814788.2024.2328707

Series: Public engagement with research. Part 3: Sharing power and building trust through partnering with communities in primary care research

Eur J Gen Pract. 2024 Dec;30(1):2328707. doi: 10.1080/13814788.2024.2328707. Epub 2024 Mar 28.

Authors

Jessica Drinkwater¹, Michelle Farr², Gary Hickey³, Esther Van Vliet⁴, Sophie Söderholm Werkö⁵, Ingrid Klingmann⁶, Steven Blackburn⁷

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Primary Care and Health Services Research, University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
² The National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West) at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, United Kingdom.
³ Agora Digital Centre, School of Healthcare Enterprise and Innovation, University of Southampton, United Kingdom.
⁴ Knowledge Transfer Office, Tilburg University, The Netherlands.
⁵ The Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁶ European Forum for Good Clinical Practice (EFGCP), Brussels, Belgium.
⁷ Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Background: This article focuses on potential strategies to support primary care researchers in working in partnership with the public and healthcare professionals. Partnership working can potentially to improve the relevance and usefulness of research and ensure better research and health outcomes.

Discussion: We describe what we mean by partnership working and the importance of reflecting on power and building trusting relationships. To share power in partnership working, it is essential to critically reflect on the multiple dimensions of power, their manifestations, and your own power. Power can influence relationships and therefore, it is essential to build trust with partners. Next, we outline how the context of primary care research and decisions about who you work with and how to work together, are vital considerations that are imbued with power. Lastly, we suggest different ways of working in partnership to address different dimensions of power. We provide examples from primary care research across Europe regarding how to recognise, tackle, and challenge, invisible, hidden and visible power.

Conclusion: We conclude by proposing three calls to actions to encourage researchers working in primary care to consider the multiple dimensions of power and move towards partnership working. First is to use participatory methods to improve the inclusivity of your research. Second is to include patients and the public in decisions about the design, delivery and development of research and its outcomes. Third is to address various systemic and institutional barriers which hinder partnership working.

Keywords: Co-production; Participatory research; power sharing; public engagement.

Plain language summary

Partnership approaches to primary care research can potentially improve the relevance, usefulness and inclusivity of research.Working in partnership involves researchers and the public sharing power in important research decisions and building trusting relationships.Recognising and addressing power differentials and building trusting relationships requires time and effort.

MeSH terms

Europe
Health Facilities*
Health Personnel
Humans
Primary Health Care
Trust*

Grants and funding

We thank Natacha Bolaños, Lymphoma Coalition Europe, for her contribution to the initial conception of the article. Jess Drinkwater, Clinical Lecturer, is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Michelle Farr’s time is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West). Steven Blackburn is part-funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Support Service and NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre on Inflammation. The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.