Researchers, patients, and other stakeholders’ perspectives on challenges to and strategies for engagement

Table 6 Relationship maintenance challenges and strategies reported by investigators and research partners

Relationship maintenance
	General Challenge	General Strategy	Examples of Specific Strategies
Investigators	• Being responsive to diverse partner perspectives and using their guidance	• Develop group facilitation skills • Adapt engagement goals in response to partners’ needs	• Practice or learn skills in active listening, giving everyone a voice, facilitating respectful dialogue, navigating differences of opinion • Ensure research project goals match the capabilities and priority populations served by partner organizations
Investigators and partners	• Having shared language of research terminology and concepts • Maintaining diverse partner representation	• Use accessible language • Communicate frequently • Consistently communicate value of partners’ contributions	• Create a glossary of research and health terms • Send meeting notes regardless of meeting attendance • Ensure regular communication to partners to describe partners’ influence on study and value to the research process (e.g., newsletter, standing agenda item)
Partners	• Managing expectations about project progress • Experiencing perspective as understood and valued^a • Knowing impact of contribution^a	• Clarify roles and expectations throughout the project	• Clearly define the purpose of partnerships and partner roles • Create opportunities to define new partner roles and recalibrate expectations across study course

^a Challenge theme was more prominent among respondents who identified as patients/consumers, caregivers/family members, representative of patient/caregiver advocacy organizations, and representatives of community-based organizations compared to other stakeholder respondents (i.e., clinicians, representative of clinics, hospitals, health systems, payers, policymakers, and subject matter experts)

ISSN: 2056-7529