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Table 4 Concerns connected to strategies, tools and methods—institutional level

From: Engaging citizens living in vulnerable circumstances in research: a narrative review using a systematic search

Concern

Suggested strategy

Suggested tools and methods

Involvement of citizens living in vulnerable circumstances is costly and time-consuming [17, 26, 42, 43, 51, 54, 59, 63, 66, 72, 79]

Make sure the funding body agrees on methodology [43, 60]

Community partners have different priorities [7, 17, 25, 44, 54, 82]

Build trust with community partners [63, 65, 82]

Undertake ‘shoe-leather’ research [63, 65]

Be transparent about the goals, values, and principles of the research [54, 63]

Make time to clarify expectations [54, 63]

Avoid regular changes of research staff [54, 43, 82]

Create a mutual interest [47]

Be transparent about the resources involved [7, 27]

Host cost-neutral activities [27, 43, 48, 54, 65]

Remunerate staff or volunteers of CBOs for their efforts [7, 27]

Be transparent about the resources involved [7, 27]

Collect data within the context of already planned activities [54, 63]

Unbalanced power dynamics in interactions [3, 7, 25, 30, 41, 43, 47, 49, 51, 54, 59, 60, 61, 65, 72, 75, 79]

Act as a facilitator rather than a decision maker [43, 51, 58, 60, 61, 72]

Avoid pressure to reach a consensus [42, 51, 54]

Anonymous voting [42]

Direct ranking exercise [23, 49, 51, 58]

Empower citizens through adaptations of ‘mainstream’ communicative spaces [25, 60, 72]

Do not use complex terms [1, 43, 54, 61]

Wear informal clothing [51]

Avoid professionals’ bureaucratic concerns [25]

(Train) community members as peer researchers or co-facilitators [42, 43, 44, 48, 52, 59, 60, 61, 63, 79]

Support continual evaluation of the process [44]

Involve experienced facilitators [44, 49, 51, 69]

Have an open agenda [26, 51, 72]

Co-generate ground rules for engagement [26, 51, 60]

Build on the capacities and knowledge and empower those involved by offering easily accessible activities [25, 47, 48, 51]

See Table 3, in addition

Self-recording [51, 72]

Only the usual suspects are engaged [43, 58, 72]

Create informal engagement opportunities [72]

Avoid inclusion criteria [43]

  1. CBO community-based organization