'Working Together to Meet in the Middle'. A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Power Dynamics in Lived Experience and Family Engagement in Mental Health and Substance Use Health Research.
Background: Engaging people with lived experience (PWLE) and family members (/F) in mental health and/or substance use health research is an increasingly common practice and has many benefits. However, challenges are also encountered; these challenges include the experience of unequal power dynamics...
| Publicado en: | Health Expectations Vol. 29; no. 4; pp. 1 - 12 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Wiley-Blackwell
Aug2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=196480406&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 196480406 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 13696513 EVY jtl: Health Expectations issn: 13696513 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Aug2026 vid: 29 iid: 4 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 196480406 196480406 196480406 10.1111/hex.70730 196480406 ppf: 1 ppct: 11 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: 'Working Together to Meet in the Middle'. A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Power Dynamics in Lived Experience and Family Engagement in Mental Health and Substance Use Health Research. aug: au: Hawke, Lisa D. Dunphy, Joshua Sheikhan, Natasha Yasmin Dada‐Philips, Wuraola Hauer, Shoshana Munro, Charlotte Sendanyoye, Claudia Halsall, Tanya Strudwick, Gillian Lunsky, Yona affil: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada sug: subj: Research, Mental Health Patient Attitudes Family Attitudes Power Substance Use Disorders Health Services Research Human Qualitative Studies Descriptive Research Funding Source Academic Medical Centers Hospitals, Urban Purposive Sample Female Adult Male Middle Age Aged Focus Groups Interview Guides Audiorecording World Wide Web Applications Thematic Analysis Data Analysis Software Patient Participation Research Subject Recruitment Leadership Language Professional Role Motivation Judgment Compassion Humanism Collaboration Communication Accountability Authorship Recognition (Psychology) Research Personnel Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Education Respect Adult: 19-44 years Middle Aged: 45-64 years Aged: 65+ years Female Male ab: Background: Engaging people with lived experience (PWLE) and family members (/F) in mental health and/or substance use health research is an increasingly common practice and has many benefits. However, challenges are also encountered; these challenges include the experience of unequal power dynamics on research teams. Objective: This pragmatic qualitative descriptive study aimed to understand the experience of power dynamics in mental health/substance use health research engagement contexts, using an engagement framework. Method: Four focus group discussions were conducted with 18 PWLE/F aged 19–79 who had experience engaging in mental health and/or substance use research. A co‐designed semi‐structured interview guide was used. Discussions were audio recorded, transcribed, analysed using codebook thematic analysis and discussed with a Lived Experience Working Group. Results: Three primary themes were generated from the data: (1) Leadership, knowledge and expertise generate power. (2) Power dynamics should be acknowledged and balanced to improve research quality. (3) Power can be shared through authentic engagement practices. Conclusions: While knowledge and expertise generate power, researchers are not the only ones to hold knowledge and expertise, which necessitates the sharing of power. The mitigating strategies to help research teams address power are consistent with recommendations for conducting authentic engagement as a whole. Following best practices for PWLE engagement can help balance power dynamics on engaged research teams. Lived Experience Contribution: All aspects of this study were guided by a Lived Experience Working Group, from the identification of the research question to the interpretation and reporting of the results. People with lived experience and family members are co‐authors on this manuscript. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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