Barriers and enablers to optimal consumer involvement in research: the perspectives of health and medical researchers in the UK

Abstract

Numerous reasons exist for involving consumers in research, falling mainly into three categories: moral/ethical, methodological, and political. The moral and ethical reasons for involving consumers in research centre on concepts of rights, citizenship and democracy, specifically related to publicly funded research whereby the word ‘consumer’ is seen as a synonym for ‘taxpayer’. The methodological reasons focus on the potential benefits that consumer involvement may have on the research process, including increasing its relevance, credibility, dissemination and transferability of research findings. The political imperative is centred on current policy directives in addition to requirements by research funding agencies, research governance organisations, and research ethics committees (RECs).