Medical Student Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background: Patient engagement (PE) and integrated knowledge translation improves health outcomes and care experiences through meaningful partnerships in consensus-building initiatives and research. Consensus-building is essential for engaging a diverse group of experienced knowledge users in co-developing and supporting a solution where none readily exists. Patients and caregivers provide key insights for building consensus in decision-making around healthcare, policy and research. However, despite this emerging evidence, PE is lacking within consensus-building healthcare initiatives. Specifically, our research has identified a lack of involvement with youth living with chronic illness and their caregivers in developing consensus on quality indicators for transition into adult care.
Objective: To identify and synthesize integrated knowledge translation (iKT) approaches, methods and strategies that have been used for consensus-building in the healthcare context
Design/Methods: Guided by scoping review methodology from Joanna Briggs Institute, published literature will be searched in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINHAL and PsycINFO databases from inception to July 2023. Gray literature will be hand-searched. Two independent reviewers will determine eligibility of articles in a two-stage process. Disagreements will be resolved by a third reviewer. Included studies must explicitly describe PE strategies for building consensus within healthcare. Data from eligible studies will be analyzed quantitatively and descriptively, according to specific patient-engagement models, strategies, and consensus-approach methodologies.
Results: Our preliminary results reveal that 20% of studies (14/73) modeled their patient engagement approach after James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnerships, while 7% (5/73) explicitly evaluated their engagement with patients and the public using qualitative interviews and surveys. However, explicit tools, documents, strategies and accommodative supports for patient engagement were rarely described.
Conclusion(s): This review will inform our national, multi-knowledge user initiative to actively engage youth, caregivers, health providers and system leaders in prioritizing quality indicators for benchmarking and supporting transition from pediatric to adult care. Moreover, our findings may offer insights for future healthcare initiatives on specific consensus approaches and strategies that help prioritize the perspectives and needs of youth with chronic health conditions.
