RCN mental health adviser Ian Hulatt has co-edited a new book that looks at the thorny issue of involving service users in research. Ian McMillan asks him about the lessons to be learned

Abstract

I think this issue is probably at the core of this form of research. Engaging with service users in research can be on a continuum from the service user as subject all the way to research that has been commissioned by service users. However, this requires an adjustment in the position that the ‘professional’ researcher is taking, and that adjustment will require a move away from being in charge to a position of mutuality. Indeed, this may not be an issue of power at all but really a willingness to acknowledge that some questions are best answered in conjunction with service users. In many senses this is already in evidence with much of nursing research being concerned with the lived experience. However, who generates the questions, who decides on the evidence that will validate the investigation and the methods used remain key questions.