Stakeholder-Engaged Research: Examples From Aphasia

Abstract

The other research ... it's like guinea pigs ... they tell you what is about and really you can't change it. —Participant B.G. from McMenamin et al. (2021, p. 6) In this issue of Topics in Language Disorders, Guest Issue Editor Dr. Jacqueline Hinckley invited research teams to share work influenced by stakeholder engagement via Project BRIDGE, a PCORI Eugene Washington Engagement-funded stakeholder engagement effort. As guest issue editor, she carefully crafted this issue to cover various types of stakeholder engagement and various outcomes of this process. First, Brancamp (2023) shares about the influence the project BRIDGE team had on her ongoing project related to posttraumatic growth in aphasia. Next, Szabo et al. (2023) describe the intersection of the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia with stakeholder engagement in aphasia research. Then, Off et al. (2023) describe their research, with students as engaged stakeholders further expanding the view and approach of stakeholder engagement in pedagogical research. The next two articles by Strong et al. (2023) and Madden et al. (2023) highlight the process and outcomes of stakeholder engagement in research about friendship and aphasia.1 Finally, Kim et al. (2023) describe how their team, which included multiple stakeholders, conducted a project about creating more aphasia-friendly retail businesses in their area. In summary, Dr. Hinckley and the authors of this issue (many of whom are stakeholders) provide multiple perspectives of the different strategies and approaches to stakeholder-engaged aphasia research. —Sarah E. Wallace, PhD —Gary A. Troia, PhD Co-Editors