A new taxonomy for stakeholder engagement in patient-centered outcomes research

Abstract

Despite widespread agreement that stakeholder engagement is needed in patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR), no taxonomy exists to guide researchers and policy makers on how to address this need. We followed an iterative process, including several stages of stakeholder review, to address three questions: (1) Who are the stakeholders in PCOR? (2) What roles and responsibilities can stakeholders have in PCOR? (3) How can researchers start engaging stakeholders? We introduce a flexible taxonomy called the 7Ps of Stakeholder Engagement and Six Stages of Research for identifying stakeholders and developing engagement strategies across the full spectrum of research activities. The path toward engagement will not be uniform across every research program, but this taxonomy offers a common starting point and a flexible approach.

Figure 1.

The Six-Stage Model for PCOR and CER. This model illustrates six stages in the translational spectrum of comparative effectiveness research (CER). Each stage is an activity that may be carried out by researchers and research organizations, as illustrated by the light-shaded oval. Researchers and research organizations are surrounded by stakeholders, as illustrated by the dark-shaded oval. The model illustrates both a sequential flow from evidence prioritization to feedback and assessment as well as a cyclical, iterative process. *©2012 Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute