Critical perspectives on ‘consumer involvement’ in health research: Epistemological dissonance and the know-do gap
Open accessAbstract
Researchers in the area of health and social care (both in Australia and internationally) are encouraged to involve consumers throughout the research process, often on ethical, political and methodological grounds, or simply as ‘good practice’. This article presents findings from a qualitative study in the UK of researchers’ experiences and views of consumer involvement in health research. Two main themes are presented. First, we explore the ‘know—do gap’ which relates to the tensions between researchers’ perceptions of the potential benefits of, and their actual practices in relation to, consumer involvement. Second, we focus on one of the reasons for this ‘know—do gap’, namely epistemological dissonance. Findings are linked to issues around consumerism in research, lay/professional knowledges, the (re)production of professional and consumer identities and the maintenance of boundaries between consumers and researchers.
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Ward et al. argued that the trend towards consumerism has shaped the commodification of research.
“The metaphor of an 'industrialised' scale of research suggested by our data echoes the similar argument of Ward et al. 39 that the trend towards consumerism has shaped the commodification of research.”
From ReseArch with Patient and Public invOlvement: a RealisT evaluation – the RAPPORT study (2015) · cites this paper as [39]
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- Authors
- Ward, P. R., Thompson, J., Barber, R., Armitage, C. J., Boote, J. D., Cooper, C. L., & Jones, G. L.
- Affiliations
- Flinders University (AU)
- University of Sheffield (GB)
- Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Ward, Paul R.
- Thompson, Jill
- Barber, Rosemary
- Armitage, Christopher J.
- Boote, Jonathan D.
- Cooper, Cindy L.
- Jones, Georgina L.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Sociology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2009-12-16
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 63-82
- ISSN
- 0004-8690 (ISSN-L)
- 1440-7833
- 1741-2978
- OpenAlex
- W2147355894
- Cited by
- 164
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 10.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Locations
- Journal of Sociology (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion)
- White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
- Flinders Academic Commons (Flinders University) (submittedVersion)
- University of Hertfordshire Research Archive (University of Hertfordshire) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mental Health and Patient Involvement
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Community Health and Development
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Keywords
- consumer involvement, health research, knowledge-practice gap, lay knowledge, professional knowledge, researcher experience
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