Diversity, community engagement and co-design in research: a rapid review

There is increasing recognition in the field of health and social care research that community-engaged methods should include patients and the public throughout the research process. Therefore, individuals from all backgrounds should be involved in the research. We explored the public and patient engagement experience in research and how researchers and community groups can work together to make the research process more inclusive and sustainable. We carried out a rapid review and we present three themes from our results as a narrative summary. We found that partnerships and peer support was important for individuals, and it helped them to understand their role and the expectations of stakeholders. Also, using inclusive environments for diverse communities to participate helped individuals to access research training in their communities enabling them to co-create and co-design with facilitators and their community together. Trust was an important factor for diverse community participation in research and was linked to past experiences of taking part in research. We also found that partnerships, innovative methods of information sharing and context of the individual were important facilitators of inclusion. Analysis also indicated that the design of the studies and recruitment approaches such as using flyers, word of mouth, attending health fairs and partnering with non-profit community, led to an increase in diverse population partcipation in research.