Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Department of Psychiatry, Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Health Expect. 2022 Feb;25(1):38-47. doi: 10.1111/hex.13384. Epub 2021 Nov 8.
Mixed methods research studies continue to pervade the field of health care, where pragmatism as a research paradigm and patient-oriented research (POR) as an engagement strategy are combined to strengthen the process and outcomes of the research. Pragmatists use the most appropriate research methods to address issues at hand, where complex social problems need multipronged approaches. As an emerging healthcare research strategy, POR actively engages individuals with lived experience across all stages of the research process. While POR continues to garner attention within mixed-methods research designs, there is a paucity of literature that considers POR in relation to pragmatism.
As POR grows in popularity within the field of health care, there is a need to explore the theoretical and epistemological alignment with pragmatism and the implications to research.
To address this need, we provide a critical review of the literature to examine the synergies between POR and pragmatism, and argue for the adoption of pragmatism as a paradigm for conducting POR.
This article begins with a discussion of the philosophical underpinnings informing the pragmatic paradigm. It then identifies key alignments between POR and pragmatism across three intersecting concepts: democratic values, collaborative approaches to problem-solving and the pursuit of social justice.
Reflecting on our experiences engaging with patient partners in a mixed-methods POR study titled READY2Exit, we illustrate the relevance of pragmatism to POR by applying these concepts to practice. Implications and considerations for conducting POR within the pragmatic paradigm are also described.
This paper provides a critical review of the literature and did not directly involve patients or the public. The authors reflected on their experiences collaborating with five young adult patient partners in the READY2Exit study (case exemplar described in this article) to demonstrate the relevance of the pragmatic paradigm to POR. We acknowledge and thank the young adult patient partners for their contributions to the research, for encouraging us to think critically about patient engagement in research, and for sharing their experiences.
混合方法研究继续在医疗保健领域盛行，其中实用主义作为一种研究范式和以患者为中心的研究（POR）作为一种参与策略相结合，以加强研究的过程和结果。实用主义者使用最合适的研究方法来解决当前的问题，因为复杂的社会问题需要多管齐下的方法。作为一种新兴的医疗保健研究策略，POR 积极地让有生活经验的个人参与到研究过程的各个阶段。虽然 POR 在混合方法研究设计中继续受到关注，但关于 POR 与实用主义的关系的文献却很少。
随着 POR 在医疗保健领域的普及，有必要探讨与实用主义的理论和认识论一致性以及对研究的影响。
为了满足这一需求，我们对文献进行了批判性回顾，以检查 POR 与实用主义之间的协同作用，并主张采用实用主义作为进行 POR 的范式。
本文首先讨论了指导实用主义范式的哲学基础。然后，它确定了 POR 和实用主义在三个相交概念上的关键一致性：民主价值观、解决问题的协作方法和对社会正义的追求。
通过将这些概念应用于实践，我们反思了在一项名为 READY2Exit 的混合方法 POR 研究中与患者伙伴合作的经验，说明了实用主义对 POR 的相关性。还描述了在实用主义范式内进行 POR 的影响和考虑因素。
本文对文献进行了批判性回顾，并没有直接涉及患者或公众。作者通过反思他们与五位年轻成年患者伙伴在 READY2Exit 研究中的合作经验（本文中描述的案例范例），展示了实用主义范式对 POR 的相关性。我们感谢并感谢年轻的成年患者伙伴对研究的贡献，感谢他们鼓励我们对研究中的患者参与进行批判性思考，并分享他们的经验。
