Akl Elie A, Khabsa Joanne, Petkovic Jennifer, Magwood Olivia, Lytvyn Lyubov, Motilall Ashley, Campbell Pauline, Todhunter-Brown Alex, Schünemann Holger J, Welch Vivian, Tugwell Peter, Concannon Thomas W
Department of Internal Medicine American University of Beirut Beirut Lebanon.
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI) McMaster University Hamilton Ontario Canada.
Cochrane Evid Synth Methods. 2024 Oct 29;2(11):e70007. doi: 10.1002/cesm.70007. eCollection 2024 Nov.
Given the colonial connotations of the term "stakeholder", its continued use may be perceived as disrespectful to Indigenous Peoples. While several groups have introduced alternative terms, each has its own limitations. The objective of this article is to introduce "interest-holders" as an alternative term to "stakeholders" and describe the discussions underpinning the adoption of the new term by the MuSE Consortium.
The MuSE Consortium is an international network of over 160 individuals with interest and expertise in different aspects relevant to engagement in research. Members of MuSE explored alternative terms and considered their respective merits and limitations. The deliberations considered the literature on the topic and the results of two consultations with the wider MuSE membership on the alternative terms.
We define "interest-holders" as groups with legitimate interests in the health issue under consideration. The interests arise and draw their legitimacy from the fact that people from these groups are responsible for or affected by health-related decisions that can be informed by research evidence.
As groups other than the MuSE Consortium have started to adopt "interest-holders," we hope its use will reduce confusion related to the multitude of terms used and convey the intended meaning without any negative connotations.
鉴于“利益相关者”一词具有殖民内涵，继续使用该词可能被视为对原住民的不尊重。虽然有几个团体引入了替代术语，但每个术语都有其自身的局限性。本文的目的是引入“利益持有者”作为“利益相关者”的替代术语，并描述MuSE联盟采用这一新术语的相关讨论。
MuSE联盟是一个由160多名在研究参与相关不同方面拥有兴趣和专业知识的个人组成的国际网络。MuSE的成员探索了替代术语，并考虑了它们各自的优缺点。审议过程参考了该主题的文献以及就替代术语与更广泛的MuSE成员进行的两次磋商结果。
我们将“利益持有者”定义为对所考虑的健康问题具有合法利益的群体。这些利益产生并源于这样一个事实，即这些群体中的人对可由研究证据提供信息的与健康相关的决策负责或受到其影响。
由于除MuSE联盟之外的其他团体已开始采用“利益持有者”，我们希望它的使用将减少与众多使用的术语相关的混淆，并在没有任何负面含义的情况下传达预期含义。
