Journal article
Mixed methods systematic review of consumer engagement in rural health practice, research, and education
Health Promotion International, Vol.40(4), pp.1-15
2025
PMCID: PMC12394724
PMID: 40878441
Abstract
This systematic review aimed to synthesize evidence on consumer engagement in rural health practice, research, and education. It was conducted using the JBI mixed methods methodology, specifically the convergent integrated approach. PubMed, PsychINFO, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, Web of Science, EMBASE, and CINAHL were searched, along with gray literature sources-Google, ProQuest Dissertation, and Theses Global. Primary research studies published globally in English, from 2011 to 2024 were included. Dual reviewer screening occurred in two stages, title and abstract, then followed by full text. Critical appraisals of included studies were undertaken using McMaster Critical Appraisal Tool for quantitative and qualitative studies, respectively, and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Extracted data was synthesized to develop themes for reporting per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. This review identified 25 studies that explored the top three levels of consumer involvement in rural healthcare settings, namely Partnership, Involving, and Consumer-led, adapted from the 2011 National Framework for Consumer Involvement in Cancer Control. Five key themes were developed from the data: positive impacts of co-design, importance of relationship building, sustainability of interventions, power issues in co-design, and the importance of context. Findings showed that interventions utilizing the top three partnership levels (consumer-led, partnership, and involving) consistently lead to positive impacts on health outcomes of rural communities with higher levels of sustained engagement. Enablers and barriers were identified and categorized into a macro, micro, and meso framework for direct comparison between studies. Rural healthcare initiatives involving consumer engagement appear to have several benefits including strengthening community-researcher relationships, enhanced sustainability, and enriching local contexts while addressing power imbalances to enhance healthcare outcomes.
Details
- Title
- Mixed methods systematic review of consumer engagement in rural health practice, research, and education
- Authors
- Talisker Broadhurst - Queensland HealthYu Jin Cha - The University of QueenslandCaitlin Bartlett - The University of QueenslandJohanna Van Heerden - The University of QueenslandLauren Smith (Corresponding Author) - The University of QueenslandLucylynn Lizarondo - The University of AdelaideMatthew McGrail - The University of QueenslandBushra Nasir - The University of QueenslandAdam Hulme - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteSrinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan - The University of QueenslandPriya Martin - The University of Queensland
- Publication details
- Health Promotion International, Vol.40(4), pp.1-15
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1093/heapro/daaf140
- ISSN
- 1460-2245
- PMID
- 40878441; PMC12394724
- Copyright note
- © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.
- Data Availability
- All data available is included in the main text and Supplementary tables.
- Organisation Unit
- Thompson Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991164945602621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Health Policy & Services
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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