The Use of the Involvement Matrix as a Communication Tool: Experiences and Lessons Learned From Family-Researcher Partnerships

In the field of childhood disability research, there is an important shift towards engaging with patients and families who have the lived experience of a disability. To build authentic relationships with family partners, there should be clear communication throughout all study phases. To our knowledge, the Involvement Matrix is to the only tool to guide conversations about expectations and roles of family partners. This project aims to share the experiences of research teams in Canada and the Netherlands about when and how the Matrix was used. We will interview youth, parents, and researchers who have partnered together to ask about their experiences with the Matrix to design and conduct studies, and their reflections after the study was completed. We plan to share our findings through publications, oral presentations, and videos. We hope that the sharing of these experiences can guide others to use the Matrix to build researcher-family partnerships.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jan Willem Gorter

Student:

Partner:

Utrecht University

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

McMaster University

Program: