2.3 Effects, Facilitators, and Barriers of Research Coproduction Reported in Peer‐Reviewed Literature

Identifying the effects, facilitators, and barriers of research coproduction is important for understanding how research coproduction works, planning and conducting coproduction, and its evaluation. We conducted a rapid review of peer-reviewed literature on research coproduction in healthcare published from 2016 until late 2020. We identified seven types of coproduction effect: on the research process, on relationships among those involved in coproduction, on the individuals involved in coproduction, on the results or output of research, on practices and programs, on communities, and effects on policies and systems. When examining facilitators and barriers, we determined that they could be organized as overarching factors that could serve as positive or negative influences on research partnerships, depending on the circumstances. We arranged facilitators and barriers into four categories: individual-level factors, relationship factors, process factors, and system factors. When examining our findings, we noted that many facilitators and barriers are also effects of coproduction, suggesting a need for further study to identify a causal pathway. Our findings can help inform the practice of research coproduction by highlighting potential key ingredients to optimize the conduct coproduction and, in turn, enhance positive effects. Advances in reporting standards and more consistent evaluation practices can help optimize the study of research partnerships, as will a more nuanced understanding of the conditions, contexts, and actions that lead to optimal outcomes, producing more relevant, useful, and used research findings in healthcare.