The Lancet Psychology recently requested that its authors provide information on how people with lived experience were involved in the formation of research studies. Clarissa Hoover, project director at Family Voices, provides her perspective on this decision.

The lack of standards or expectations for reporting lived-experience contributions to research is a huge problem. The lack of consistency in reporting makes it very difficult to conduct high-quality literature reviews of how lived experience is incorporated into research partnerships. More importantly, some researchers are making unsupported assertions that they are conducting research working with lived experience partners when in fact they are only completing qualitative or quantitative research on people with lived experience. The Lancet has taken a critical step forward by requiring authors to provide information on the roles that lived experience partners play in their work. We hope that other peer-reviewed journals – and ultimately ALL peer-reviewed journals – will follow their lead in advancing the visibility and quality of lived-experience partnerships in research.

Full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(23)00402-9/fulltext