INVOLVING STAKEHOLDERS IN HEALTH-SERVICES RESEARCH - DEVELOPING ALBERTA RESIDENT CLASSIFICATION-SYSTEM FOR LONG-TERM-CARE FACILITIES

Little attention has been directed in Canada to identifying stakeholde rs at the administrative policy level to whom relevant health services research information can be targeted. This article describes a case s tudy in which key stakeholders (long-term care facility owners, operat ors, and care providers) were explicitly defined not only as targets o f original research information to inform administrative public policy but also as collaborators in the research process and dissemination o f results. The research involved development of a classification syste m to measure resident care requirements in the province's nursing home s and auxiliary hospitals. The classification system formed the basis of a new government administrative policy for allocating public funds to these facilities based on levels of care. The authors describe the rationale for involving stakeholders in the research process, the role of stakeholders as collaborators, and lessons learned from the Albert a experience. Examples are presented of how stakeholders can contribut e to the health services research process and outcome: by providing ex periential knowledge related to the research outcome, anticipating and overcoming potential problems with policy implementation, facilitatin g policy-oriented learning across stakeholder groups, assisting in the transfer of research information to wider stakeholder audiences, and promoting acceptance for policy change.