title: Towards a consumer-informed research agenda for aphasia: preliminary work.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Person-centeredness in clinical practice incorporates the values of clients into a shared decision-making approach. The values of person-centeredness can be extended into the realm of research when the views of consumers towards relevant and important research topics are sought. Work in other health domains has shown the importance of gathering consumer views on health care research, which ultimately extends into health care policy and practice. The purpose of this paper is to report methods used successfully to gather the views of individuals living with aphasia on research topics they view as important.
  
  
  METHODS
  The project is founded on principles of community-based participatory research. Using a modified nominal group technique, members of an aphasia support group generated a list of research topics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Aphasia Support Group identified twenty-two potential research questions. Although a majority (59%) of the research questions generated by persons with aphasia could be addressed with accumulated scientific evidence, the remainder of the generated questions has not been addressed in the research literature.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This project demonstrates that consumers with aphasia can participate as stakeholders in the discussion of research needs in aphasia. Additional work is needed to fully develop a consumer-informed research agenda for aphasia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The perspectives of individuals with post-stroke aphasia on research needs can be successfully collected using nominal group techniques. Consumer input to research agendas and priorities can help to address potential research biases. Clinicians and researchers can use these techniques and other communication supports to foster collaborative, patient-centered care in their practice and work.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of South Florida, Tampa , FL , USA .
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hinckley
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lombard
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bartels-Tobin
mesh_terms: D001037:Aphasia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000379:methods*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012107:Research Design; D012944:Social Support
keywords: Aphasia; consumer participation; patient-centred care