Research briefs as tools for dialogue: Practitioner insights on a realist review of community engagement

Background We conducted a realist review to understand the causal dynamics of how community engagement is practiced in low and middle-income country settings, drawing on malaria research as the entry point. Community engagement practitioners and an advisory board provided input at multiple points of the review. In this paper, we share our experiences of gathering community engagement practitioners’ inputs on a research brief that we developed as part of disseminating our findings. We explored the perceived relevance of the review findings to their work and drew on their insights to refine the findings. Methods We used a combination of key informant interviews and reflective workshops to stimulate dialogue. We engaged 74 community engagement practitioners and researchers working in seven research centres located in six low and middle-income countries. Each centre has multi-disciplinary programmes supported in part by Wellcome funding, including dedicated funding for community engagement. Results Participants felt that the review findings resonated strongly with their work and made more visible some of the ambiguities and conceptual complexities in community engagement that they had experienced but found hard to describe. Engagement practitioners valued having dedicated time to review the findings and reflect on their own practices and provided many practical examples of the findings. A visual representation of the findings was a particularly useful focal point for discussion and helpful to initiate reflections, for example, on the influence of power on everyday research interactions. Unpacking conceptual terminologies helped us clarify the findings of the review, understand their potential application, and identify cross-site learning. Conclusion Community engagement practitioners valued the spaces for reflection on their own practice that also recognised the complexities and ethical dilemmas they face as part of their work. Our realist review and the revised research brief were strengthened and evolved through this process of engagement.