Stakeholder involvement in dementia research: A qualitative approach with healthy senior citizens and providers of dementia care in Germany

Engaging stakeholders in health-related research is becoming commonplace internationally and is increasingly considered best research practice to improve care management services. Many different groups have a stake in dementia care, but the evidence base for stakeholder involvement in dementia research is still small. The aim of this study was to explore views of two major stakeholder groups of dementia care in research priority setting and how they would want to be involved in dementia research. Group discussions were carried out with 47 participants divided into two groups: (a) healthy senior citizens and (b) providers of dementia care. Ensuing responses were analysed using descriptive content analysis. The main research interest of both groups was similar, but senior citizens and providers of dementia care varied in how they perceived the roles of researchers and stakeholders involved. Groups also differed with respect to the amount of time they would be willing to invest into research. The results contribute to our knowledge of group-specific stakeholder priorities and attitudes regarding participatory involvement in dementia research.