Table 1 Summary of Literature Review Findings by Level of Engagement

Consult

▪ Identify system-level healthcare gaps and barriers experienced by participants

▪ Collect participants’ ideas for improving services/policies

▪ Inform development of evaluation, collect evaluation data

▪ Users of various healthcare system from diverse backgrounds

▪ Users of specific community-based services

▪ 1-day in-person events

▪ Participants shared health experiences with each other through various discussion formats (e.g. world café, interpersonal conversations, writing and drawing on poster boards)

▪ Solicited ideas by asking what the system is currently like, and how it should ideally be

▪ Participants shared ideas about how healthcare could be made better

[15, 18, 19, 32, 42]

Involve

▪ Create methods to collect concerns/ideas of specific populations about a health service/policy

▪ Inform decision makers about specific communities’ values, preferences, and needs regarding broader system-level issues

▪ Inform management at facility about their patients’ values/preferences/needs

▪ Communities previously excluded or oppressed by healthcare structures, from a variety of backgrounds

▪ People whose voices were historically ignored

▪ Patients participated in the development of communication structures through focus groups and surveys

▪ Engaged community groups to learn about facilitating the patients

▪ Created informational material to enhance participants understanding of the issues

▪ Ongoing dialogue through various formats to identify concerns/hopes, and inform decision makers

[20, 23, 28, 29]

Collaborate

▪ Advise on planning of an initiative for a specific population

▪ Advise health authority how to improve services for a particular population

▪ A diverse range of participants, including members of the population targeted by the initiative, and people who were personally or professionally interested in the issue

▪ Created an advisory panel or committee

▪ Participants attended regular meetings

▪ Provided opportunities for participants to learn about the issue

▪ Participants provided information, advice and feedback about the initiative. Through the process the facilitators responded to this input, creating a cycle of feedback and response over time

[22, 24,25,26,27, 30]

Empower

▪ Plan and implement a community health promotion initiative

▪ Diverse range of participants, including members of the population targeted by the initiative, and people who were personally or professionally interested.

▪ Created a partnership with the participants

▪ Supported partners to plan activities and evaluation criteria of the project

▪ Provided learning opportunities for participants

[21]