Introduction Participatory research is a study method that engages patients in research programs, ideally from study design through to dissemination. It is not commonly used in diabetes health services research. Our objectives were to describe the process and challenges of conducting a participatory research project and to highlight the experiences of both patient co-researchers and academic researchers. Research design and methods We recruited people with lived experience of homelessness (PWLEH) and diabetes in Toronto, Canada to become patient co-researchers. They were asked to commit to attending biweekly meetings. We undertook two major research projects: concept mapping to choose a research focus; and photovoice to explore accessing healthy food while homeless. We used a convergent mixed-methods design to evaluate their experience. Results A diverse group of eight PWLEH had an average attendance of 82% over 21 meetings—despite this success, we encountered a number of challenges of conducting this research: funding, ethics approval and recruitment were particularly difficult. Group members reported that participation improved their ability to self-advocate in their diabetes care and provided them with tangible skills and social benefits. Group members stated that they valued being involved in all aspects of the research, in particular knowledge translation activities, including advocating for nutritious food at shelters; presenting to stakeholders; and meeting with policymakers. Conclusions The use of participatory research methods enables academic researchers to support community members in pursuing research that is pertinent to them and which has a positive impact. In our study, co-researchers contributed in meaningful ways and also valued the experience. No data are available. Given the small sample size of this study, it is impossible for the data to be truly anonymized, therefore due to ethical considerations, data are not being made available.

中文翻译：

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使用基于社区的参与式研究方法，让那些有糖尿病和无家可归经历的人有意义地参与

介绍 参与式研究是一种让患者参与研究计划的研究方法，最好是从研究设计到传播。它不常用于糖尿病健康服务研究。我们的目标是描述进行参与性研究项目的过程和挑战，并强调患者共同研究人员和学术研究人员的经验。研究设计和方法 我们在加拿大多伦多招募了具有无家可归 (PWLEH) 和糖尿病生活经验的人作为患者共同研究人员。他们被要求承诺参加每两周一次的会议。我们承担了两个主要的研究项目：概念映射选择研究重点；和 photovoice 探索在无家可归的情况下获得健康食品。我们使用收敛混合方法设计来评估他们的体验。结果 由 8 个 PWLEH 组成的多元化小组在 21 次会议上的平均出席率为 82%——尽管取得了这一成功，但我们在开展这项研究时遇到了许多挑战：资金、伦理批准和招聘特别困难。小组成员报告说，参与提高了他们在糖尿病护理中自我宣传的能力，并为他们提供了切实的技能和社会福利。小组成员表示，他们重视参与研究的各个方面，尤其是知识翻译活动，包括在庇护所倡导营养食品；向利益相关者展示；并与政策制定者会面。结论 参与式研究方法的使用使学术研究人员能够支持社区成员进行与他们相关并具有积极影响的研究。在我们的研究中，共同研究人员以有意义的方式做出了贡献，也很重视这些经验。没有可用数据。鉴于本研究的样本量较小，数据不可能真正匿名，因此出于伦理考虑，无法提供数据。