JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Peer review, a process that includes providing feedback and insights to authors, is purported to help strengthen manuscripts and research proposals. Including patient partners in peer review is a way to increase the diversity of reviewers and quality of reviews. In this Viewpoint, we illustrate the impact of including patient partners as peer reviewers in the publishing and grant funding areas using four examples from our own experience. First, patient partner peer reviewers bring different, complementary perspectives and experiences. The lived experiences, knowledge, and expertise they bring adds to the experience, knowledge, and expertise that academic reviewers contribute. Second, patient partner reviewers have distinctly different motivations than their academic counterparts, with perspectives grounded in “my life” versus “my career,” which leads to valuable discussions and feedback. Third, when patient partners are included, peer review works better for everyone. This includes stepping back to plan and design peer review differently (e.g., allowing for more time, or more breaks), and better accounting for accessibility, which benefits everyone. And finally, capacity building and confidence in peer review ‘spills over’ to other roles for patient partners. This is a two-way street, with patient partner and academic reviewers benefiting from working and learning together in this well-planned; more equitable and inclusive; and safer space. Some peer reviewers will take what they have learned beyond this setting. To better support patient partners as peer reviewers, we believe a few tangible and realistic steps need to be taken, including: training for and resources co-created with patient partner peer reviewers (and other reviewers), support for patient partners to contribute to the peer review process, and evidence collected about the impact of patient partners being involved in peer review. Patient partner peer reviewers can improve how research is done by bringing different types of knowledge and ways of knowing that complement the expertise of other reviewers. Their input, expertise and insights impact the evidence base of funded research and influence how evidence is used. These impacts are a win for everyone in research and health care. We believe the people who are most impacted by research have the right to be involved in the process.