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Internationally, lead agencies and consumer movements emphasise the need for high-level research participation in mental health. However, evidence suggests that people with lived experience tend to be recruited as subjects rather than as active agents in research, or are consulted in tokenistic ways. Although participatory research has the potential to rectify epistemic disparities, few studies have grappled with how to move from exclusion and tokenism to high-level research participation. This paper describes a qualitative co-evaluation of a co-produced model of research partnership, Raising the Bar, which involved deliberate establishment and facilitation of six participatory research teams, comprising 28 lived experience and 'conventional' mental health researchers. Findings indicate that the theoretical elements of the model set the bar high from the outset, supporting research teams to address inconsistencies in knowledge about participation. It also provided researchers with the competencies and resources to undertake participatory research in egalitarian team structures, and to negotiate new forms of non-traditional research outputs - thereby challenging whom research might be for and how it might be made accessible. Finally, the model shifted collective meanings about research, lending credibility to participatory practices, which came to be seen as essential for meeting the needs of affected communities. Nonetheless, systemic barriers to participatory research remain, and need to be recognised and acted upon to promote a culture that supports high-level research participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol and other drugs (AOD) use is a significant public health issue and is associated with high mortality and morbidity rates. Despite this, people who use drugs are often reluctant to seek care due to the lack of trauma‐informed treatment and harm reduction treatment options, as well as experiences of stigma and discrimination in health services. Arguably, AOD education that is co‐produced with people who use alcohol and drugs can enhance future health professionals' ability to practice in ways that support the needs of this population. This paper reports on a qualitative co‐evaluation of a co‐produced undergraduate nursing AOD subject. The AOD subject was co‐planned, co‐designed, co‐delivered, and co‐evaluated with experts by experience, who have a lived experience of substance dependence and work as advocates and peer workers. Following the delivery of the subject in 2021 and 2022, focus groups were undertaken with 12 nursing students. Focus group data indicate that the co‐produced subject supported participants to understand and appreciate how stigma impacts on nursing care and how to recognize and undertake 'good' nursing care that was oriented to the needs of service users. Student participants noted that being co‐taught by people who use drugs was particularly powerful for shifting their nursing perspectives on AOD use and nursing care and took learning beyond what could be understood from a book. Findings indicate that co‐produced AOD education can shift nursing students' perceptions of AOD use by providing access to tacit knowledge and embodied equitable and collaborative relationships with people who use drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being admitted to an acute mental health unit can lead to feelings of shame, and loss of personhood for some consumers. Promoting safety for consumers is a function of acute mental health units. This paper explores how consumers' personhood influences their perception and experience of safety in acute mental health units. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants who had previously been admitted to an acute mental health unit. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Participants perceived safety as being intrinsically linked to their personhood. When participants' innate worth was affirmed in their interactions with staff, participants felt safe. Three subthemes were identified: 'Seen as an equal', 'Being respected', and 'Able to make choices'. These findings can be used to inform nursing practices that enhance consumers' sense of personhood and, in so doing, promote consumers' safety and recovery in acute mental health units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]