A New Normal: Integrating Lived Experience Into Scientific Data Syntheses

Lived experience research in mental health incorporates the perspectives of people who live with mental health issues (1, 2). The integration of lived experience perspectives into the research process, from discovery to translation, has a long history, with seminal work in the mental health and clinical research fields emerging over four decades ago [e.g., (3–8)]. Recommendations and guidelines are now available that document how to include a breadth of perspectives and how to form advisory or participatory groups with appropriate representation of the target population (1, 9–11). There is no doubt that significant progress has been made to date to establish the value of lived experience research. One emerging area of integration is within traditional scientific data syntheses such as reviews and meta-analyses. This trend in methodology is moving slowly and has not yet taken hold in the status quo. In the current opinion piece, we identify this gap and build the case for appropriate integration of lived experience in future data syntheses. Such integration can support the identification and development of treatment approaches that align with the needs of those intended to use them.