Abstract:
This Virtual Special Issue on public participation in health policy (http://bit.ly/d1mUrU) contains thirteen articles drawn from Social Science & Medicine over the period 2002–2009. This collection provides a way of tracking the emphases, commonalities, key differences and trends in this area of literature, in which contributors to this journal have made a substantial contribution. In selecting articles for this Virtual Special Issue, a broad definition of public participation was adopted. Each of the search terms ‘public’ and ‘community’ was combined with each of the terms ‘participation, engagement, deliberation and involvement’ published in Social Science & Medicine between 2002 and 2009. From the 126 articles found, articles selected were those that: a) had an explicit focus on health policy, (we ruled out, for example, articles on community-based health promotion as beyond the scope of this particular Virtual Special Issue) and b) had public participation as a major focus, rather than something incidentally touched on c) focused on high-income countries – there is a related literature on public engagement in low and middle income countries that deals with a different range of concerns This introduction to the Virtual Special Issue is organised around a series of questions about public participation that are addressed directly or indirectly by the authors of the articles published: (i) Why is public participation in health policy of interest? (ii) Who constitutes ‘the public’? (iii) What health policy issues are canvassed in exercises of public participation? (iv) Which techniques of public participation are studied? (v) Where to from here in public participation practice and research?