Beyond Tokenism
Making Lived Experience Leadership Visible in Co‐Produced Research Authorship
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19507816 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Patte Randal (0000-0002-6097-5542, University of Auckland), Stefan Sebastian Heinz (0009-0002-6374-0420, University of Waikato, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | e70665-e70665 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Health Expectations (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-6513 • E-ISSN: 1369-7625 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/hex.70665 |
| PMID | 41992724 |
| OpenAlex | W7154699662 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 23 |
BACKGROUND: Co-production research values the lived/living experience (LE) of people navigating health challenges. Despite this, traditional academic authorship often disregards power dynamics that participatory research seeks to address. MAIN BODY: This critical reflection argues for centring LE collaborators as first authors in co-production research. We analyse authorship through Foucauldian power/knowledge dynamics, Derrida's deconstructive ethics and Levinasian ethics of responsibility, drawing on Critchley's synthesis of these traditions. This multiple lens reveals a tension: co-production research requires political solidarity ('us') to challenge epistemic injustice, yet demands ethical vigilance to preserve individual voices. The concept of porous solidarity is useful here. Acknowledging the value of experience-based expertise by means of first authorship embodies this framework: it redistributes epistemic authority and shifts research from studies about populations to studies by/with those populations. By centring LE collaborators as first authors and acknowledging the LE of academic researchers, co-production research teams can embody the principle rooted in disability activism, of 'nothing about us without us-leading' in academic literature. This supports epistemic justice, creates solidarity and builds capacity within communities conducting research. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This lived experience-led article was co-produced by two researchers with lived experience. Experiential expertise shaped the conception, argument development, drafting and critical revision of the manuscript and the practical implications presented
Argument (complex analysis) · Experiential knowledge · Experiential learning · Lived experience · Qualitative research · Doctoral Education Challenges and Solutions · Higher Education Practises and Engagement · Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy
Power/Knowledge
Nothing About Us Without UsDisability Oppression and Empowerment
Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education
Writing and Difference
The Subject and Power
Evolving Concepts of Epistemic Injustice
Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence
Reimagining authorship guidelines to promote equity in co-produced academic collaborations
Ableism in academia
| Highly cited | No |
|---|