The IMPAQT Project: Reflections on a Participatory Research Mechanism

Over the last forty years, many methodologies have been initiated within the framework of the participatory approach, the objective of which is to encourage the involvement of citizens in the definition and implementation of projects and policies concerning them. The implementation of these participatory approaches in the field of interventional research in population health reveals several scientific, organizational, inter-individual, and ethical issues that must be discussed. Thus, we propose to present here the fruit of a collective reflection of the members of a research group, composed of patient-researchers and researchers in social psychology, on the implementation of the IMPAQT research project, which aimed to promote a community-based research approach in oncology. The discussion will be structured around three topics: the implementation of the participatory research mechanism, the sustainability of the commitment involved in participating in research, and the valorization of the participation of the patient-researchers. These issues are particularly important to consider in guiding the implementation of a solid and balanced partnership with those concerned in the co- construction of interventional research devices in cancerology.