A research agenda on oral health care as a boundary object that unites the perspectives of patients and practitioners

Summary

CONTEXT: A research agenda for oral health care was established in the Netherlands using the Dialogue Model. This project served as a case study in which we applied boundary-work theory as a framework to understand boundaries (ie demarcations) between and within groups, and how these boundaries can be overcome. OBJECTIVE: To gain insights into the boundaries encountered when setting a research agenda, we analysed how this agenda served as a boundary object (ie circumstances, situations or material that connect actor groups and allow boundary crossing) that facilitated crossing boundaries and uniting the perspectives of patients and practitioners. METHODS: We used a thematic approach to analyse researchers' observations, meeting materials, emails, interviews with patients (n = 11) and a sur