Co-production in Refugee Research: Navigating Power Dynamics

Refugees are often underrepresented in health and social care research, which in turn can undermine their representation and involvement in the provision of services. Refugee research can be multilayered and complex with challenges that are both explicit and hidden. In order to understand the inherent challenges, we explore the core theme of power and its influence in refugee research. Power imbalances are embedded in many aspects of the lives of refugees, and this can be echoed in the dynamics of research. Power can be experienced through the history, structures, and practice of knowledge production; it can be seen in the exclusion of marginalised voices, and it can be played out in the processes and structures of research partnerships. Within this chapter, researchers are encouraged to challenge the many barriers to inclusion for refugees and address the role of power dynamics in research. Co-produced research, whilst presenting its own difficulties, has enormous potential to create meaningful and situated shared knowledge which enhances the voice and presence of refugees. However, unless researchers challenge their own need for power and address the structural power that surrounds them, they risk exacerbating existing power imbalances.