Table 2.

Boundaries, strategies and the role of the research agenda

Stakeholders	Boundary	Strategy/reaction	Role of research agenda
General	Possible lack of support for the research agenda	Engagement of stakeholders from the start of the project and during the entire process (eg via structural stakeholder meetings during project)	Setting the research agenda created the involvement of different stakeholders in the agenda‐setting process
	Reach representative group of patients and practitioners	Inclusion and transparency; Dialogue Method	Creating a research agenda via the Dialogue Method ensured representation of patients and practitioners
Patients	Difficulty in reaching oral health‐care patients because they are not a well‐organized patient group	Focus groups with patients with chronic diseases (for which a patient organization or patient platform exists)	Research agenda setting created awareness of oral health‐care issues among patients (with and without chronic diseases)
	The perception of patient organizations that oral health was not a topic of interest for their patients	Bottom‐up recruitment strategies: approaching individuals (via social media or patient meetings) with specific interest in the topic	Awareness is created among patient organizations that oral health‐care problems are important to patients because they influence wellbeing/quality of life
	Diversity of oral health‐care patients	Initial consultation of patients per chronic disease group, where after a survey among broader group of patients was conducted	Research agenda setting stimulated patients to think about a variety of issues related to oral health care. Discussing and recognizing oral health‐care problems made it possible for them to learn from each other
Patients and practitioners	The difference in perspectives and interests of patients and practitioners	Consult each actor group separately, then have a consensus meeting	Creating a research agenda via dialogue ensured that shared topics were prioritized
	Uncertainty about the value of patient involvement	Gradually increase the role of patients in the project: step‐by‐step introduction. Meetings were moderated in a way that meant patient input was secured and valued	Research agenda setting made the patients and practitioners involved realize that patients can supply valuable information from their experiences
Practitioners	Unfamiliarity of oral health‐care practitioners with research agenda setting	Consult patients and practitioners separately and sequentially	Setting the research agenda resulted in the involvement of practitioners in the agenda‐setting process
	Lack of urgency for a research agenda	Emphasis on communication about the project and long‐term benefits for the individual professional as well as the profession	The research agenda created awareness that increased evidence was needed for oral health care
	Practitioners prefer topics that fit their own specialty	Design of the survey: maximum of 2 topics per domain in the top 10	Research agenda setting stimulated practitioners to broaden their focus and to reflect on uncertainties in daily practice