Best practices for engaging lived experience experts in dialogues about climate change and mental health: lessons learned from a global effort
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The Connecting Climate Minds global initiative sought to advance research and action at the intersection of climate change and mental health by centering the voices of people with lived experience. METHODS: Through a series of regional and thematic dialogues, Connecting Climate Minds engaged nearly 1,200 participants across seven global regions, including Indigenous communities, smallholder farmers and fisher peoples, and youth. A Lived Experience Working Group guided the integration of lived experience throughout all project components, from co-designing research agendas to producing multimedia storytelling outputs. This perspective reflects on the methodologies, challenges, and lessons learned from Connecting Climate Minds' lived experience engagement, drawing on two global debriefing workshops and extensive project documentation. RESULTS: Key principles that emerged include the importance of appropriately resourcing relationship building ("moving at the speed of trust"), reciprocity, cultural sensitivity, ethical storytelling, and the need for researcher training. The perspective also highlights systemic barriers to meaningful engagement, such as rigid funding structures and institutional resistance to, or inappropriate systems for, power-sharing with impacted communities. By documenting both successes and missteps, this perspective offers practical guidance for researchers, funders, and policymakers committed to inclusive, justice-oriented approaches in climate and mental health research. Ultimately, Connecting Climate Minds demonstrates that centering lived experience not only enriches research quality and relevance but also fosters more equitable and transformative outcomes.
Source: BMC Global and Public Health
Institutions: Stanford Medicine, Stanford University, Curtin University, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of the West Indies, State University of New York, University at Albany, State University of New York, Jubilee Hospital, University of Minnesota, University of Auckland, De La Salle University, Health and Global Policy Institute, St. Luke's Medical Center College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial, SingHealth, National University of Singapore, SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, Duke-NUS Medical School, University of Oxford
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,490
Funder: Wellcome Trust
OpenAlex ID: W7221636261