New BMJ-series: Lived Experience as Expertise

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has launched a new series titled “Lived Experience as Expertise” which was co-developed with World Health Organization’s Global Coordination Mechanisms on Noncommunicable diseases (WHO GCM/NCD). The collection includes several opinion pieces and an analysis on the importance of meaningfully engaging people living with NCDs, mental health, and neurological conditions in the design, delivery, and evaluation of health policies and services.

The series builds on the principles outlined in the WHO Framework on Meaningful Engagement of People Living with NCDs, Mental Health and Neurological Conditions, published in May 2023, and the case studies of the WHO Intention to Action series. The BMJ collection marks a major steppingstone in advancing meaningful engagement of people lived experience as a fundamental, rights-based, and people-centered approach in global health governance and systems strengthening. The series acknowledges the importance of lived experience as essential expertise and evidence, and explores pathways to systematically integrate, advance and sustain this form of leadership and knowledge production in research practices.

Knowledge

WHO framework for meaningful engagement of people living with noncommunicable diseases, and mental health and neurological conditions

Knowledge

Intention to action series: Regional reflections. Analysis from informal regional consultations with people living with noncommunicable diseases and mental health conditions

Knowledge

Intention to action series: People Power. Perspectives from individuals with lived experience of noncommunicable diseases, mental health conditions and neurological conditions

About the collection

Led by people with lived experience and co-authored with WHO and other global health experts, the collection explores key challenges and enabling factors for meaningful engagement, with a specific focus on contextual aspects across countries and contexts. The articles address the following topics:

• Co-creating dementia care plans in the Western Pacific
• Meaningful engagement and access to insulin in Ukraine
• Inclusion of LGBTQI+ lived expertise in mental health services.
• The role of civil society and people with lived experience in decolonising global health
• Advocating for person-centered language in diabetes care
• Supporting obesity prevention in Latin America

Next Steps

As meaningful engagement becomes more visible across global health and academic spaces, challenges remain around how lived experience is utilized and integrated. Processes and platforms that shape policy and build the evidence base - such as research publications, peer review systems, and academic institutions - are still evolving to fully reflect and embed the knowledge and expertise of people with lived experience.

WHO, guided by its Framework on Meaningful Engagement and the 77th World Health Assembly resolution on social participation, continues to work with institutions, partners, and collaborators to promote more inclusive systems that recognize diverse forms of expertise, reduce barriers to participation, avoid tokenism, and uphold rights-based, participatory approaches. For example, since 2023 WHO has supported five countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region to operationalize the framework on meaningful engagement. Additionally, ahead of HLM4, the WHO Symposium on Meaningful Engagement of People Living with NCDs, Mental Health and Neurological Conditions co-created an advocacy toolkit with key messages from more than 450 advocates across 85 countries.

Building on the momentum of the launch, WHO is exploring a webinar series that will spotlight contributors to the BMJ collection and unpack thematic discussions emerging from the articles. The series will serve as a platform to reflect on persistent challenges and explore pathways to embed lived experience more systematically into global health evidence, policy, and practice.