Intergenerational Wisdom in Family Engagement: Learning, Sharing, and Building

By Rae Martens

Family engagement in research has grown enough over the past few years to be an ecosystem of continued learning. What has also begun to grow is the range of people involved. Some of us have been doing this work for years, growing what continues to be a social movement. Others are just beginning, in some cases learning lessons we had to learn and in other areas bringing a fresh lens to the work ahead. This mix of experience levels is a gift, but only if we treat it as one.

Too often, engagement work remains focused on the immediate project, without much thought to knowledge transfer between generations of patient partners. That’s a missed opportunity. We need deliberate spaces for mentorship, spaces where wisdom is shared, seats are offered to others and growth is mutual.

Experienced patient partners carry knowledge that isn’t written down anywhere save for the methodological in literature: how to navigate research systems, recognize performative inclusion, negotiate authorship, and protect your energy. The common psychosocial challenges faced by people with lived experience. That hard-won wisdom can help newer partners find their footing with fewer bumps along the way. While some of this wisdom makes it to the literature, is this the space where people immediately go to learn? I’d argue that a support community is a stronger tool that complements the wisdom gained in literature.

At the same time, newer partners challenge the status quo. They bring urgency, new language, and bold ideas that can push all of us to think differently about what engagement could be, not just what it has been.

Mentorship is an area deserving of clear pathways for how we can build the necessary infrastructure to support people with lived experience. Until we work on that, we need to consider how we can support new people with lived experience in the work of family engagement.

If you’ve been doing this work for a while: reach out. Offer to mentor someone newer to the space. That might look like informal check-ins, or just being a sounding board when things get complicated. Your experiences can help others avoid harm, and feel less alone.

If you’re newer: don’t be afraid to ask for mentorship. Ask about how decisions get made, what to expect in a partnership, and what rights you have in a space. Your questions are powerful. They can uncover assumptions and start important conversations.

We all have something to teach, and something to learn.

Mentorship doesn’t just happen. It needs infrastructure. That means funding time for experienced patient partners to mentor others. It means embedding peer support into engagement strategies and recognizing mentorship as a legitimate form of contribution.

Ask:

• Can we build mentorship into onboarding processes for patient partners?

• Can we support peer-led communities of practice?

• Are we creating space for newer partners to lead, with support behind them?

If we want engagement that lasts, we need systems that sustain people.

Intergenerational wisdom isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity in a movement that still depends too much on individual stamina. Let’s build a culture of mutual learning, one where experience is shared, energy is renewed, and everyone has someone in their corner.

Mentorship is how we grow the movement,

and how we take care of each other while doing it.