On being a good listener: setting priorities for applied health services research.

Although there are numerous methods for setting priorities across health services, no equivalent attention has been given to ways of setting priorities for health services research. One of the greatest lessons from setting these priorities is that the involvement of users, while difficult to achieve, is central to clarifying the underlying values and assumptions often buried in technical, data-driven exercises. It also leads the users to greater ownership in and commitment to the eventual priorities. This article applies these lessons to setting priorities for applied health services research, outlined in a six-stage "listening model." The model is then applied to both an English and a Canadian case study, and the lessons from these experiences are summarized.