Co-production in mental health care, research, and education: A scoping review of barriers and facilitators.

Co-production, a collaborative approach where stakeholders or end users work as equal partners with professionals to design, deliver, and evaluate services or outcomes, is widely adopted in mental health research to promote more effective and inclusive service design. While often used interchangeably with terms like 'co-design' and 'co-creation,' these words actually denote collaborative practice, civic engagement, community involvement, and participation. This scoping review synthesises current research on the barriers and facilitators to applying a co-production approach in mental health, with a focus on care, research, and education. It was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The review began with 1352 records identified from seven databases. After removing duplicates and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 48 studies published between 2010 and 2025 were included in the final analysis. Thematic analysis revealed eight overarching themes that illustrate the factors influencing co-production. In contrast to previous reviews that examined selected factors facilitating or hindering co-production, this review conceptualises co-production as a dynamic, multi-stakeholder process embedded across diverse mental health contexts. It posits that successful co-production is contingent upon fostering a supportive ecological environment. Creating a co-production ecology requires valuing stakeholders' perspectives, addressing power imbalances, reducing stigma and discrimination, fostering effective communication, building trust and relationships, adopting flexible methodologies, enabling innovative practices, and reflexivity. By characterising this co-production ecology across mental health domains, this review invites future research to develop context-sensitive strategies for building co-creation ecologies in diverse mental health settings.