What is the point of citizen participation in health-care?

Does citizen participation in health care planning and provision have a clear purpose? Can it reasonably be considered a unified phenomenon? Current conceptual accounts – including a range of typologies descended from Arnstein's ubiquitous but misunderstood ‘ladder of participation’ – are inadequate. The popularity of citizen participation belies fundamental uncertainties about what it entails and its associated benefits. A more pragmatic and less normative usage of the term is vital for the future.