If your research question is too broad, you will have difficulty designing a focused study and collecting data to answer your hypothesis. If it’s too narrow, you will have difficulty finding the appropriate participants. Engaging patients in research is a relatively new aspect of clinical research but has recently shown to improve participant experience and outcomes in clinical trials.*

The B.C. SUPPORT (Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials) Unit is a “multi-partner organization created to support, streamline, and increase patient-oriented research throughout B.C. Patient-oriented research is research that engages patients as partners and focuses on patient-identified priorities with the goals of improving patient experiences, health outcomes, and the health system”. The B.C. Unit is one of ten SUPPORT Units established across the country by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) as part of Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR).

Four Advancing Health Scientists currently serve as Methods Cluster Leads. Under the Methods Cluster structure, experts in specific methodological approaches to patient-oriented research are connected to foster innovation and collaboration.

See the B.C. SUPPORT Unit website for more information about the Unit and the services they provide to researchers to help develop patient engagement plans.

*Baker, RG (2014). Evidence boost: a review of research highlighting how patient engagement contributes to improved care. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Foundation for Health Improvement