Involvement of patients and other stakeholders
Patients can bring an expert voice to health care research through their unique experience and knowledge gained through living with a condition or illness, as well as their experiences with treatments and the health care system. Patient engagement in research is increasingly recognized as being one way to enhance the quality and acceptability of research to advance health care policies and practices. Patient engagement — with patients not as subjects but as collaborative partners — will ensure that patient priorities and perspectives are reflected in research outcomes, with the end goal of increasing relevance of health-related research to patients.
We are going to invite patients with chronic diseases and other stakeholders to collaborate with us in all aspects of the project. Patient involvement ensures better representation of patient perspectives, and it also helps preventing a potential mismatch between their preferences and the scientific focus in our research. Patient engagement in the planning and execution of our research will also improve its translation into clinical practice.
