Over the past two decades, there has been a notable shift in health care where health care professionals are partnering with patients and families to improve outcomes and experiences at the point-of-care as well as at the organizational level. More recently, researchers are becoming interested in collaborating with patients and families. Just being willing to invite patients and families to partner in research doesn’t guarantee that the process of working together is a meaningful collaborative endeavor or that it is effective. This section explores key strategies for building a strong foundation for successful partnerships.

Highlight from the Field: INSPIRE

In 2015, a team from the Comparative Effectiveness Research Translation Network (CERTAIN) Patient Advisory Network at University of Washington received a PCORI grant to build and support infrastructure for effective patient-researcher collaborations. The Initiative to Support Patient Involvement in Research (INSPIRE) conducted interviews with 37 patients and researchers actively engaged in PCOR to:

  • Identify existing tools, trainings and resources to support patient-researcher partnerships (Phases I/II).
  • Prioritize needs for partnership support and develop and disseminate resources where gaps exist via the CERTAIN Patient Advisory Network INSPIRE Research Portal (Phase III/IV).

Their portal provides easy access to existing tools and resources for the PCOR community to learn from and connect with each other.

INSPIRE Research Portal Women in front of poster