Patients as Partners in the Hospital Setting: Engagement Methods in Research, Quality Improvement and Beyond

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Patient Engagement
• Research Methodology

Background:

• Meaningful patient and family engagement in research, from topic generation onwards, offers significant benefits.
• Engagement improves research relevance for service recipients and fosters accountability and transparency.
• Despite potential advantages, health informatics researchers have not consistently adopted patient and family engagement methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline diverse methods for engaging patients and family members throughout the health informatics research process.
• To provide practical, real-world examples of patient and family engagement in health informatics research.
• To encourage wider adoption of patient and family engagement in health informatics.

Main Methods:

• Panel discussion format.
• Presentation of various patient and family engagement strategies.
• Case study examples from Canada and the United States.

Main Results:

• Identification of actionable methods for patient and family engagement in health informatics research.
• Demonstration of successful engagement through real-life case studies.
• Highlighting the importance of collaboration between researchers, patients, and families.

Conclusions:

• Patient and family engagement is crucial for relevant and transparent health informatics research.
• Implementing diverse engagement strategies can overcome barriers to participation.
• Successful engagement models exist and are applicable in various health informatics research settings.