The top research questions asked by people with lived depression experience in Alberta: a survey

To support patient-oriented setting of priorities for depression research in Alberta, the Patient Engagement Platform of the Alberta Strategy for Patient Oriented Research's Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials Unit and Alberta Health Services' Addiction and Mental Health Strategic Clinical Network, along with partners in addictions and mental health, designed the Alberta Depression Research Priority Setting Project. The aim of the project was to survey patients, caregivers and clinicians/researchers in Alberta about what they considered to be the most important unanswered questions about depression.

The project adapted the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership method into a 6-step process to gather and prioritize questions about depression posed by people with lived depression experience, which included patients, caregivers, clinicians and health care practitioners.

Implementation of the project, from initial data collection to final priority setting, took 10 months (August 2016 to June 2017). A total of 445 Albertans with lived experience of depression participated, ultimately identifying 11 priority depression research questions spanning the health continuum, life stages, and treatment and prevention opportunities.

This project is a fundamental step that has the potential to positively influence depression research. Including the voices of Albertans with lived experience will create advantages for depression research for Albertans, researchers and research funders, and for patient engagement in the research enterprise overall.