Patient Engagement Projects funded in 2011
Patient Engagement Projects funded in 2011
Through the patient engagement initiative, CHSRF is funding seven intervention projects (see below) in 2011. In addition to support and mentoring, CHSRF’s investment provides $700,000 that is matched by $700,000 from the selected teams through cash or in-kind contributions (applicants were required to secure matching co-sponsorship support).
Impliquer les patients diabétiques dans les services de première ligne [Involving diabetic patients in the improvement of primary care services]
Jacques Ricard, Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de la Montérégie
This intervention project engages diabetic patients through workshops to learn about the services in their territory, engage in the process of identifying needs and finding solutions to improve the services. In additions, they will formulate recommendations to be used by the various decision-making bodies in the local and regional networks. This project is an adaptation of the CoMPAS workshops launched in 2009, geared to persons with diabetes. CoMPAS is a series of reflective workshops where front-line healthcare workers get administrative system-level information about their clients and a profile of health service use in their territory. The information helps with better planning and program implementation as well as fostering interprofessional collaboration.
Engaging patients in evaluating patient experience in addiction and mental health
Shawn Currie, Alberta Health Services
The current patient experience survey used in Alberta Health Services, including addictions and mental health (AMH), is focused on medical, facility-based acute care services. A literature review, an environmental scan and patient focus groups will be used to develop a more appropriate AMH patient experience instrument in order to evaluate these services among adults in Calgary. Patients will be involved in validating the content of the tool and, depending on their preference, could be involved in data collection, analysis, planning for dissemination of the findings and coming up with recommendations around care.
Patients Matter: Engaging patients as collaborators to improve osteoarthritis (OA) care in Alberta
Tracy Wasylak, Alberta Health Services
Three groups of five patients will be recruited and trained to conduct patient engagement projects, the findings of which will be published in Grey Matters magazine, disseminated via patient involvement workshops and written up as recommendations in a brief to the AHS Bone and Joint Clinical Network and the Zone Bone Joint Planning Committee. Having patients involved in the projects and committees dramatically increases knowledge transfer and uptake, and leads to better health outcomes and services. Further, it is expected that this approach could contribute to the image of patients as independent, experts in their own right and contributors to healthcare reform.
The Nova Scotia Cancer Patient Family Network: Innovation, development, evaluation
Theresa Marie Underhill, Cancer Care Nova Scotia
The project team will evaluate the Cancer Patient Family Network and establish a patient engagement advisory group. The group is expected to include cancer patients/survivors/families, program managers and staff, health professionals and researchers. Building on the network evaluation results, they will develop, implement, and evaluate an evidence-based intervention for more effective recruitment and engagement of patients/survivors/families as members, and for novel strategies to promote decision-makers’ and healthcare professionals’ engagement of patients/survivors/families in cancer care system decision-making processes.
Advancing women’s equity through a strategy of meaningful engagement
Mary Elizabeth Snow, Fraser Health
In order to develop a patient engagement model for critical care, mental health and substance use, and older adult programs, interviews will be conducted with an array of women patients in the Fraser Health region to collect narratives about healthcare experiences, priorities and preferred methods of patient engagement. This will be supplemented by interviews with managers on their experiences in patient engagement. The project will establish a mechanism to examine diverse groups of women’s needs and values and have it reflected beyond the patient-practitioner interaction to a broader system level. It is expected to empower participants and decrease inequities.
Engagement of patients/families on hospital unit action councils
Dianne Gaffney, Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance
This project will collect patient narratives to get at core care values which will then be validated by an open community forum. Ten project-initiated unit action councils will develop patient-centred models based on these values. The councils will include patients who contributed narratives and six staff members elected by their peers from each unit of the four community hospitals. As council members, patients will be involved in setting up new processes and structures to reflect the patient-centred models, as well as collecting data to monitor output and evaluating the impact on outcomes.
Responsiveness of care: Patient experiences to shape clinical services
Cathy Risdon, McMaster Family Practice
Results from a patient survey, qualitative interviews (with those self-identifying as living with obesity) on patients’ perceptions of responsiveness of care and a staff survey on attitudes towards, and beliefs about patients with obesity at the McMaster Family Practice will be shared with staff in education sessions on quality assurance. Results will also be used by an advisory group (made up of administrators, clinicians and 4-6 “patient experts” who have obesity and want to participate) to create a list of short- and long-term recommendations. A post-intervention patient survey on responsiveness, the creation of strategies for sustainability by the advisory group and knowledge translation activities will follow.
The purpose of the accompanying research project is to determine lessons learned from the intervention projects and to document promising practices in Canada and around the world. The ultimate goal is to provide Canadian healthcare organizations with recommendations on effective ways to engage patients to improve the quality and delivery of care.