Engagement strategy
Our aim is to build collaborative relationships with people who have lived experiences with a health condition, intervention, or life event, which is a research focus in our lab with the goal of incorporating their diverse perspectives and views throughout the research process.
Patients and people with lived experiences are encouraged to provide their input at the various stages of a research project, including the design, development, and knowledge translation. We hope to contribute to an emerging field that puts patients, families, and/or community perspectives at the center of health research and ensure we consider the voices of those who will be most impacted by our work. As such, our patient partners act as consultants, helping us bridge the gap between research and practice.
Individual patient partner involvement
Our Patient Partner Advisory Committee is currently made up of a diverse group of individuals living with various health conditions who are currently pregnant, have been pregnant, or are trying to conceive. We draw on their unique experiences, values, and views to help inform future research questions, identify priority areas, address unique challenges, and determine preferred ways to disseminate research findings to those who will benefit from this information the most.
Most commonly partners are engaged in our work at the inception of a project, to ensure involvement throughout the project lifecycle. However, engagement depends largely on the demands of a project and the partners’ interests.
Engagement can take on many different forms, including but not limited to:
- Attending discussion circles, focus groups, or workshops.
- Reviewing research designs and providing feedback.
- Supporting grant development.
- Completing surveys questionnaires.
- Attending conferences or seminars with the research team to share research results.
Patient partners can benefit in many ways, including:
- Drawing on their own experiences to influence research directions and topics.
- Help make research more relevant to affected populations.
- Help improve clinical practice.
- Receive compensation for their time and efforts.
Current patient partner opportunities
We are currently recruiting members to join our Patient Partner Advisory Committee. For more details, including eligibility criteria, please visit the Patient Partner Recruitment Call Flyer (PDF).
If you are interested in becoming a patient partner with the IMPOWER Lab, please complete the intake survey, and one of our research members will be in touch with you about next steps.
We engage external committees, organizations, societies, and associations to support our patient partner engagement strategy. These stakeholders support our research projects by connecting us to people with lived experiences within their own networks who may benefit and/or can contribute meaningfully to our studies.
Organizations can benefit from gaining new and current knowledge in perinatal health research which may be of interest to them and their members. The IMPOWER Lab can share research findings with organizations through publications, town hall discussions and/or presentations.
If you are an organization working with individuals living with a medical condition who are pregnant, have previously been pregnant, or trying to conceive, we invite you to email our research team to find out how you can get involved.
Have questions about partnering with the IMPOWER Lab? Contact us.
We gratefully acknowledge our collaborations with, and support from the following organizations:
