As a cardiovascular and rural health researcher, educator, and nurse, Dr. Banner-Lukaris has been involved with a wide breadth of research and care, but she sees her work with cardiovascular-respiratory health networks as the catalyst for her interest in patient-oriented research.
Working with an interdisciplinary health network allowed Dr. Banner to experience first-hand the power of a collaborative approach to shaping research. As she began studying the intersection between patient, healthcare providers and researchers, she recognized a gap in knowledge around how best to facilitate and support the patient engagement she was seeing.
Working alongside Principal Knowledge User Audrey L’Espérance, Strategic Advisor and Research Associate at the Centre of Excellence on Partnership with Patients and the Public (CEPPP), Patient Co-Leads Marc Bains, Co-founder of the Heartlife Foundation, Sylvain Bédard, Patient Coordinator at the CEPPP, and a team of researchers healthcare providers and network leaders, Dr. Banner will explore the dynamics of meaningful patient partnerships.
The project will consist of a systematic review, to gain an understanding of what types of organizational supports have worked well. The second phase of research will involve learning from active networks in both Canada and the United Kingdom, two countries with well-established research agendas for patient engagement. Finally, the team will work to develop indicators of engagement capacity which they hope will better inform the organizational structures and supports necessary for meaningful patient engagement.
Dr. Banner has worked alongside Mr. Bains and Bédard on several projects over the past few years, and she credits their passion for patient-advocacy and the perspectives they bring as people with lived-experience as invaluable for shaping her understanding about how research could be undertaken. It’s this type of learning-partnership and foundation for meaningful engagement that Dr. Banner says will allow them to successfully co-create and co-produce outcomes.
Dr. Banner hopes that this research will contribute to the science of patient engagement and provide an opportunity to change perspectives in research and healthcare services in the future.
Learn more about Dr. Banner on her website.