HQC has partnered with health regions and post-secondary educational institutions in Saskatchewan to create the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research (SCPOR). Supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), SCPOR brings together a number of organizations to build provincial and national capacity for research that focuses on patient perspectives to inform policy decisions.
HQC leads the Patient Engagement and Empowerment Platform and co-leads the Data Services Platform of SCPOR with eHealth Saskatchewan.
The SCPOR Patient Engagement Platform is housed at HQC. Platform staff collaborate with SCPOR and research teams to increase opportunities for patients and families to participate as active partners in health research. This work includes providing training, supporting recruitment and onboarding of patient and family advisors, and coaching on effective engagement strategies.
The Data Services Platform aims to: 1) improve access to high-quality health related data and information for research and decision-making, 2) develop approaches and tools for capturing data as part of health care work processes, and 3) establish networks of data analysts, decision support personnel, patient/family advisors, clinicians, researchers, and learners. Through this partnership, Platform staff are working with researchers and health system partners to develop new ways to use data to generate evidence for decision-making. For example, by using computer simulation modelling to test various possible interventions, the team determined the key to reducing waits in Emergency is to shorten patients’ length of stay in hospital.
Are you a patient, family member or caregiver, researcher, policy maker, or graduate student interested in getting involved in patient-oriented research? Visit SCPOR’s web site to learn more.