Patient Partners
Meaningful engagement of patients in research and healthcare quality improvement processes is increasingly recognized as vital to enhancing the quality of life for patients. Patients can identify and prioritize questions to help ensure that research studies are relevant and address issues of importance to people living with illness on a daily basis. They can also play an active role to identify gaps in existing health services and address needs through redesigning and improving of services. By partnering with patients and community members, LAH is learning from their lived experiences to help improve care and prevention of airway diseases.
LAH works closely with a group of patient partners who make up the LAH Community Partner Committee (CPC). Through the CPC, LAH has created a collaborative environment that increases opportunities for ongoing and meaningful engagement between patient partners, researchers, and decision-makers.
CPC members participate in patient-oriented research (POR) projects aimed at preventing or improving care for COPD and asthma. POR includes patients as proactive partners in the research process: patient partners help shape research and ensure that outcomes are meaningful to, and improve health care. CPC members also contribute to LAH governance and strategic planning initiatives, as well as interact with each other through a variety of CPC team-building, training, and planning initiatives.
As co-chairs, we are very proud to have joined LAH at its inception as CPC members to walk this exciting and wonderful journey with our fellow community partners, researchers, and clinicians who share the passion in making a difference for people living with COPD and asthma.
Our illnesses did not stop us, and together with the rest of the CPC members, we hope to support other patients with airway health challenges. We will work hard to ensure the success of the LAH initiative, which will benefit the lung health of all British Columbians.
— Anna Rychtera (co-chair), Erin Wiebe (co-chair)
The CPC is composed of individuals who have, who are at risk of developing, or who provide care for someone with COPD or asthma. There members from diverse backgrounds with respect to age, gender, ethnicity, disease type and severity, and geographical region within the province.
The co-chairs play an important role to help nurture a culture of trust, collaboration and transparency within the CPC.