Patient Engagement Starts withPatient-Centered Research

Implementing patient engagement in healthcare

is becoming more and more common, but in order

for us to fully optimize patient engagement

techniques, we need to be performing better

research. We need to better understand the

patient’s perspective so that we can fully take

advantage of any potential gaps in the patient

experience.

It’s time to move past taking the easy

road and to get them involved. In light

of such, I have highlighted a couple

projects in particular using creative

ways to recruit clinician feedback:

M A K E R E S E A R C H E A S Y

The researchers sought out patients suffering from

chronic pain and offered acupuncture services in

addition to other integrative treatment approaches.

More specifically, the study wanted to compare the

effects of group acupuncture (acupuncture with

multiple patients in a room) with one­on­one

acupuncture.

One such project workedwith urban low-income

community health centers

Considering how busy these clinics are, itonly makes sense that clinicians wouldnot want to volunteer to take on extraresponsibility and report findings to a

third party.

Diane McKee, MD, MS, of Albert EinsteinCollege of Medicine in Manhattan,

remembers “offering acupuncture to patientswho wouldn’t otherwise have access to it wasnot a hard sell to the clinics’ doctors. Trickier

was squeezing the service into the bustlingclinic.”

That’s why the research teammade it as easy as possible forclinicians to recommend the

study. All clinicians had to do wasidentify patients with chronic

pain and ask whether or not theywould be interested in

acupuncture. From there, theresearch team and acupuncture

therapists would attend clinicmeetings, keep clinicians up­to­

date with the process, andcommunicate stories about theeffectiveness of the treatment.

C O M I N GT O G E T H E RW I T H T H EC O M M U N I T Y .

Another project in Philadelphia is

analyzing whether or not

community health workers can

help improve treatment for

patients with chronic diseases.

The research team realized that

there was something missing

from their study—connection.

Patient groups were meeting with their advisors and then their clinicianinstead of meeting them both at the same time. This posed an issue because

it meant things were lost in translation. Patients were not being properlyinformed of the “specific logistical details of the intervention and

improvements” the study might make.

In response to this, the study began holding town hall meetings where patientscould describe their experience, community health workers could explain

their side of things, and the patient advisors and clinicians could work togetherto come up with solutions. Afterward, the research group was able to articulate

logistical problems as well as understand stakeholders truly valued.

Clinicians have potentially the most insightful feedback to give,and yet they go neglected very often in studies because of their

demanding schedules. If we are able to transcend this barrier, wemay be to improve healthcare far faster than we ever thought

possible.