The BC SUPPORT Unit, part of Michael Smith Health Research BC, has received a grant extension from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to continue embedding lived experience in research in the province.
The grant extension was made possible because of strong collaboration and partnership. The BC SUPPORT Unit is grateful for one-to-one match funding contributions from the BC government, Simon Fraser University, Arthritis Research Canada, the British Columbia Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research, and BC’s regional health authorities, bringing the total grant value to $12.8M for the province of BC through March 2028.
The funding enables the BC SUPPORT Unit to continue carrying out work in several key areas:
- Seniors’ care to bring proven approaches into everyday settings to help seniors age comfortably at home, reducing the strain on the health system
- Training modules to support more inclusive health research
- Indigenous-led health research that responds to community priorities in partnership with Indigenous research organizations
- Data platform services through data-enabled initiatives inclusive of the Health Data Platform BC and UBC’s Artificial Intelligence and Technology-Enhanced Care Collaboration Centre (AiTECCC) for efficient data analysis and research-ready data
- Empowering people to participate in health research through initiatives such as REACH BC and Citizen Science
The continued funding helps improve BC’s capacity for patient-oriented research. That means research that incorporates people with lived experience as partners – deciding priorities and influencing study design.
“This feels like a powerful validation of everything we have built together. It is a renewed commitment to putting patients at the heart of health research,” says Swapnil Shah, a Lived Experience Partner with the BC SUPPORT Unit.
“Patient voices can drive more equitable, relevant research,” Swapnil says. “This extension gives us the opportunity to deepen that impact and create lasting change.”
“The extended funding from CIHR recognizes the critical importance of sustained investment in patient-oriented research,” says Danielle Lavallee, Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President, Research and Innovation, Health Research BC. “Bridging the gap between evidence production and its use by those who need remains a pressing challenge. Health Research BC is drawing from the insights and learnings from the BC SUPPORT Unit in how we evolve as a research funder.”
Monica Mamut, Unit Director of the BC SUPPORT Unit, adds that incorporating lived experience strengthens research.
“By working together, we draw a line of sight between our research questions, methods, and implementation strategies to the voices of those who benefit – helping us create better evidence and deliver better care,” she says.
Established in 2016, the BC SUPPORT Unit works to move research evidence into practice in collaboration with patients and communities, as the voices of lived experience. It is part of Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR). As part of the national SPOR community, the BC SUPPORT Unit has built a strong foundation for patient-oriented research in BC. Now, its ongoing work focuses on sustainability so that patient-oriented research practices can be integrated across BC’s health and health research systems.
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