Hugh Winsor and the Patient Advisory Council • Cardiovascular Network of Canada — CANet
•April 15, 2024

Hugh Winsor and the Patient Advisory Council

Patient Criteria Grid, CANet

What if there was a tool that could bridge the gap between clinical research and patient preferences? How could a structured framework make it easier for patients to feel heard, understood, and involved?  

CANet’s Patient Advisory Council (PAC), a group of partners whose goal is to amplify the voices of patients and caregivers, had those same questions. Enter the patient criteria grid, empowering CANet patient and caregiver partners to take a more active role in which research proposals get funded – outcomes of which could directly impact care for themselves and their loved ones.    

Initially, Hugh Winsor, an integral member of the PAC, was the sole Patient Partner evaluating grant applications from a patient perspective; the other evaluators were healthcare professionals who scored the applications based on their scientific relevance. Hugh jumped at the chance to work alongside his fellow PAC members to develop a formal patient criteria grid, which established minimums for each research proposal seeking funding through CANet to proceed to the next stage. The grid is composed of several patient-relevant categories that count towards 15% of the final applicant score.  

“I felt patient input would be more effective if it were structured, rigorous and consistent.” – Hugh, PAC Member

The grid measures patient-centeredness, patient engagement and how proposals might line up with CANet’s three major goals – empowering (1) patients to manage their own health, (2) caregivers to improve patient care at the bedside and in the community, and (3) health care providers to give timely, effective, and efficient services. Patient evaluation scores are combined with scientific evaluations to produce a final score.

With this process in place to ensure the patient-centredness of CANet-funded research, incorporating patient and caregiver views has become an integral component of CANet’s research evaluation process. Over time, the patient grid has gained increasing recognition and clout, setting a benchmark for patient engagement in research. As a result, it is now accessed by multiple other research funding organizations in Canada, becoming a model for integrating patient perspectives into research decision-making across the country and positively impacting the patient experience. 

“… I wouldn’t have stayed and devoted a lot of time and energy if I hadn’t found that CANet was making a difference in arrhythmia research and treatment.“ Hugh, PAC Member

“Patients bring a very different point of view. Researchers are good at putting themselves in the patient’s shoes but it is never the same as when you have lived it and continue to live it – it is impossible to imagine what that’s like.“ François, Patient & Chair, Board of Directors

For partners like Hugh and François, being involved and working to address unmet gaps in cardiovascular research is very rewarding.

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