Engaging people with lived experience in all stages of a research project ensures that the research being conducted has a real impact on those affected and their loved ones. As mentioned by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research,
‘Involving stakeholders in the research team can bring a lots of benefits such as : new perspectives on the research team, appreciating patient knowledge both lived and relevant experiences, understanding research priorities and outcomes that are important to patients and their families, opportunities to engage a wider community of patients, new research partnership possibilities and learning opportunities for the next generation of researchers. The Pain Network is working closely with patient partners in all its activities and initiatives.’ (Reference)
The Pain Network relies heavily on its close collaboration with patient partners for its activities and initiatives.

Your resources
You will find on this page a list of resources to help you integrate people with lived experience into every stage of the research process, to ensure that pain research meets the needs of those who are affected by pain.

Your network
The Pain Network is grateful to work with many people living with pain and their caregivers. We have launched a platform to connect our members with people with lived experience and encourage collaborations.
Your resources
Find below a list of resources to help you involve people with lived experience of pain throughout the research process.
- The Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) produced a series of patient engagement training modules to encourage patient partners’ engagement in research. Read more
- The University of Toronto has developed a detailed guide outlining the steps to be taken to include people with lived experience in the research process, including preparing to engage, set clear objectives, explore engagement methods, reflect on who you want to engage, start engaging and patient partner compensation. Read more
- The Hatching Ideas Lab presents the levels of patient engagement in research such as collaborating in writing grant proposals, developing study protocols, developing resources through knowledge mobilisation and much more. Read more
- The Quebec Chronic Pain Association (AQDC) organizes a provincial conference about patient engagement with Amy Doucet and Anaïs Lacasse. Find out more (in French).
- The Unité de soutien SSA (The Unit) offers a number of training possibilities aimed at effectively integrating patient partners into a continuous improvement approach to improve care. Find out more (in French)
- The Guide pour chercheures et chercheurs : des partenariats plus porteurs avec les patientes, les patients et les membres de la communauté of the Université de Sherbrooke. Find out more (in French)
- The Projet Engage of the Centre de recherche Université de Sherbrooke to support the engagement of people experiencing exclusion in society and in research. Find out more (in French)
Your network
We strongly encourage you to work with people with lived experience of pain and ensuring that you have a wide range of perspectives in your research. It is equally important to regularly integrate new people with varied expertise into this patient partner role, to ensure you have new insights tailored to the research that you are conducting. Do not hesitate to reach out to us so we can better help you integrate it in your research. We can help you put in touch with patient partners.