Get involved as a health research participant.
How can I get involved in health research?
Patients, caregivers and members of the public have valuable contributions in health research activities. You can get involved in health research by being a patient partner on a research team, or a study participant on a health research study.
Become a patient partner
Patient partners are equal members of research teams and provide input during various steps of a research study. This could include study design, priority setting, gathering and analyzing data, and helping distribute and implement research results.
Patient partners include individuals with personal experience of the health issue or the health system, including informal caregivers, family and friends, and members of the public.
If you are interested in learning more about how to become a patient partner, fill out this inquiry form, or email our patient engagement specialist at the BC SUPPORT Unit Fraser Centre.
You can also visit REACH BC to see additional opportunities to get involved in health research.
Become a study participant
A study participant is a patient who is involved as a subject in research study. For example, you could be a subject in a drug trial or as someone responding to a survey.
Within Fraser Health you could sign up for the consent to contact database. The consent to contact database includes the data of patients and clients who have given consent to have both their contact information and their medical records made available to Fraser Health researchers. This is one way the researchers can find and contact you to participate as a subject or participant in future studies.
Next time you visit one of our sites, ask the registration clerk about the consent to contact database:
- Royal Columbian Hospital
- Jim Pattison Outpatient and Surgery Centre
- Peace Arch Hospital
- Rehabilitation clinics in Surrey Memorial Hospital
You can also find out more about research participant opportunities below:
- REACH BC - Sign up to look for health research opportunities that matter to you and your family, with the possibility of becoming a research participant in a study, or collaborating with researchers as a patient partner.
- BC Health Research Connection project
- Fraser Health Department of Research and Evaluation research study database
- Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute
- Women's Health Research Institute
- It Starts With Me