UCalgary health research training program seeks to amplify patient and community voices

A University of Calgary research and training program is aiming to grow innovative health research that is directly informed by the lived experiences of patients and community members. 

What is PaCER?

PaCER, the Patient and Community Engagement Research program, is a three-course, online certificate program that has introduced an innovative way of training patients and members of the public to conduct patient-led health research. Learners in the program work together as part of sponsored teams. Teams can be sponsored by academic and clinician researchers, patient and community organizations, and provincial and jurisdictional health organizations.

The program is supported by the Alberta Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research SUPPORT Unit (AbSPORU) Patient Engagement Team, and the Person-Centred Care Research Team at the Cumming School of Medicine under the academic leadership of Dr. Maria J. Santana, PhD. The program is delivered by University of Calgary Continuing Education.

PaCER is looking for health researchers to sponsor PaCER teams of patient and community members, to advance patient-centred health research and health care practice and policy.

Many PaCER learners join the program because of their own connection to the topics being investigated. They are patients, caregivers, or members of the public with an interest in exploring questions about health and health care. They bring their lived experience to answering research, planning and policy questions.

PaCER amplifies lived experience in research

Just as importantly, topics explored by PaCER teams are identified by those directly impacted by the health and social care systems, including those from Indigenous and newcomer communities whose perspectives have traditionally been overlooked. 

The program has found a way to integrate lived experiences into research at every phase of the research cycle and to initiate meaningful change in the health research that informs healthcare policy and practice.

“[PaCER learners] bring their lived experiences and expertise to inform the research project co-design and development, and to lead aspects of the research project such as peer-to-peer data collection and analysis. This innovative program supports health researchers, patients and the public to work together to achieve these important goals set by SPOR,” explains Dr. Maria Santana, PhD, the academic lead for PaCER.

Participating in the PaCER program helps develop skills that are not just about data collection but also about listening as peers and capturing the patient perspective.  

One of the most rewarding aspects for PaCER graduate, Oaitse Hellard, was the realization that her work has a direct impact on the healthcare system. "It showed patients that doctors and healthcare workers and the medical side were interested in their voice,” said Hellard. 

As part of a team researching the early experience of mental illness, she recalled the emotional impact of the program, saying, "It gave a voice to the patients. They felt heard and validated because it was different from the other types of qualitative research."

Another graduate of the PaCER program, Sabiha Zaman, became involved because of her interest in research and joined a project sponsored by a clinician-researcher. Zaman had the opportunity to work collaboratively with her research team from across the province to explore the mental health impacts of dialysis. 

This led to joining a community advisory project at the University of Alberta to develop a mental health pathway for those living with kidney disease. She has witnessed the impact of the research project as the team's recommendations have been implemented in the healthcare system.

“PaCER is a great way to have the patient voice in the research that's done at the University of Calgary, and it helps in improving health outcomes for many of the diseases that are not really looked at from a patient's perspective,” says Zaman. 

PaCER’s growing contribution to science

Since 2014, PaCER graduates have been successful co-applicants on at least 51 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grants totaling more than $87 million. The program has contributed an extraordinary amount of academic research. As of March 2025:

• at least 74 PaCER graduates have co-authored at least 266 published research papers, which have been cited over 6,000 times, and with half a million downloads.

Are you a health researcher who wants to partner with patients and the public on a research project? Sponsor a PaCER team.