From the Patient Priorities Questionnaire, we learned a lot about what matters most to patients when it comes to their relationships and their primary care providers, but we want to dig deeper. We also want to hear from them about how we should find out, because we know many of them found the survey lengthy and tedious. Getting better at asking patients what they want will help us get better at measuring quality in a patient-centered way – and that in turn will lead to higher-quality patient care. In order to do this, we want to partner with you, our members, to hold a series of patient focus groups around the province from September through December. If you provide the people and the space, we’ll bring the snacks and the questions. This is a formal research study, and we are in the process of obtaining Research Ethics Board (REB) approval for it from the University of Toronto.
Objectives
These focus groups have four primary objectives:
- Engage with AFHTO members who did not feel comfortable sharing the Patient Priorities Questionnaire with their patients.
- Get input from different demographics.
- Receive advice on how to best get measurable estimates of patient priorities from a broad range of patients.
- Seek advice regarding other ways to increase engagement in general.
What YOU can do
Ready to get started? Here are your next steps:
- Check out the Frequently Asked Questions
- Contact us for more information
- We’ll send you a package of customizable recruitment tools, including posters for your waiting room and an information announcement for your website.
- We’ll work with you to find a time and a date.
- Refer participants to AFHTO, then sit back and relax. We’ll take care of the rest.
Good to know
All participation is voluntary. We’ll obtain informed consent from participants, and they can withdraw at any time. Focus group discussions will be kept anonymous, so patients’ care will not be compromised in any way (that means no providers in the room – sorry).