Patient Advisory Committee Vital to POPLAR’s Success

With one of POPLAR’s missions being to “enhance Ontarians’ experience of care,” patient perspectives on Ontario’s primary care system and broader ideas of what a good care experience looks like are essential.  POPLAR, as a network of Practice-based Learning and Research Networks (PBLRNs), values opportunities to learn from patient partners. In terms of research, POPLAR respects guidelines put forth from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research which state that patients “...must be involved as much and as meaningfully as possible in order for health research to be more responsive to the needs of Canadians.” (Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2014). Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research - Patient Engagement Framework. Accessed March 31, 2026)   

POPLAR’s Patient Advisory Committee (PAC), which includes two patient representatives from each of the seven member PBLRNs, plays a central role in determining how best to incorporate patient-oriented processes into POPLAR’s administration and to ensure a patient-oriented research approach. Recently, PAC members were asked to share their stories about what made them interested in becoming a patient advisor. The responses they gave aligned beautifully with POPLAR’s mission and vision.

Why Patient Voices Matter in Primary Care Research 

Every committee member had a personal health care story involving negative experiences with the level or value of care they expected to get for themselves or a loved one. They highlighted that without respectful dialogue between patients, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, and health care administrators, there might be a mismatch between what gets researched and what should be researched to improve care.  POPLAR recognizes that the engagement patient advisors described is an important part of a learning process for all, reducing the potential for this mismatch in research, and moving POPLAR closer towards achieving its vision: To advance equitable primary care delivery and health outcomes for everyone in Ontario.

Meaningful Engagement, Not a Checkbox 

Committee members were quick to point out that they can tell when engagement is meaningful or is just fulfilling the need to put a check mark in a box.  POPLAR is working towards identifying current gaps or shortcomings in engagement within its network and developing ways to improve patient engagement. This might look like creating onboarding toolkits for networks to use when bringing new patient partners into an advisory role, and developing standardized training modules for network leaders to help them create safe spaces where meaningful discussions can take place.  This supports POPLAR’s mission to purposefully enhance health and equity and justice in all its work. 

From Reactive Care to Preventive Thinking 

One committee member noted the importance of catching health issues early before reaching the point of having to go to the emergency department. Others talked about having complex needs that involved navigating several health conditions at once and expressed frustration in getting the right help.  Another member shared having a serious infection that went undetected for years and would have likely resulted in them being on disability by now had they not pursued a different source of care outside of their regular family doctor. Finally, stigma and experiences of judgement or discrimination for various health conditions and behaviours were discussed as huge barriers to both seeking care and receiving good care. 

POPLAR provides an opportunity to continuously evaluate how primary care is delivered and supported in the Ontario health system. This aligns with POPLAR's mission to: 

• Enhance Ontarians' experience of care 

• Improve the health and well-being of Ontario’s population 

• Optimize the allocation of health care resources 

More than Data, the Human Context 

Yes, a main focus of the POPLAR program is to collect electronic medical record (EMR) data, but the ultimate goal of collecting that data is to facilitate learning and research activities that will positively impact primary care delivery and patient experiences.  Everyone knows either from their own experiences or those of friends and family that there is a lot of room for improvement in the Ontario health care system.  The data that POPLAR is collecting will provide important clues as to where positive changes can be made.   

While this data will be used to help improve patient care, it will also be used to help improve the working conditions of primary care providers.  There is a need to remember that our primary care providers are human too, and many chose their profession because they wanted to help people heal and thrive. Focusing on the experiences of primary care providers aligns with another one of POPLAR’s missions: to increase the joy and meaning of work for health care providers.

Why All of This Matters 

Good decisions do not happen in silos or ivory towers with just a few decision-makers; regular and ongoing dialogues need to take place with all people who engage with Ontario’s health care system. POPLAR’s efforts to bring together patients, caregivers, primary care providers, researchers, and decision-makers for discussions about important primary care topics will be vital to creating a health care system that works well for all Ontarians.