Patient and Public Engagement (For Health System Staff)
Partnering with Patients and Families to Improve Care
At Shared Health, engaging patients, families, and the public is essential to how we plan, deliver, evaluate, and improve care.
Patient and public engagement means working in partnership with people with lived and living experience to inform:
- Clinical service planning
- Quality improvement and patient safety
- Program and policy development
- Health research and evaluation
Engagement is not an “add-on”, it is a core part of building a high-quality, equitable, and person-centred health system.
How We Support You
The Shared Health Patient and Public Engagement team provides provincial leadership, tools, and hands-on support to help you meaningfully engage patients and families in your work.
We can support you to:
- Identify when and how to engage across your project or initiative
- Design inclusive, trauma-informed engagement approaches
- Recruit and partner with Patient and Family Advisors
- Facilitation coaching (e.g., focus groups, advisory groups)
- Integrate patient perspectives into decision-making and implementation
- Evaluate and strengthen your engagement efforts
Provincial Collaboration
We collaborate with partners across the province to advance a coordinated approach to engagement, including:
- Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority (IERHA)
- Northern Health Region (NHR)
- Prairie Mountain Health (PMH)
- Southern Health-Santé Sud (SH-SS)
- Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA)
- CancerCare Manitoba (CCMB)
- Manitoba Health
- Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI)
Together, we are:
- Advancing engagement best practices and tools
- Supporting a provincial Patient and Family Advisor Network
- Building capacity and education for staff and patient partners
- Strengthening a culture of engagement across research and health systems
Getting Started with Engagement
If you are planning a project, initiative, or decision-making process, connect with us early.
We can help you:
- Clarify your engagement purpose and goals
- Identify appropriate levels of engagement (inform, consult, involve, collaborate, partner)
- Select the right methods and approaches
- Ensure your work is inclusive and accessible
Contact us at [email protected] to talk about how we can help your project or initiative.
Request a Patient and Family Advisor
You can partner with Patient and Family Advisors through the Shared Health Patient and Family Advisor Network.
Two options for support are available:
1. Full Support Service
Best for teams who need comprehensive support. This service is available to Shared Health programs and Manitoba Health.
We will:
- Meet with you to understand your project and engagement needs
- Co-develop an engagement plan (why, who, how, when)
- Recruit appropriate Patient and Family Advisors
- Support onboarding and ongoing engagement
- Provide facilitation coaching or co-facilitation
- Support evaluation and follow-up
Ready to get started? Complete the Engagement Request Form to connect with our team and begin planning your engagement.
2. Recruitment Call-Out
Best for teams who already have an engagement plan in place. This service is available to Shared Health programs, Health Authorities, and Manitoba Health.
We will:
- Share your opportunity with the Patient and Family Advisor Network
- Post and circulate your call-out
Interested Advisors will connect directly with your team.
Have a plan in place? Use the Call-Out Template and submit your opportunity to [email protected] to have it shared with the Patient and Family Advisor Network.
Engagement in Health Research
Patient partners in research are collaborators — not participants — and play a key role in shaping research priorities, design, and impact.
For support related to patient and public engagement in research, connect with the
Centre for Healthcare Innovation at [email protected].
Fast Feedback (Quick Input from Advisors)
Fast Feedback is a rapid engagement approach used to gather timely input from Patient and Family Advisors on:
- Patient-facing materials
- Communications and educational resources
- Emerging ideas, decisions, or plans
- Policies, procedures, and practice changes
This approach is useful when you need timely, focused feedback to inform your work. It is a valuable way to obtain timely input on clarity, accessibility, and plain language; however, it does not replace the importance of engaging Patient and Family Advisors early in the co-design and development of materials, initiatives, and decisions.
This service is available to Shared Health programs, Health Authorities in Manitoba, and Manitoba Health.
Need quick input? Use the Fast Feedback Request Form to gather timely feedback from Patient and Family Advisors.
Provincial Patient Engagement Working Group
We lead a Provincial Patient Engagement Working Group with representatives who are involved in engagement from each health region across Manitoba.
This Working Group:
- Shares tools, resources, and leading practices
- Builds skills and confidence in engagement
- Supports alignment and coordination across the system
To learn more email: [email protected]
Resources
We can connect you to tools, templates, and guidance, including:
- Engagement planning templates and readiness tools
- Facilitation guides and evaluation approaches
- Experience-Based Co-Design resources
- National and international leading practices
Email us at [email protected]
Work With Us
We encourage you to connect with us early in your planning process. We are here to support you in building meaningful, inclusive, and impactful engagement.
Information for the general public on engagement and the Patient and Family Advisor Network can be found on the Shared Health website.