People’s experiences shape health research and healthcare

The BC SUPPORT Unit, part of Health Research BC, empowers research and care teams to collaborate with a patient-oriented research approach. We move this evidence, developed with patients and communities, into practice.

By bringing together researchers, patients, policymakers, clinicians, health system leaders, and Indigenous communities and partners, we catalyze solutions to real health system challenges.

Our expert services, data access, training, and implementation support ensures research evidence improves care and informs health policy.

We’re founded under Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research, a national initiative led by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. We’re funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of BC.

Find your regional centre
Highlights
Research to practice
Services
Data
Initiatives
Resources
Christina Laberge, a patient partner in BC's north
Christina Laberge, a patient partner in BC's north

Our Goal

Making research more collaborative, patient-focused, and relevant to health systems

We bridge the gap between research evidence and health care practice. Our work is grounded in equity, diversity and inclusion, sex- and gender-based analysis, and Indigenous health research ethics.

Learn about our impact

Our partnerships

Collaborating for meaningful outcomes

Working in partnership with community, patients, and the health system makes our work stronger.

Our collaborators include the BC NEIHR, health authorities, other SPOR-funded entities, and community groups.

What is patient-oriented research?

Patient-oriented research involves patients, caregivers and families in the research process.

Patient-oriented research (POR) is:

  • Done in partnership with patients.
  • Answers research questions that matter to patients.
  • Aims to improve health care and health outcomes for patients.

Patient-oriented research brings together patients, researchers, health care providers and health system decision-makers.

Sunny Loo, patient partner representative, sits in a lecture hall at Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria.
Sunny Loo, patient partner representative, sits in a lecture hall at Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Rethinking healthcare with Dr. Antoine Boivin

    A Q&A with a keynote speaker from Putting Patients First 2026.

    Read the story

  • Walking together gently

    Co-developing an Indigenous-led evaluation framework for BC Kidney Check

    Read the story

research to practice

We embed lived experience in evidence and practice

Improving seniors’ care

Through funding, training, and consultations, we centre lived experience in research that supports seniors’ home and community care.

Learn more

Involving patients in Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s research

Our funding enables teams to meaningfully engage with research users, particularly people with lived experience of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, or their caregivers or care partners.

Learn more

services

We connect patients and research teams

Project and training consultations

We help teams and individuals adopt a patient-oriented or learning health systems approach.

PROJECT CONSULTATIONS

Virtual, 30 – 60 minutes.

We consult on work that engages with patients, families, caregivers, other people with lived experience, and community members.

TRAINING CONSULTATIONS

This includes 30 to 60-minute webinars, suggestions for educational resources, and in-person workshops (as availability permits).

Find your contact

Letters of support

We provide letters of support for BC-based researchers, for research proposals that use patient-oriented research approaches.

Submit requests at least two weeks before the competition deadline. Include a draft proposal that outlines your patient engagement plans.

Please note: we are unable to provide letters of support for applications to Health Research BC funding opportunities.

Find your contact

Services and partnerships for SPOR-funded entities (SFEs)

We provide in-kind and financial support for projects led by SFEs.

Eligible groups include researchers and organizations who are applying to or hold an active grant under Canada’s Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR). This includes SPOR Networks, SUPPORT Units, and individual SPOR grant recipients.

bcsupportunit@healthresearchbc.ca

We support learning health systems

Learning health systems (LHS) help integrate research and healthcare delivery to improve outcomes for patients, healthcare providers, and the health system.

They use data created by practice to generate evidence, which can be quickly adopted back into practice through a cycle of learning.

How do we support LHS?

Supporting learning communities

Learning communities are group(s) of people with shared interests and goals, multiple perspectives, experiences, and expertise, who meaningfully collaborate to solve health and health system problems. In many ways, learning communities are the “engine” of an LHS.

Our activities focus on supporting the creation of learning communities and projects that may emerge from them.

Examples include:
– Support for priority setting.
– Support for convening learning communities.
– Consultations on patient-oriented research and quality improvement approaches.
– Consultations on knowledge mobilization and implementation.

Supporting culture change

We curate and develop resources, workshops, and training to support culture change activities within academic and healthcare organizations across BC.

Email us at bcsupportunit@healthresearchbc.ca

Image from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 

Data

We partner on data access

The BC SUPPORT Unit connects teams to data resources and expertise that advance patient-oriented research and health system improvement.

Through our data consultation services, we help research teams:

  • Access and use health data resources
  • Develop data management and analysis plans
  • Navigate and interpret datasets in Health Data Platform BC

Book a consultation:

bcsupportunit@healthresearchbc.ca

Health Data Platform BC

We partner with the BC Ministry of Health to provide researchers with secure, project-based access to comprehensive health data.

This includes hospital, emergency, home care, long-term care, prescriptions, physician billing, and clinical systems data.

Learn more

REDCap transition

Health Research BC stopped providing REDCap services in 2025.

Through REDCap, Health Research BC hosted 264 projects from 101 users.

Learn more

Data Access Support Hub (DASH)

For researchers seeking multi-regional health data, the DASH provides a centralized access point for health and administrative data across Canada.

Health Data Research Network Canada, a SPOR-funded entity, provides access to DASH.

Access DASH

OUR Initiatives

resources

Collaborating with REACH BC

REACH BC is an online platform that connects volunteers and researchers to enable health research studies across the province.

We provide support for REACH BC, including funding a feature that empowers researchers to share study results back to volunteers and patient partners.

Visit REACH BC

Contact us

The BC SUPPORT Unit has a provincial coordinating hub, as well as teams based across BC.

Please contact your local centre:

If your work is provincial or national in scope, please contact: bcsupportunit@healthresearchbc.ca

Not sure which region? Find your region.