Abstract
Introduction
Patients, caregivers, and community partners (PCC) can have a variety of roles in learning health systems (LHS), such as contributing their data from healthcare encounters to embedded, continuous engagement where they identify health system priorities, guide operational, research, and quality improvement decisions, and facilitate knowledge sharing and implementation. Despite many LHS models placing emphasis on PCC, little has been done to help members of the public understand what a LHS is or initiate dialogue about how they can learn more and become engaged. We brought together a national network of PCC to co-create an everyday language, arts-based resource for the public to learn what a LHS is and how it relates to patient care journeys.
Methods
Thirteen PCC with LHS experience from across Canada attended two 2-h virtual workshops to generate ideas on how to better define LHS using everyday language, determine accessible ways to share this information, and co-design a comic strip that can be widely shared across diverse settings and communities.
Results
We co-created a six-panel comic strip that depicts a relatable patient experience of waiting in an emergency department. The comic shows that in a LHS, patients are invited to contribute their perspectives about improving healthcare and support implementing and testing new ideas in clinical settings. Creating this comic was considered important for various reasons: to promote a common language around LHS, to build trust between health systems and the public, and to widen the community of PCC who are engaged in LHS activities.
Conclusions
This comic is intended to build capacity for LHS culture, where the public can understand how continuous learning and improvement fit within health care, and learn about opportunities for engagement in LHS.