What is PaCER?

The Patient and Community Engagement Research (PaCER) program works out of the University of Calgary and is working to transform the role of patients in health and health care delivery. PaCERs are patient researchers trained in qualitative health research committed to finding innovative ways of engaging patients in health care.

PaCERs are patient researchers, citizens with a variety of health conditions trained in qualitative health research, who are creating a new collective research voice by patients, with patients and for patients.

Click here to check out the PaCER website for more information.

PAST PaCER INTERNS

IMAGINE’s PaCER Interns 2019:

In November 2018, a nationwide call was sent out for digestive health patients interested in enrolling in the PaCER (Patient and Community Engagement Research) program. The year-long program is delivered through Continuing Education at the University of Calgary and delivered using a blended distance learning model.

Ten participants were selected to join 1 of 2 PaCER cohorts (Alberta or National) sponsored by IMAGINE. Team “We’ve Got Guts” (Alberta): “Our Alberta group represents a broad range of experience with IBD/IBS, with the common goal of better understanding these diseases as they impact ourselves and our families, and with the desire to help others who have been or will be confronted with IBD/IBS in the future.“The MOB” (National): “Are interested in how individuals diagnosed with IBD cope with their illness on a day-to-day basis. More specifically, topics that we are interested include mental health, sexual health, and diet.”

IBD National Team (left to right): Sunny Loo, Kwestan Safari, Kim Daley, Deirdre Walsh (mentor), Jenna Rines

IBD Alberta Team (left to right): back row: Doug McKay, Jeanette Van Roosmalen, Marcia Bruce, Lindsay Rizkalla, Esther Halton (mentor); front row: Kendra Vandenhoven, Sherri MacLean, Tatiana Kuzmyn