Impact of a Health Research Training Program on Patient and Community Partners, and Researchers: A Qualitative Evaluation

BACKGROUND: Building capacity through training and education is recommended to support meaningful engagement of patient partners in health research. The Patient and Community Engagement Research (PaCER) programme is a 12-month initiative that enables patients and community members to co-design and conduct qualitative health research projects. Learners are sponsored by clinician researchers, community organisations, and/or jurisdictional health organisations. This study aimed to assess the experiences and impact of the PaCER programme on: (1) past learners' personal development and engagement in health research; and (2) sponsors' research programmes. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative impact evaluation involving past learners (alumni) and sponsors of the PaCER programme from 2019 to 2024. A purposive sampling strategy was used, whereby selected alumni and sponsors from the 2019-2024 cohorts were invited to participate in an online semi-structured interview. Sponsors and alumni with diverse characteristics, including variation in age, ethnicity, educational attainment, and geographic location were invited. The interview guide included questions on the experiences in the PaCER programme, post-programme research activities, and perceptions of the programme's impact. Data were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: Eighteen participants (12 PaCER alumni and 6 sponsors) were interviewed, and four main themes were identified: (1) seeing the value of the training programme; (2) Diverse people and groups working together; (3) Learner readiness and capacity; (4) Academic opportunities for learners and career growth. Alumni described significant personal impact, empowerment, academic contributions, and increased access to meaningful patient partner opportunities. Alumni reported co-authoring publications and presenting their work at academic conferences and to various stakeholders, including health system leadership. Many alumni had no prior experience with qualitative participatory research, and participation in the programme supported the development of these research skills. Sponsors also noted impacts on their research programmes, such as securing additional funding informed by PaCER project findings. CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate that structured, experiential training for patients and community members supports meaningful engagement in health research, contributes to sustained capacity development, and positively influences the patient-oriented research landscape. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Patient partners were involved in the design and conduct of the study (data collection), analysis and interpretation of the data, and in the preparation of this manuscript.