Working with our Strongest Families Neurodevelopmental Program team as part of the 2021 CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program, Ting Xiong helped establish a knowledge translation plan and study for the survey results of the Life Beyond Trauma research study, including analyzing the data, and writing a manuscript for publication in an academic journal.
Here’s what Ting had to say about the summer student experience:
“Even though this was my second time participating in the CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program, I learned many new things about patient-oriented research.
Parent advisors and advocates helped me improve my communication skills. I also learned that when setting up a research team that includes patient-partner involvement, it is important to stay respectful, especially of parents’ availability and their willingness to participate in the decision-making process. I found the patient-partners I have interacted with to be passionate in devoting their time and their thoughts to the project. The perspectives they brought to the project were really meaningful and inspiring. The patient-partners helped shape the content of the program, the design, and recruitment. They were empowered to make decisions at every step, which actually motivated them to devote more to this study.
I also learned about some of the drawbacks of a traditional research framework, which includes researchers and funding agencies but not the general public or the targeted population. Without patient engagement, researchers risk pursuing research questions that are not as meaningful to patients. Patient-oriented research requires additional time and financial resources, but it can be very rewarding for researchers as well as patients.
This experience will help me in my goal of doing research in academia. Thanks to my interactions with our stakeholders, I am aware of the positive influences of our research activities. Some parents described our program as life-changing; positive feedback like this is very motivating. Participating in the studentship program this summer also has influenced my understanding of a research team. A research team without patient/public engagement is incomplete. Public perspectives are essential, especially in clinical trials, as they help to deliver health services more effectively to the people who really need it in a more user-friendly way. It ensures that the research work addresses questions of interest to the patients.”