CAPA Board member Lucy Kovalova-Woods and Patient Partner in Research Linda Hunter, MScN, PhD (C), presented a poster titled “A Practical Framework for Meaningful Patient Partner Engagement in Clinical Trials” at the Clinical Trials Symposium on February 17, 2026.

The poster outlines practical approaches to strengthening patient partner engagement across clinical research, highlighting three key pillars: accessibility, reciprocity and operational integration. It emphasizes the importance of removing barriers to participation, recognizing the value of lived experience and embedding patient partners within governance, protocol development and knowledge translation processes. The framework demonstrates how meaningful patient engagement can improve trial relevance, feasibility, recruitment and retention, while ensuring that research aligns more closely with patients’ lived realities.