Grant: Project Grant - Priority Announcement: Patient-Oriented Research

One of the biggest challenges in Canadian clinical trials is recruiting enough participants, especially diverse people of all backgrounds who are living with a chronic disease. In heart failure (HF) research, women and people from minority communities are often underrepresented, which can delay studies, waste resources, and limit how well results apply to everyone. The I-PARTICIPATE-HF project will test a new way of designing trials: asking patients directly what matters most to them and building the trial around those preferences. Our case study is a future large HF trial on adjusting diuretics (water pills) using a quick urine sodium test to guide treatment. Before that trial starts, we will work with patients to identify the main motivators and barriers to participation. First, we will conduct one-on-one interviews with people who might join, learning how factors such as travel distance, honoraria, time commitment, study procedures, and who invites them to participate influence their decisions. Next, we will survey a diverse group using "choice scenarios" to see how people make decisions about participation, and how preferences differ by sex, gender, ethnicity, race, age, and other characteristics. Using these results, we will create "patient-informed" trial designs and compare them to a traditional design, predicting the impact on recruitment speed, participant diversity, and costs. This innovative approach has not been applied to HF trial design in Canada. The findings will directly shape the upcoming diuretic trial by improving representation of women and underrepresented groups and will lead to a practical framework for researchers nationwide. By making trials more appealing and accessible to those who may participate, this project aims to accelerate the delivery of new treatments and ensure results truly benefit all patients. The ultimate goal is a fairer, faster and more cost-effective path from discovery to better care for all.