The visit served as a meeting point to exchange experiences and initiatives aimed at more actively integrating the voice of patients and citizens in biomedical and health research. During the day, different approaches to patient participation in research and the importance of collaboration between professionals, patients, citizens, and institutions were discussed.
For INiBICA, these encounters are an opportunity to learn about best practices, share learnings, and advance citizen participation initiatives that respond to patients' daily needs. INiBICA's objective is to equip its future Clinical Research Unit (UiC) not only with advanced facilities but also with patient-centered care.
The participation of patients and citizens drives health research that is more connected to social reality, allowing for the identification of needs, improvement of project orientation, and increased impact of research results. INiBICA believes these meetings allow them to learn about successful initiatives to develop health research where the voice and experience of patients and families play a central role.
INiBICA is committed to maintaining communication and collaboration with other institutions to learn from their initiatives and develop participation models that are closer, more accessible, and more useful. Participants in the meeting included José Manuel Morales Gómez and Eva M.ª Andría Retes (Clinical Research Area technicians), Blanca Horta Reques (UEXPI patient coordinator), Lydia Abásolo Alcázar (Head of UEXPI and rheumatologist), and Irene Andría Retes (Head of Clinical Research Area management).
INiBICA thanks the IdISSC and UEXPI teams for their welcome and the opportunity to continue jointly building more participatory, humane, and socially connected biomedical and health research.
