Integrating Qualitative Data Into Learning Health Systems: A Pilot Project With Engaged Student Researchers
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Community Health and Epidemiology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada
- 2Saskatchewan Centre of Patient‐Oriented Research (SCPOR) Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada
- 3Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada
- 4Health Quality Council (HQC) Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada
- 5St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada
Abstract
Background: Healthcare Education and Research Training (HEART) is an engaged learning initiative that supported undergraduate students in acquiring and applying healthcare research skills over the course of an academic year. The project was offered through a Saskatchewan, Canada‐based university in conjunction with provincial health system and patient‐oriented research organizations. Designed to serve a dual aim, this pilot project provided undergraduate students with meaningful healthcare research skills while sharing qualitative data from underserved communities with health system partners in an effort to advance a more person‐centered Learning Health System in Saskatchewan.
Methods: Upper‐year undergraduate students were recruited through various pathways. Over 14 weeks, the project ran in two phases: research training in Term 1 and collecting patient‐reported experience data in Term 2.
Results: Twenty‐eight undergraduate students from differing academic backgrounds completed training in key concepts of research ethics, privacy, confidentiality, and other essential preparation for engaging in patient‐ and community‐oriented healthcare research. Students conducted 35 telephone interviews with health system users regarding care experiences and facilitated four focus groups with new mothers across diverse community settings. Following data collection, students completed thematic analysis and developed knowledge translation outputs, including reports that were shared with health system partners to inform system learning and quality improvement.
Conclusion: This pilot project demonstrated a feasible, mutually beneficial strategy for embedding qualitative data into a Learning Health System cycle by using supervised undergraduate student researchers to collect, synthesize, and translate findings into actionable outputs. HEART generated timely, equity‐relevant insights to inform decision‐making and potential practice change for health system partners while simultaneously building foundational competencies for future healthcare researchers and care providers.
Related
- Organisational learning in hospital systems during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study
- Real-world activities of clinician-researchers in perioperative medicine: an ethnographic qualitative case study embedded in a single-centre clinical trial
- Patients as Co‐Researchers in Oncology: A Qualitative Exploration of Participatory Governance
- Emotional and social burden of hidradenitis suppurativa: a qualitative multi-centre narrative medicine project in Italy
- What is an ideal mHealth for post-discharge home care of CHD: perspectives from primary caregivers, healthcare professionals, and project technical consultants: a qualitative research study
BibTeX
@article{carr2026integrating,
title = {{Integrating Qualitative Data Into Learning Health Systems: A Pilot Project With Engaged Student Researchers}},
author = {Tracey Carr and Taylor Spock and Candace Skrapek and Kelly Heinemann and Margaret King and Brenda Andreas and Christine Stobart and Cathy Cole and Christopher Plishka and Caitlin Ward and Tina Zheng and Gerald Farthing and Carson Squair},
journal = {Learning Health Systems},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/lrh2.70129},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/lrh2.70129},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Integrating Qualitative Data Into Learning Health Systems: A Pilot Project With Engaged Student Researchers
AU - Tracey Carr
AU - Taylor Spock
AU - Candace Skrapek
AU - Kelly Heinemann
AU - Margaret King
AU - Brenda Andreas
AU - Christine Stobart
AU - Cathy Cole
AU - Christopher Plishka
AU - Caitlin Ward
AU - Tina Zheng
AU - Gerald Farthing
AU - Carson Squair
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Learning Health Systems
DO - 10.1002/lrh2.70129
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/lrh2.70129
AB - Background: Healthcare Education and Research Training (HEART) is an engaged learning initiative that supported undergraduate students in acquiring and applying healthcare research skills over the course of an academic year. The project was offered through a Saskatchewan, Canada‐based university in conjunction with provincial health system and patient‐oriented research organizations. Designed to serve a dual aim, this pilot project provided undergraduate students with meaningful healthcare research skills while sharing qualitative data from underserved communities with health system partners in an effort to advance a more person‐centered Learning Health System in Saskatchewan. Methods: Upper‐year undergraduate students were recruited through various pathways. Over 14 weeks, the project ran in two phases: research training in Term 1 and collecting patient‐reported experience data in Term 2. Results: Twenty‐eight undergraduate students from differing academic backgrounds completed training in key concepts of research ethics, privacy, confidentiality, and other essential preparation for engaging in patient‐ and community‐oriented healthcare research. Students conducted 35 telephone interviews with health system users regarding care experiences and facilitated four focus groups with new mothers across diverse community settings. Following data collection, students completed thematic analysis and developed knowledge translation outputs, including reports that were shared with health system partners to inform system learning and quality improvement. Conclusion: This pilot project demonstrated a feasible, mutually beneficial strategy for embedding qualitative data into a Learning Health System cycle by using supervised undergraduate student researchers to collect, synthesize, and translate findings into actionable outputs. HEART generated timely, equity‐relevant insights to inform decision‐making and potential practice change for health system partners while simultaneously building foundational competencies for future healthcare researchers and care providers.
SN - 2379-6146
ER -