In a learning health system, patients, their families, community members, health care providers and researchers work together to improve health care. At its core, a learning health system is driven by the real needs, experiences, and priorities of the people it serves. Yet, in many systems, feedback is often gathered from a small group of voices—leaving important perspectives from diverse communities underrepresented.
Recently, Scientist Dr. Shelley Vanderhout at the Institute for Better Health brought together together patient, caregiver, and community partners from across the Trillium Health Partners community for a workshop focused on co-designing new ways to broaden and deepen engagement. Supported by Abby Vijayakumar, Emily Cordeaux, and Dr. Umair Majid, workshop participants used fictional characters—or “personas”—based on people who live in Peel Region. These personas helped them explore how learning health systems can better reach a wider and more diverse range of partners and meaningfully learn from lived experiences.
For each persona, participants reflected on:
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Values that matter most, such as cultural sensitivity, trust, belonging, and respect.
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Reasons to engage, including contributing to a healthier community and shaping the future of health care.
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Barriers they could face, such as language, caregiving responsibilities, transportation, or unfamiliarity with research.
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Ways to show impact and appreciation that feel genuine and meaningful.
Participants emphasized the importance of cultural responsiveness, inclusive communication, and engagement approaches that honour people’s lived realities. They imagined creative ways to connect—through art and poetry, community hubs, peer-to-peer support, trusted family members, and safe, relationship-centred spaces.
To bring these insights to life, the team partnered with a graphic designer to create a comic-style illustration that captures what they heard. The graphic highlights how learning health systems can open more pathways for partnership, remove barriers, and create space for every voice—advancing Trillium Health Partners’ vision to create a new kind of health care for a healthier community.
This comic is freely available for anyone to use and share. Our objective is that it inspires ongoing conversation, collaboration, and action toward more inclusive, community-grounded health system improvement.