Skip to main content
JillianneCode
Health

P·FOCUS

Promoting Agency Through Innovative Education & Networked Teams

CFREF Brain-Heart Interconnectome$25,0002025–2026● Active

PATIENT-FOCUS facilitates outcomes and collaboration for understanding the brain–heart system. This project connects researchers, clinicians, and patients to promote agency in heart failure care — particularly through networked team models that position patients as active contributors to clinical research and care planning. It sits within the broader CFREF Brain-Heart Interconnectome initiative.

Guiding Questions

Research Questions

  1. 1

    How can networked team models promote patient agency in brain-heart failure care?

  2. 2

    What educational interventions support patients in becoming active participants in clinical research?

  3. 3

    How do patients experience their agency within specialized cardiac care settings?

Approach

Methods Overview

Mixed-methods pilot study including patient and caregiver interviews, clinician survey, and co-design workshops to develop agency-enhancing educational materials for the brain-heart failure context.

Outputs

Publications

2025

Agency in action: Engaging patient participation in research

Code, J., Lannon, H., & Lutrin, A.

Patient Education and Counseling, 141, 109353

DOI →

2024

At the heart of resilience: Empowering women's agency in navigating cardiovascular disease

Code, J.

CJC Open, 6(2), 473–484

DOI →
All publications

See Also

Related Projects

PACE
Health

PACE

Patient Agency in Cardiovascular Education

PACE is a pilot study examining how educational interventions can promote agency in patients living with heart failure. Grounded in Jillianne's theoretical work on patient agency and her lived experience as a heart transplant recipient, the project develops and tests patient-centred approaches to heart failure self-management and advocacy — designed with patients, not just for them.

CIHR CHF Alliance$25,0002023–2025
Brain-HF PSP
Health

Brain-HF PSP

Brain & Heart Failure Priority Setting Partnership

The Brain-HF Priority Setting Partnership identifies the most important unanswered questions about the brain–heart connection in heart failure, centering patient and caregiver voices throughout. Priority setting partnerships are a well-established method in health research for ensuring that research agendas reflect patient priorities rather than only researcher interests. Brain-HF applies this method to one of the most complex and underexplored frontiers in cardiovascular medicine.

CFREF Brain-Heart Interconnectome$100,0002025–2026

Explore the full research program

All active and completed projects, research statement, and the ALIVE Lab.

Research overview