Our Mission:
WINRS works at the intersections of health, equity, and community. Our mission is to amplify patient and community voices in research.
Who We Are
From proposal development to project dissemination, we help you maximize the impact and relevance of your work by helping you effectively engage with the community around you.
We lift up the value of community wisdom in research to nurture partnerships between researchers and community members. By bringing these groups together, we can enhance the quality, cultural applicability, and visibility of your research. That way, you can create a more meaningful impact.
We’ve worked with research teams across the country. Here is what they have to say:
“What a wonderful team to work with! I’d highly recommend a partnership with WINRS.”
“The staff at WINRS is incredibly kind and efficient.”
“Just the type of leadership and assistance our research needed.”
WINRS knows that community involvement is vital in producing rigorous research that promotes connectivity, discovery, and inclusion. That’s why we partner with local Madison community centers and other Wisconsin nonprofit organizations in our work with the Community Advisors on Research Design and Strategies (CARDS) and Board of Older Adult Advisors (BOAAs).
Our Campus Partners:
WINRS works with many campus partners to collaborate, mutually inform, inspire, and support one another’s work.
Sample Projects
Developing a publicly-available end-of-life planning curriculum: Planning AHEAD
Jenny Abel and Kristin Litzelman
UW-Madison Extension and Dept. of Human Development and Family Studies
Planning AHEAD is an end-of-life planning curriculum for all ages developed by UW–Madison Division of Extension faculty and staff.
CARDS reviewed and offered feedback to the planning team during curriculum development. Planning AHEAD materials are now available through the UW Extension website, and training sessions are offered state-wide.
“I tell everyone who will listen that the CARDS meeting was the most valuable experience from our year of pilot testing our new curriculum. Thanks to the feedback we received during that 90-minute meeting, we made significant improvements to the workbook and marketing materials. The program would not be as robust and successful as it is today without the detailed and thoughtful feedback we received from CARDS.” - Jenny Abel, UW-Madison Extension
Barriers and facilitators to telehealth appointments
Edmond Ramly
UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health (now at Indiana Bloomington University)
Telehealth appointments have been increasing in frequency and popularity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, there are many barriers to effective telehealth appointments, which may lead some patients to postpone or forego their medical visits. This project aimed to collaborate with advisory boards of patients and healthcare providers to identify barriers and their equivalent facilitators, with the goal of building a tool that could be used by primary care clinics to support patients who are struggling to have effective telehealth appointments.
CARDS was one of the standing community advisory boards that consulted on this project throughout its duration. CARDS met with the research team multiple times to iteratively develop and refine a list of barriers and facilitators to telehealth appointments.
Collaborating with the Wisconsin Hmong community to create a culturally and linguistically appropriate end-of-life planning curriculum
Maichou Lor
UW-Madison School of Nursing
UW-Madison Extension developed a planning curriculum designed to help people make financial and healthcare end-of-life decisions. Pilot courses conducted in the community revealed that the curriculum would not be helpful for the Hmong community because it did not reflect the community’s beliefs and practices. The aim of this project was to work with representatives from the Wisconsin Hmong population to adapt the curriculum to the needs of Hmong residents.
WINRS supported the project team through grant writing and project planning, development of recruitment flyers, development of materials and co-facilitation of the project team orientation meeting, as well as consultation support throughout the lifetime of the project.
Advancing Health Equity for Lupus Patients in WI
Christie Bartels
UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) care and outcomes are associated with significant racial and socioeconomic disparities in the US. This project aimed to address gaps in SLE care by consulting advisory boards of patients, healthcare providers, and SLE experts on barriers and facilitators to SLE care, then using these data to adapt interventions previously developed for other chronic health conditions that have been shown to improve outcomes and equity.
WINRS supported this effort by developing strategic agendas and facilitating multiple meetings of patient advisory boards and healthcare provider advisory boards.
The advisory boards endorsed an intervention based on review of Electronic Health Records, which would identify and remind patients who were off-schedule for the clinic visits, labs, or medication adherence. They also supported the use of a Patient Navigator (nurse, pharmacist, social workers, scheduler, insurance navigator) to support patients with medical and resource knowledge.
How to work with us:
If you’re ready to engage the community in a way that is meaningful and beneficial to both your research team and community members, WINRS can help.
Fill out our Meet with Us form to discover if WINRS is the right partner for you. Receive an initial consultation at no cost.