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Our Patient Partners

Patient partners are integral members of the research team who share their lived experience to improve trial design and implementation. They may be current or past patients, care givers, or patient family member who provide nuanced insight into needs and experiences. Our team supports the intrinsic value of partnering with patients to advance meaningful patient-centred trials in hemodialysis care. Collaborative partnerships have shaped and strengthened the way we do research. 

To learn more about patient engagement, the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (“SPOR”) and the SPOR Framework, please visit the CIHR Patient Engagement page.

Muscle cramps affect 25 to 80% of patients on hemodialysis. They are one of the most common reasons for stopping a dialysis session early. Dial-Mag patient partners felt it was important to examine the impact of magnesium on muscle cramp burden. Thus, cramps became a key secondary outcome of the trial. Given the importance of muscle cramp outcomes to patients, if a dialysate magnesium concentration of 0.75 mmol/L reduces the burden of patient-reported muscle cramps compared to ≤ 0.5 mmol/L, it would likely become the standard of care even in the absence of any other outcome improvement.

If you have any questions or would like to contact us, please email dialmagcanada@lhsc.on.ca