Research objectives should be focused toward advancing knowledge that has meaningful impact on health. However, research agendas are mostly driven by the health care community, with limited input from patients.

The James Lind Alliance (JLA) is a non-profit making initiative which brings patients, caregivers and clinicians together in Priority Setting Partnerships (PSPs) to first identify and then prioritize unanswered questions about an illness and / or the effects of treatments that this group of people agrees are the most important. This information helps ensure that those who are funding health research are aware of what matters to patients, their caregivers and clinicians since they are the end users of any funded research.

In 2014, the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)’s Institute of Musculoskeletal Health (IMHA) and the James Lind Alliance (JLA) set up of PSP to identify the unanswered questions about the management of adult fibromyalgia from patient / caregiver and clinician’s perspective and then prioritize into the top ten that patient/ caregivers and clinicians agreed were the most important. This PSP was completed in 2016. To see the top 10 Priorities go to https://www.jla.nihr.ac.uk/priority-setting-partnerships/fibromyalgia-canada/top-10-priorities.htm

The Fibromyalgia Association Canada has reviewed each of the fibromyalgia top 10 Priorities and wondered how many of these have actually been researched. We will be posting one priority  and the recent research the FAC Research Committee has found for that priority in each Just the FAC’s newsletter. To receive the newsletter by email you must be a member of FAC. If you have not joined FAC yet go to https://fibrocanada.ca/members/.