Listening, Learning, and Reflecting: What We’re Learning from the Early Implementation of Care Opinion in Alberta.

At Care Opinion, we believe that learning never really stops.

From the beginning, Care Opinion has been about creating safe and trusted spaces where patients, families, caregivers, and healthcare staff can share experiences, listen to one another, and learn together. That same spirit guides how we approach our own work.

Over the past year, we have been part of an independent evaluation of the early implementation of Care Opinion in Alberta. Led by the CARE Lab in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta, this first phase of evaluation was never about proving that we had everything figured out. Instead, it was about understanding what is working, where we are learning, and how we can continue to strengthen the way stories are used to support better care.

Because that's what we believe in.

Listening.

Learning.

Reflecting. And then doing better.

Why Evaluation Matters

At Care Opinion, we often talk about the importance of curiosity and continuous improvement. We encourage healthcare organizations to listen to stories and reflect on what they reveal. It only makes sense that we hold ourselves to the same standard.

Evaluation gives us an opportunity to pause and ask important questions:

• Are we living our values?
• Are we creating a safe and trusted experience for storytellers?
• Are we supporting healthcare organizations in meaningful ways?
• What are people teaching us through their experiences? Where do we need to adapt and grow?

These questions matter because Care Opinion is about much more than technology. It is about relationships, trust, transparency, and creating opportunities for dialogue and learning.

What We Learned

One of the strongest messages from the evaluation was that shared values matter. Organizations chose to participate because they believe in people-shaped care and wanted a better way to hear and learn from patients, families, and caregivers. Many described stories as filling a gap left by traditional surveys, offering a richer understanding of what care actually feels like.

The evaluation also reminded us that meaningful change takes time. Building trust, supporting organizations, and integrating new ways of working requires patience and relationships. Early implementation has been a learning journey, not only for participating sites, but for our own team as well.

We also heard how powerful stories can be for staff. Positive stories helped reconnect people with purpose and reminded them why their work matters. Stories became opportunities for reflection, learning, and celebrating the many moments of compassion and care happening every day.

A Learning Journey

Phase 1 of implementation was intentionally designed as a learning phase. We knew there would be questions. We knew there would be adjustments. And we knew we would need to remain flexible and responsive as we learned alongside healthcare organizations, partners, patients, families, and caregivers. In many ways, the evaluation affirmed something we have always believed… stories matter, relationships matter, and creating cultures of listening and reflection takes ongoing commitment.

The findings are encouraging, but they are not the end of the story.

They are an invitation to continue learning.

Thank You

We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to this evaluation. Our partners, early subscribers, healthcare leaders, staff, researchers, patients, caregivers, and families. Thank you for your openness, your insights, and your willingness to learn alongside us. This work belongs to all of us.

Read the Reports

For those interested in exploring the findings in more detail, we invite you to read both the Phase 1 Evaluation Executive Summary and the full Report.

You can download both documents from our website and learn more about what we're discovering together as Care Opinion Canada continues to grow.

Because at the heart of this work is a simple belief:

When we listen to experiences, we create opportunities to learn.

And when we learn together, we can build a better health system for everyone.