LIFT was engaged by Bristol Myers Squibb to partner with FORWARD, the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases, in a post-marketing study designed to better understand the burden of disease in people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).
The initiative aimed to support both FORWARD’s mission of advancing patient-centered outcomes research and Bristol Myers Squibb’s commitment to developing more empathetic, patient-centered advocacy and support programs for those living with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).
To capture both breadth and depth, LIFT employed a rigorous mixed-methods approach:
Quantitative Analysis: Leveraged FORWARD’s longitudinal patient database to identify patterns in disease progression, treatment use, and quality-of-life outcomes over time.
Qualitative Research: Conducted ethnographic interviews with patients and caregivers to surface lived experiences, frustrations, and coping strategies—going beyond what is typically captured in patient-reported outcomes.
Integrated Synthesis: Paired the quantitative patterns with the human realities uncovered in qualitative work to create a holistic, stakeholder-informed perspective of RA burden.
The study reframed how stakeholders understood the RA experience—bringing forward the unspoken burdens, trade-offs, and resilience of patients and caregivers. It provided FORWARD with an enriched evidence base to advance their long-term research agenda, and it gave Bristol Myers Squibb actionable insights to shape more empathetic and effective patient support programming.
Importantly, the work also seeded future collaboration. Building on the success of this initiative, LIFT was engaged by Bristol Myers Squibb to support additional research projects, including clinical trial recruitment and retention, as well as studies exploring the burden of disease in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). This progression underscored the long-term value of pairing rigorous data with deep human understanding—hallmarks of LIFT’s approach to advancing healthcare strategy.
