The individualized patient progress system (IPPS): a decade of international collaborative networking

Background: The backstage of research projects is seldom presented to the general audience, in particular, how the research questions emerged, how the team interacted and how the methods and design were decided upon. Aim: In this paper we will recount the story behind an international practice-based research network for personalizing health assessment, the joint journey of researchers and therapists from three different countries in creating the Individualized Patient- Progress System (IPPS; Sales & Alves, 2012). Results: We first describe how the idea of the IPPS emerged; then we show how IPPS is being piloted and integrated into the clinical practice. Next, we present the views of therapists and researchers who have been part of this project. Conclusions: We discuss some lessons learned from this 14 year collaborative research programme.