Why become an Affiliate Member? What do you get by joining?
The CSPA can help your patient group or organization:
- Expand your reach
- Keep up-to-date on advances in skin disease treatments, care, and research
- Advocate for better care and more effective treatments
- Build connections with other skin patient organizations
If you would like to join CSPA as an Affiliate Member, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We would be happy to provide you with the application form. Click to learn more about becoming an Affiliate Member and to see our current Affiliate Members.
If you have any questions, please contact us by phone at 613-224-4266; toll-free at 1-877-505-2772; or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A. Expand the reach of your organization
Your organization can benefit from having a stronger voice and having your information shared with a larger audience through CSPA’s digital and social media:
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Canadian Skin magazine (À Pro peau in French)
These free magazines are published three times per year and contain up-to-date information on the diagnosis, treatment, and management of skin disorders as well as helpful resources for patients in your community. The magazines are available in dermatologists’ offices across Canada as well as by mail directly to patients, their families, and other interested readers. Affiliate Members are automatically added to the magazine distribution list. You can have your name added to the distribution list now by subscribing, calling 1-877-505-CSPA (2772) or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The magazines include a section that features the work and experiences of our Affiliate Members, called “Living With.” You are invited to submit an article about the impact of a specific skin disorder on a patient from your community and how they navigated treatment decisions for inclusion in the “Living With” section. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further details.
B. Keep up-to-date on advances in skin treatments, care, and research
Our website provides detailed information on the diagnosis and management of specific skin conditions as well as important information on coping and support and additional resources in English and French. There is currently information about approximately 40 conditions that have been reviewed for medical and scientific accuracy, which the CSPA is constantly expanding. As well, the CSPA provides educational resources about clinical practice guidelines, treatments and clinical trials.
Skin Investigation Network of Canada (SkIN Canada)
The CSPA is also leading patient engagement in the Skin Investigation Network of Canada (SkIN Canada). This Network was founded to support collaboration between leading researchers, experts and patients from across the country. SkIN Canada seeks to embed patient experience and input in skin research undertaken across Canada. In addition to being a member of the Executive Committee of the Network, the CSPA’s Executive Director chairs the Patient Advisory Council.
C. Advocate for better care and more effective treatments
There is strength in numbers! The CSPA supports Affiliate Members by:
- Advocating for access to specific treatments through patient input submissions, pre-budget submissions and on other important policy issues such as national pharmacare, drug pricing, drug shortages, teledermatology, phototherapy, and rare disease and cancer policy
- Supporting positive policy changes that impact patient input submission processes, such as changes to the Common Drug Review, the Pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review run by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)
- Participating in consultations and interactions with healthcare providers, policy- and decision-makers, and partners, including at meetings and conferences
- Engaging with policymakers to share the diversity of skin patient perspectives, and being a voice for those that feel they have no voice for their condition, and
- Sharing links to your surveys, campaigns, and consultations.
The Canadian Dermatology Association (CDA)
The CSPA shares updates about our community with dermatologists through the CDA eBulletin and is invited to participate at the CDA Annual Conference each June. At this leading national event, we take the opportunity to showcase the work of our Affiliate Members by sharing your information with dermatologists and other leaders in dermatology at our booth.
Skin Patient Charter of Rights
In 2019, the CSPA created the Skin Patient Charter of Rights to raise awareness of your rights, to empower you and promote the fair treatment of all people with skin diseases, conditions and traumas.
As an Affiliate Member, you have free access to the Skin Patient Charter posters, postcards and banners to use at meetings and events. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. today for a free copy of the Skin Patient Charter.
D. Build connections with other skin patient organizations
Biennial Face-to-Face Affiliate Member meetings
CSPA hosts these all-expenses-paid meetings every two years. Attendees have the opportunity to discuss common issues facing skin patients in Canada and connect with pharmaceutical partners to enhance Affiliate Members’ networks. This allows our members to discuss common challenges faced by skin patients in Canada and offers an opportunity to identify areas where the skin patient community can work together to improve patient outcomes across disease areas.
Prior to the meetings, a survey will be circulated to help define priority issues for organizing workshops and discussions. In fact, the Skin Patient Charter of Rights grew from a discussion at one of these meetings.
Affiliate Members Workplace
The CSPA Affiliate Members Workplace is an online space where collaboration, conversation and information sharing can happen between CPSA's Affiliate Member organizations. All users are encouraged to offer resources and input as well as celebrate our successes and discuss how all Affiliate Members can better serve their respective skin patient communities. The platform looks and feels like Facebook. Complete with member profiles, groups and chat features, it is an effective, private way of communicating with one another. Our goal is to help empower our Affiliate Members to identify strengths and build camaraderie and connections between one another.
CSPA Affiliate Members' Workplace Confidentiality Agreement (click to view)
Affiliate Member Toolbox
The Affiliate Member Toolbox contains helpful information on working with the CSPA and includes resources from other groups, such as Charity Village.
Affiliate Member's discount
As an Affiliate Member, you can take advantage of and benefit from discounts with UPS, Avis, Budget, and Lenovo. It’s easy to apply!
Fostering patient communities & sharing information
Whether your organization is seeking to develop its Board of Directors, advocate, grow its social media presence, fundraise, make connections with other patient organizations, or develop itself into a new organization, CSPA can be a resource to you.
What are Affiliate Members’ commitments?
There are no fees to join as an Affiliate Member. We ask our Affiliate Members to:
- put our “Proud Affiliate of CSPA” logo on your website
- permit us to share their logo on our website as an Affiliate Member
- share the Skin Patient Charter of Rights
- participate in relevant campaigns
- share information and surveys, and
- attend the face-to-face meeting.
