A 20-year journey of health research: Quantifying a rural network

Dr. Martha MacLeod. Photo credit: Northeast News. Photo courtesy of Martha MacLeod
Dr. Stefan Grzybowski. Photo credit: Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute

Drs. Stefan Grzybowski and Martha MacLeod: Quantifying a rural network

It was 2005 and it wasn’t immediately apparent to Dr. Stefan Grzybowski and the small team meeting over a conference call that they would be part of a new initiative to build partnerships among rural and remote BC researchers. But they would soon learn that MSFHR intended to provide seed funding for the network that would spark further developments for rural and remote health research.

“It happened almost organically,” Stefan says about the early days of the BC Rural and Remote Health Research Network. “And then we became a bit of an incubator.”

With a focus on building future capacity for health research in BC, between 2004 to 2010 MSFHR funded eight Health of Population Networks to build partnerships among BC researchers conducting research related to specific population groups. One of these networks was the BC Rural and Remote Health Research Network, co-led by Dr. Grzybowski, a family physician with many years of rural clinical experience, and Dr. Martha MacLeod, a UNBC-based researcher and long-time supporter of and advocate for improving the health of rural and remote populations. 

“There is a way of working with rural, remote and northern communities on research that spans both Western and Indigenous ways of knowing and learning. Everyone has to learn it when they get here. You have to be invited to the community and have that ongoing commitment to partnership.”

In the initial MSFHR funding application for the BC Rural and Remote Health Research Network, it was noted that there is substantial evidence that rural, remote and northern populations experience compromised health status when compared to their urban counterparts. This experience is understood all too well by health researchers based outside of BC’s urban areas. Martha remembers working alongside several other UNBC faculty members and researchers in a small office in downtown Prince George, together fostering new connections for rural researchers across Canada. There were a number of rural health research endeavours just getting started, and she was excited to build capacity for research partnerships and turn away from the data extraction models of the past.

“Innovation often happens at the margins,” she explains. “There is a way of working with rural, remote and northern communities on research that spans both Western and Indigenous ways of knowing and learning. Everyone has to learn it when they get here. You have to be invited to the community and have that ongoing commitment to partnership.”

With funding from MSFHR, Stefan, Martha and their team focused their efforts on building up the rural and remote health research community to allow for greater knowledge sharing.

Stefan points to the development of the team awards by the BC Rural and Remote Health Research Network as one of the most successful strategies that pulled groups of people together and helped expand further networking and connections among BC’s rural and remote researchers. Many of the teams that received support from MSFHR were able to apply for and receive further funding and grants from larger national organizations like CIHR to continue their research.

Stefan credits MSFHR for its contributions to investigating and clarifying the unique challenges of rural health research. The difference between urban and rural health research is clear: while urban centres allow for specialization, rural research needs to recognize generalist ways of approaching problems. 

Some of his latest health research focuses on challenges for maternity care in rural areas and demonstrates the impact of these challenges on families and communities. While there are several factors that affect the delivery of maternity care in rural areas, in one research example, Stefan’s team evaluated if having access to a physician who can perform surgeries would affect the number of women who chose to deliver at their local hospital. This focused rural health research allows for local and surrounding health areas to better understand the impact of their service delivery and reveals opportunities for quality improvement to better serve community members in other catchment areas.

“Different health systems weren’t well understood, and MSFHR contributed to unpacking and understanding some of that. I applaud MSFHR for their boldest vision and the large amount of resources they put forward to support health research across the province.”

Martha is still based at UNBC where she continues to advocate, create research knowledge opportunities and support their subsequent translation into practice across the province. She is also part of the Advisory Council for the BC SUPPORT Unit and is active at BC SUPPORT Unit Northern Centre, where she is currently exploring patient-oriented approaches to implementation science and knowledge translation. Both have also served on MSFHR peer review panels.

In looking back, Stefan remarks, “Different health systems weren’t well understood, and MSFHR contributed to unpacking and understanding some of that. I applaud MSFHR for their boldest vision and the large amount of resources they put forward to support health research across the province.”