This grant will support research planning with community health and social service providers and men, women and gender diverse people living at the margins of poverty, precarious housing and poor mental health in rural and remote northern BC. We will build relationships with both provider and people with lived experience (Research Users) through World Cafés, and the inclusion of Research Users in all activities. Guided by community-based, participatory approaches, we will: (i) conduct a literature synthesis on mental health promotion and housing strategies with a focus on remote communities; (ii) conduct a synthesis of recent community-led consultations with Research Users on the strengths and challenges of mental health care and housing support in their region; (iii) undertake 2 inclusive World Cafés with Research Users to share outcomes of the literature synthesis and consultations and generate key research priorities necessary to support optimal mental health and housing security. Collaboratively, we will plan and develop a CIHR grant application to support subsequent research to co-develop an intervention that simultaneously enhances mental health care and housing security for people precariously housed in rural and remote BC.
Program: Convening and Collaborating Awards
Modernizing brain injury services in British Columbia: Developing research priorities for children, youth, and young adults
Acquired brain injury is a pressing and under addressed issue in Canada, especially in children and youth. These brain injuries can lead to an array of health outcomes, including issues with physical, cognitive, mental, and emotional health. Given the vast impacts of brain injury, children and youth access services in a variety of settings, including acute care, rehabilitation, and community settings. Despite the extensive personal and societal burden of a pediatric brain injury, research relevant to children, youth, and those transitioning to adulthood is limited across hospital, rehabilitation, and community services for these groups during their injury. This proposed multisectoral engagement project brings together researchers, clinicians, community organizations, not-for-profit groups, and partners with lived experienced in acquired brain. These individuals interact with acquired brain injury in acute care, rehabilitation, and community settings. This project will identify key research priorities on health and care services for children, youth, and those transitioning to adult services with acquired brain injury in B.C.
Building Age and Dementia Curriculum to Address Ageism and Support Development of Meaningful Intergenerational Connections
We live in an ageing society where the number of older adults, including those living with dementia will increase forming a significant portion of the population in the next decades. As our population ages, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified ageism as a significant global health issue. Negative attitudes towards older adults and people living with dementia are associated with negative health outcomes, loneliness, and poor quality of life. Stigmas associated with age and dementia begin in childhood driven by familial, societal, and media influences. Subsequently, the WHO has recommended addressing ageism through education and intergenerational connections. Our project aims to address age and dementia related stigmas by bringing together a diverse team to work collaboratively on the design and development of age and dementia learning activities aimed at students in grades K-5. Typically, intergenerational education has been developed outside of mandated curriculums. Our project addresses this important gap by aligning intergenerational education activities with the BC curriculum objectives, making it easier for classroom teachers to find opportunities to incorporate these activities within their educational planning.
Sexual and reproductive health of women and LGBTQ+ international students from India
The purpose of this activity is to build a research team. The team members will meet to talk about how to improve the sexual and reproductive health of women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer (LGBTQ+) international students from India. Organizations and health care providers that serve South Asian people in B.C. will be invited. Together we will plan a full day gathering in February 2025. At this meeting we will decide on the most important issues to focus on. We will plan a research study and decide what questions to ask. We will also plan how to make sure we share information with those that serve women and LGBTQ+ people.
The project began in November 2023 when we hosted an event titled Intersectional Conversations on Gender-Based Violence within the Panjabi Diaspora. We were asked at the event to continue this work by building a community-based research team.
Community Collaboration in the Gamification of a Proactive mHealth Intervention for Late-Life Cognitive Health
Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a likely precursor to dementia. With no known cure for dementia, and a rapidly aging world population, there is great need for research that targets reducing risk. Our team has developed and pilot-tested an mHealth-app-based psychoeducation intervention targeting cognitive health promotion for older adults; the results of this pilot study reflected a highly feasible intervention, but that many participants wanted an “extra challenge” in learning and applying their new knowledge. The proposed project will work with knowledge users (e.g., people with SCD or lived experience of dementia and related disorders, family members, caregivers, clinicians, and advocates) to develop a plan for enhancing engagement through gamification. We will achieve this goal by consulting with knowledge users through a working group of persons with lived experience (PWLE), researchers, developers, and a clinician. This working group will identify the priorities of knowledge users for the enhancement of the intervention and how to move forward. This project will also disseminate knowledge gained from the working group consultations to research users via a public forum, an academic paper, and a series of infographics.
Advancing sexual health equity in BC through intersectoral collaboration across education and healthcare
Schools are a critical site for ensuring Sexual Health Education (SHE) in BC; however, recent increases in anti-SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) organizing threaten youth’s access to 2S;LGBTQ+ affirming SHE. This project brings together an intersectoral advisory group which includes a range of partners working in SHE, health promotion, service delivery, and related areas. We will establish an advisory group to identify research priorities for working across the otherwise siloed sectors of education and sexual healthcare. Together, we will co-create a research agenda that aims to strengthen and support access to 2S;LGBTQ+ affirming sexual health education. Throughout the project we will leverage opportunities for intersectoral learning and lay the groundwork to subsequently develop a range of KTE materials to support sexual health education policy and practice. This project brings experts together to facilitate knowledge sharing across sectors, identify research-informed strategies to improve sexual health education, and co-create future applied research opportunities to ultimately generate resources to support professionals in delivering 2S;LGBTQ+ affirming SHE.
Beyond Pills: Exploring Pharmacists’ Role in Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Services
Access to the most effective contraceptive methods (intrauterine devices or subdermal implants) is inequitable in BC. Many people are unable to reach a health professional able to insert them. Regulatory changes allowing BC pharmacists to prescribe contraception presents an opportunity to expand the role pharmacists could play to better meet BC’s needs.
BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre and our research team will host a one-day meeting of BC stakeholders and leaders to discuss any potential to expand the role of pharmacists to insert subdermal contraceptive implants. Participants will identify perspectives and provide insights on both the opportunities and facilitators as well as anticipated barriers and challenges associated with this potential expansion of pharmacy practice. A pre-meeting survey and series of stakeholder interviews (separately funded) will provide information to guide our discussion during the meeting.
Key sessions during the meeting will include interactive discussions and panels involving a diverse range of stakeholders, including health policy, regulatory and care leaders, patient groups, and health professionals. Conclusions from this meeting will inform potential next-steps to expand service access.
Developing a research agenda to support northern internationally educated nurses return to the healthcare workforce
The nursing workforce is in crisis. The BC government’s commitment to health workforce strategy highlights that a systemic approach supporting nurses with international education (IENs) living in British Columbia returning to the workforce needs to be updated and strengthened. The proposed activities are based on this need and call for a learning system approach to workforce planning, including building capacity for IEN networking, education, recruitment, and retention. Applying learning systems principles to co-create a nimble northern post-secondary-health authority partnership will require effective teamwork to develop a research agenda on IEN access to education to support workforce sustainability. To use evidence to guide IEN programming in northern BC, we intend to invite provincial partners and stakeholders and facilitate a face-to-face meeting, followed by four online group meetings. Participatory techniques will be used in these sessions to explore the practicality of original and creative solutions for IEN nurse assessment, education, and employment in the north. Finally, we will focus on determining ways to improve IEN systems in practice, research, and policy across BC.
Rising Up: Collaborating with Chinese Families and Communities to Promote Mental Health Literacy
Many Chinese families living in BC struggle in silence to support their child’s mental health. Most resources are available only in English and were developed without cultural knowledge about mental health or related considerations of stigma. In this project, we begin to address this gap by partnering with Chinese families and community agencies to co-design resources that are culturally-meaningful, engaging, and effective. To start, we will work with a committee of Chinese caregivers and community providers of children aged 3-13y to promote mental health awareness early on in childhood.
We will co-host workshops with 2 activities to gain information and feedback about (i) existing resources, and (ii) what mental health information is needed and how they wish to receive it. The workshops will be offered both in-person and online, across daytime, evening and weekend hours, so people from different locations and schedules can attend. We will make special efforts to include a balance of mothers, fathers and grandparents. We will identify key themes and top priorities from the discussions to guide future steps towards co-developing culturally appropriate mental health resources for Chinese families.
Partnering to improve early identification and early intervention for children with developmental coordination disorder
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a common condition that significantly interferes with a child’s ability to learn motor skills. Without treatment, these motor challenges can persist into adulthood and limit job opportunities, affect physical and mental health, and impact quality of life. Early identification and intervention are crucial to change this negative trajectory.
More than 50,000 children in BC may have DCD, but most of these children are unlikely to have a diagnosis or receive therapy. Our survey of BC parents of children with DCD showed that they first identified concerns about their child’s motor skills at age 3 years, but did not receive a diagnosis until age 8, missing a critical window for early intervention. Parents also identified significant barriers to accessing therapy for their child.
In this project, we will bring together a diverse group of parents, researchers, health organizations, and clinicians to determine how to streamline early identification and improve access to early intervention. We will hold a series of meetings with these key partners to identify research objectives and co-develop a grant application to implement and evaluate early interventions for children with DCD.