Using as a focus-point one of the Walk With Me team’s recommendations identified in multiple of its research reports â to strengthen Peer Leadership within Island Health â the Project Team will:
a) Co-create a knowledge translation workshop for Island Health managers focused on Peer Leadership (ie: why Peer Leadership is an essential ingredient in the pursuit of an equity-conscious health system; how Peer Leadership might be incorporated and supported by Island Health; strategies to ensure success of Peer Leaders, etc.)
b) Co-deliver this presentation to at least 5 teams of Island Health managers, and
c) Work with managers to strategize the implementation of Peer Leadership plans.
Program: Reach Awards
Reaching youth, caregivers, service providers, decision-makers, and researchers in diverse communities in BC to co-develop and implement youth-centered models of care for unregulated opioid use
In 2016, the BC government declared a public health emergency because of high numbers of people experiencing overdoses, mostly from opioids like fentanyl and heroin. Since that time, the number of overdoses among youth between the ages of 12-24 has been steadily increasing. This has taken a significant toll on youth and their caregivers and communities.
Overdoses can be avoided by providing youth with the help they need, as early as possible. However, youth who use drugs like fentanyl and heroin face a lot of challenges accessing services and supports. To address this problem, our team has worked with experts to create a model of care that is more aligned with the needs of youth who use opioids.
The next step of this project is to share this model of care with service providers in different regions of British Columbia. We will also gather feedback on how well this model of care fits service providersâ local experiences. This project will help service providers and policy makers put this model of care into practice so that youth who use opioids can get help more quickly.
Building an anti-oppressive gerontological social work community of practice in Canada in collaboration with researchers, practitioners, and older adults
To ensure social workers are adequately prepared to work in the context of the aging and increasing diversification of the Canadian population, we propose to host a symposium that brings together established researchers, emerging scholars, practitioners;educators, and older adults. The impetus for this gathering is the preparation of a second edition of Hulko, Brotman, Stern and Ferrer’s popular and nationally adopted 2020 Routledge Press text on anti-oppressive social work (AOP) practice with older adults, their families, and communities. Our book filled a gap as it was the first Canadian text on aging to use a critical AOP lens, focus on direct and indirect practice, and showcase the voices and experiences of older adults from equity-denied groups. While creating and marketing the first edition, we identified the need for a community of practice (CoP) as those working in this field are widely dispersed and have limited access to research and education on aging and older adults. Our intention is to grow a CoP like those that are emerging in other countries, and in doing so amplify the work of Black, Indigenous, racialized, and queer scholars whose work often gets overlooked and encourage them onwards as the next generation.
Supporting Youth-Physician Networks in Response to the Health Effects Climate Change and Environmental Disruption
The proposed activities build on the results from the CCEDARR project, which explored how the lessons learned from the pandemic could be applied in resilient responses to climate change in rural Canada. The findings of this qualitative work suggest that community connection and rural networks are influential to rural community resilience, whether in response to the pandemic or challenges related to climate change. As a result, the overarching objective of this work is to support networks of engaged advocates who have the potential to be key leaders in climate change and health. This grant would support two events to bring together youth, secondary school educators, medical students, and rural physicians to strengthen relationships within a multidisciplinary framework and develop climate change education, all while fostering youth leadership. In addition, the grant would support the research and writing of an online learning hub focused on sharing strategies for rural resilience in response to climate change and its impacts on rural health systems. This work would be completed in partnership with educators and medical students and include the outcomes of the proposed networking events.
Sharing knowledge to connect, collaborate and co-create Dementia-inclusive Spaces for Community Access, Participation, and Engagement (DemSCAPE)
The Dementia-inclusive Spaces for Community Access, Participation, and Engagement (DemSCAPE) study is a two-year research project (2021-2023), that brings together researchers, trainees, advocacy organization members and municipal partners in Metro Vancouver and Prince George. The project identified patterns in activities outside the home by people with dementia. It also explored how the environmental features of the neighbourhood influenced participantsâ mobility and community participation.
To promote community engagement and increase awareness, we will create educational activities with people with lived experiences and community and municipal partners. These activities will showcase the project findings by video and photo exhibits to the general public virtually. Moreover, we will have two public discussion sessions called World Cafés to encourage conversations, collaborative learning and new ideas with in-person video and photo exhibits and interactive games. Our aim is to enhance understanding of the features of a dementia-inclusive environment and advocate for positive changes.
This project will have a significant impact in increasing awareness of dementia-inclusive communities.
Early detection and diagnosis of cerebral palsy: Implementing best practice guidelines in BC
Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability in Canadian children. Current guidelines and assessments allow for diagnosis as early as four months. Early therapy can maximize a childâs abilities and prevent health complications. In the first two years of life, the brain is most able to reorganize and grow new pathways. Yet, the average age of diagnosis in BC is nearly 25 months. Parents feel stress and anxiety while waiting. A diagnosis helps families to understand what CP is, access therapies and plan for the future. Our survey showed many doctors lack the knowledge, skills, and confidence to diagnose early, and an understanding of familiesâ lived experience. Our strategy for change includes education, training, and sharing parentsâ experiences. We will use online learning, resources, and interactive online and in-person workshops. Our aim is to support doctors to assess for and diagnose CP early, and help families through the diagnosis and next steps. We will measure doctorsâ change in knowledge, skills, confidence, and diagnosing behaviours. Interviews will determine how well they liked the strategy. Then we will share our learnings with health care leaders, doctors and families to promote ongoing change.
Celebrating World Thrombosis Day: Raising Awareness to Save Lives
Our bodies need to be able to form blood clots after injuries such as cuts; these clots are essential because they keep us from bleeding to death. However, blood clots can also form in parts of our bodies where they are not supposed to. The formation of these âwrongâ blood clots is called thrombosis, and is the cause of many life-threatening conditions, including heart attacks, strokes, and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Thrombosis is the cause of death for 1 in 4 people worldwide. October 13 is declared as âWorld Thrombosis Dayâ â a day dedicated to raising awareness and educating the public about thrombosis, how to prevent it, and how to recognize the signs of a medical emergency. The purpose of this Reach Grant application is to support a âCafĂ© Scientifiqueâ â an openly accessible and inclusive information session aimed at the general public. Our team of physicians and blood researchers will host a panel discussion on World Thrombosis Day (October 13, 2023) to inform the public about the prevention and management of heart attacks, strokes and other thrombosis-related conditions. A better public awareness of thrombosis will help to reduce thrombosis-related sickness and disability in our communities, and ultimately save lives.
Provincial Dissemination of Lower Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines for Youth, by Youth
The Low-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines for Youth, By Youth (the Guidelines) are a novel public health resource that reflect day-to-day realities of youth’s lives and provide practical and feasible strategies to help mitigate the harms of cannabis use. The Guidelines were developed for and by youth, responding to calls by the Lancet Commission and BCâs Representative for Children and Youth for the greater inclusion of youth voices in policies and guidelines that support their health and wellbeing.
While Phase 1 of the Guidelines project focused on developing the youth-oriented guidelines, the objective of Phase 2 is to develop and implement a youth-led knowledge translation (KT) strategy, designed for broad dissemination of the Guidelines. To meet this objective, we will (1) establish a KT Youth Working Group (KT-WG) comprised of youth across BC with lived experience of cannabis use, and (2) co-create and implement a KT plan with the KT-WG, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, and Foundry Central Office to mobilize the Guidelines at provincial, national, and international levels. In doing so, we aim to promote youth-oriented harm reduction guidelines and contribute to the health and wellness of youth in Canada.
Drawing Attention to an Invisible Injury: Increasing Awareness and Reducing the Burden of Concussion among Workers and Workplaces in British Columbia
Concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury, is the most common form of brain injury, causing physical, emotional, and mental health symptoms, with the potential for long term impacts, particularly if not managed properly. Concussion can happen to anyone, anywhere, and is a top five cause of workplace time-loss. In BC, from 2017-2021, concussion accounted for 4.8% of all time-loss claims and 8% of claims by retail salespersons, mostly among young workers. The aim of this project is to increase concussion awareness and education within the retail industry by highlighting key messages from the evidence-based online resource, the Concussion Awareness Training Tool for Workers and Workplaces. By leveraging existing partnerships, we will engage a large retailer to promote concussion education within their workforce. Information sessions will be delivered on concussion prevention, recognition, recovery, management, and Return-to-Work. We will create a concussion infographic and recruit a worker to share their personal story via video for wide dissemination. Not only will this initiative create awareness and change attitudes about concussion at work, but the safety messages will be applicable to workersâ lives beyond the workplace.
CGSHEâs Gender & Sex in Methods and Measurement: An Educational Symposium focused on Building Equity in Research
This award will support a 1-day educational symposium to be held in Vancouver, BC in summer 2024. The symposium’s aim is to expand attendeesâ knowledge of and capacity to ensure accuracy, precision, and inclusion when it comes to gender, sex, and sexuality in health research. Funded by CIHR Sex and Gender Science Chair to help advance the centreâs strategic priority to increase inclusivity in research, CGSHE Research Equity Toolkit on Gender & Sex in Methods and Measurement (GSMM) was launched in 2022. Attendees will learn about the toolkit and participate in workshops focused on different facets of research design, data collection, analysis, and dissemination, organized around each GSMM tool. Attendees will be able to meet with toolkit co-authors/advisory members, who are 2S/LGBTQ research and methods experts, to get advice on their specific project and data needs. The symposium will culminate in a roundtable focused on identifying a gap in the toolkit. A final tool will be developed following the event, based on the input and insights shared by attendees. The symposium will welcome academic and clinical researchers, healthcare providers, government employees, and others who collect, manage and/or use health data in their work.