British Columbiaâs population is getting older. Many older adults are aging with chronic heart conditions. Digital tools, or programs and resources for use with different technologies, can help older adults look after themselves in living with their chronic heart condition(s), but many older adults need training and support to use them. This project will find out what older adults with chronic heart conditions need and prefer in the way of support and training. At the same time, the project will help find out what existing community digital literacy training programs for older adults currently offer, and what they think might be possible and workable for them in adding health technology support to their existing programs. The things we learn will be used to help support older adults with heart conditions to use digital technologies for self-care. Then we will put together all this information and have a meeting to discuss next steps. This project will allow us to build a strong team and gather direction for the best way forward. In particular, by talking directly with older adults with heart conditions and people who support them to use digital technologies, we can come up with ideas that are more likely to be meaningful for them.
Research Location: University of British Columbia - Okanagan Campus
Promoting sleep health for families in British Columbia foster and kinship care
Children in foster and kinship (i.e. cared for by a non-relative and a relative, respectively) families often experience health and developmental concerns. Sleep is essential for health and development, yet little is known about foster;kinship family sleep. The insights of the foster;kinship community are needed to develop sleep research (and a sleep resource) that is useful, meaningful, and relevant to foster;kinship families. We will bring together an Indigenous elder, foster;kinship caregivers, adults with childhood foster;kinship experiences, community organizations, healthcare professionals, and researchers to co-develop a sleep health research agenda and co-design a sleep resource blueprint to support foster;kinship family sleep health in British Columbia. We will offer foundational training to build our partnersâ (e.g. foster;kinship caregivers, adults who experienced childhood foster;kinship placements, graduate trainee) capacity and will hold seven virtual team engagement sessions. This project will result in a research agenda and tailored sleep resource that are relevant to the foster;kinship community, which will lead to increased uptake of future findings and ultimately better sleep health for foster;kinship families.
A path to success: Convening service providers and patients to understand diabetes prevention care referral pathways and co-develop a research agenda for the interior of BC
General practitioners (GP) are essential in diabetes prevention due to the amount of time they interact with patients and the screening tests that they request and review. Once a GP identifies a patient as being at high risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) they have the ability to refer this individual to publicly available education and prevention programs. However, in rural and urban locations of the interior region of BC, GPs are failing to refer individuals identified as being at high risk of T2D to diabetes prevention initiatives in the community. This represents a major block in the pathway to improving health for those at high risk of T2D. We need to collaborate with individuals involved in the screening, diagnosis and management of prediabetes in the interior of BC to a) uncover the barriers and facilitators to referrals to diabetes prevention programs or initiatives; b) Establish how individuals at high risk of T2D can access diabetes prevention care by identifying potential pathways to care that are acceptable to individuals responsible for care; and c) Co-develop a research agenda with health care professionals to devise, trial, and ultimately test out new potential pathways of care for patients at risk of T2D.
From Social Media Advertisement to Type 2 Diabetes Remission: Harnessing Innovative Social Media Strategies to Make Remission Possible in British Columbia
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) remission, which means that blood sugar levels return to sub-diabetes levels without taking any glucose-lowering medications, is achievable for many people living with T2D through changes to diet;lifestyle. T2D remission offers new hope to those living with diabetes and empowers them to make positive lifestyle changes. Despite this potential, many individuals living with T2D remain unaware that remission is possible. Our mission is to raise awareness and provide support for people living with T2D to help make Remission Possible across British Columbia.
The “Remission Possible” team includes researchers, doctors, people living with T2D, and social media experts to help share the inspiring stories of persons with lived experience of T2D remission through Facebook advertisements. Once people view one of our advertisements, they are directed to our website, www.DiabetesRemission.ca, where they find credible information on remission and can sign up for doctor-led programs designed to support them in their remission journey. Given the popularity of social media, this strategy can directly connect thousands of people who might benefit from T2D remission and guide them to programs that can help improve their health.
Integrating Exercise Snacks into Type 2 Diabetes Care: feasibility and management of cardiovascular risk factors
Most people living with type 2 diabetes (T2D) do not achieve enough physical activity and miss benefiting from the powerful health benefits of exercise. “Exercise snacks” are short bursts of exercise lasting 1 minute or less, which can be done sporadically throughout the day. These snacks can be easily performed anywhere using stair-climbing or simple body weight exercises. Incorporating exercise snacks into the daily routine could help to break up sedentary time, regulate blood sugar, and improve blood pressure and fitness levels. This research program aims to explore the positive effects of exercise snacks in individuals living with T2D. Through a combination of lab-based studies and a real-world clinical trial that will deliver an exercise snacks intervention via a Smartphone âappâ, we will test if exercise snacks can lower blood sugar and improve cardiovascular health in people with type 2 diabetes. In order to maximize the reach and impact of our research, we will also develop infographics and videos to help teach individuals with T2D how to incorporate exercise snacks into their day. This research aims to empower people living T2D to improve their health, one exercise snack at a time!
Exploring the natural history of chronic disease self-management and health resource utilization after stroke
The ability to effectively self-manage may empower people with stroke to optimize their recovery, health and wellbeing, and in doing so reduce healthcare costs. However, little is known about how people with stroke self-manage their recovery after hospital discharge, as well as how sociodemographic factors such as biological sex, age, stroke severity, and number of comorbidities impact how stroke survivors self-manage different areas of their lives. Therefore, this one-year longitudinal study aims to explore changes in self-management abilities among people with stroke after they have been discharged from hospital. We will also observe changes in health behaviours, emotions and life roles over the course of one year. Finally, we will also explore the association between self-management abilities, health resource use and costs over time. We hope to inform the development of targeted self-management interventions that consider the optimal timing after stroke to deliver such programs, and that allocate resources effectively for people with stroke that would optimally benefit from self-management support. This research will be presented at scientific conferences and will engage a patient partner in the translation of study findings.
Caregiver-Child Sleep and Relationships in Canadian Foster and Kinship Families
Sleep is important for health, yet little is known about sleep in foster and kinship families. In my postdoctoral fellowship, I will lead research to learn about the sleep health, how best to support sleep, and the connection between sleep and caregiver-child relationships for foster/kinship families. In Study 1, we will synthesize research on childrenâs sleep in foster and kinship care. In Study 2, we will interview foster and kinship caregivers of children aged 0-5 years to learn about the caregiver and child’s sleep, and how sleep influences the caregiver-child relationship. In Study 3, we will compare sleep in foster and kinship families with other families in Canada. In Study 4, foster and kinship caregivers will help us design and test a sleep resource. We are creating an advisory panel to work with us to create research that is useful and interesting to the foster/kinship community, and respectful of different cultures and family dynamics. With the advisory panel, we will share the results in journal articles, at conferences, via webinars, and through foster/kinship organizations. This research will help healthcare professionals and policymakers understand, and help support, the sleep of families in foster and kinship care.
A personalized approach to non-physical practice after stroke
Chronic motor impairments are experienced by 85% of stroke survivors. Recovery of these impairments can be facilitated by repetitive non-physical motor practice including kinaesthetic motor imagery (KMI; the mental rehearsal of movement), visual motor imagery (VMI; specific focus on a mental image) and action observation (AO; passive observation of movement). Yet, effectiveness of these different non-physical practice modes is varied due to highly individualized brain function after stroke. To improve effectiveness, we will assess brain and behaviour changes driven by KMI, VMI, and AO at the individual participant level. We will then design a personalized intervention to show that improvements in motor function are maximized when practice mode is tailored to the individual based on the brainâs response to each mode. This research informs the development of evidence-based interventions after stroke, representing an important step in improving the quality of life of stroke survivors in Canada. Integrated knowledge translation (KT) activities (including engaging key knowledge users), and end-study KT activities (including public lectures of findings) will be conducted.
Precision Nutrition for Digestive Diseases: Bridging the Gap through Translational Nutrition Research (PRECISE Study)
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects the digestive tract causing stomach pain, diarrhea, fatigue, and weight loss. Patients notice that diet impacts their symptoms and how they feel. While studies have explored the link between diet and IBD and how it develops, a gap exists in understanding how diet can treat inflammation and symptoms. Recent research indicates a crucial role for diet in shaping the microbiome (tiny microbes in our gut), potentially reducing the risk of disease flares. Understanding how diet affects the microbiome in IBD is key to empowering patients to take control of their condition.
Not all patients respond to diet in the same way. My research program will use precision nutrition (PN) to study the different responses to diet therapy based on an individual’s microbiome. In the future, we will aim to provide diet recommendations tailored to the person, leading to better disease management, improved nutritional health, and reduced symptoms.
This research project can impact patientsâ daily diet practices and provide crucial guidance for health professionals and patients, which is currently lacking. Also, its potential impacts extend to shaping future policies and research directions in diet for IBD.
Active Steps: Feasibility of a virtual intervention to promote active lifestyles in children with type 1 diabetes
Diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions in children; in Canada nearly 30,000 children are affected by this life-threatening disease. Type one diabetes (T1D) is a condition that requires careful management, including frequent monitoring of blood glucose levels and lifelong insulin therapy. Regular physical activity is recommended for better blood glucose control, but fear of hypoglycemia (alarmingly low blood glucose levels) limits physical activity in these children. Few interventions have managed to meaningfully increase physical activity in children with diabetes. With this project, I will develop and test a virtual physical activity intervention. The project will take place in BCâs Interior, including rural and remote communities. It will be the first physical activity intervention for children with T1D in this region. The âActive Stepsâ project consists of five 45-minte virtual sessions over 12-weeks, addressing T1D related physical activity challenges. Participants will receive workbooks to work through with the physical activity counsellor during the sessions. They will also set their own activity goals and monitor them using a Fitbit Charge 5. To evaluate the program, we will look at how many kids join, how many finish and how well the virtual program works. We will also interview the children and their parents to see if they enjoyed the program. Childrenâs physical activity before and after the intervention will be measured. This study is an important first step to ultimately inform a larger randomized controlled trial that will aim to demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention to increase physical activity.Â
The study will be conducted by Simran Gill, a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Christine Voss. Simran is co-funded by the Canadian Consortium of Clinical Trial Training Platform (CANTRAIN-CTTP) and Michael Smith Health Research BC Doctoral Studentship.Â