Research Location: University of British Columbia - Vancouver Campus

Filipino people are a growing population in Canada. However, there is limited information available on the mental health of this population, including the factors and conditions that shape mental health outcomes, help-seeking, and access to care. This proposed project will bring together researchers, research users, and community members to co-identify research and knowledge mobilization gaps and priorities in enhancing the mental health of Filipino communities in British Columbia, Canada. Through the convening and collaborating activities outlined in this proposed work, our team will co-develop research that is directly informed by community perspectives and experiences.

Although trans people have always existed, with improved clinical care, growing numbers of trans people who have accessed gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) are reaching middle age and beyond. We know little about what to expect or how to optimize health for midlife trans people using GAHT. Better understanding the science of these midlife health experiences can reduce disparities faced by trans people, and possibly offer insights to improve well-being of cisgender people experiencing troubling midlife hormonal symptoms.

This proposed project will be a 1-year process of convening researchers, trainees, and knowledge users to collaboratively develop an agenda for research priorities, methods, language, and other key elements of science into the well-being of aging trans individuals using GAHT.
This 1-year project has 6 steps:
1. The Core Team will draft discussion guide.
2. Expert Advisory Committee will meet and develop draft research priorities.
3. Broader Community Survey will elicit feedback on draft priorities.
4. Core Team will analyze survey and revise research priorities.
5. Expert Advisory Committee will review and refine this revision.
6. We will share findings with the community, clinicians, and researchers.

Healthcare is one of the largest industrial contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, and is responsible for 5.2% of national emissions. We are also increasingly aware of the health impacts of climate change, which disproportionately affect older adults. Long-term care homes (LTC) homes, where frail older adults requiring complex care receive round-the-clock nursing care, are a critical component of the healthcare continuum of services. Yet, in comparison to hospitals, the LTC home sector receives relatively little attention in climate policy or research. The purpose of this project is to (a) assess climate readiness of the LTC home sector in British Columbia and (b) identify priorities for research, policy and practice in this area. We will assess climate readiness by: (1) conducting a cross-sectional survey of LTC homes in British Columbia to collect information related to sustainability and climate readiness, and (2) have a sub-set of LTC homes complete the Long-term Care Scorecard developed by the Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare. After gathering this information, we will hold a virtual summit to share the findings and develop climate readiness priorities for research, policy and practice.

Rates of food insecurity reached an all-time high in 2023, where over 21% of people in BC and almost 9 million Canadians, including 2.1 million children, now live without stable access to food. Our team has spent decades doing research that repeatedly finds that food insecurity is a symptom of poverty that must be addressed by better social policies. Health researchers (like us) naively thought that once we showed the evidence about the causes and solutions to food insecurity, it would change the hearts and minds of policy makers and the public. But research alone has not been enough. Our goal now is to bring together researchers, artists, health professionals and community members to come up with new ways to do research and evaluate its impact that includes making art, writing stories and testing research approaches that will get people talking about and sharing evidence about the causes of food insecurity and about what we can do to make sure no one ever goes hungry. This project will build new research skills among students, researchers and community partners, spark change in research approaches and bring communities and scholars together in new ways to better address the crisis of food insecurity in British Columbia.

Medical-dental integration (MDI) is regarded as a crucial strategy for achieving improved health outcomes, patient and provider experience, and cost savings. Despite its potential benefits, there is currently limited practical guidance available for implementing MDI effectively, and key stakeholders’ (patients;healthcare providers) perspectives of such integration are not well understood. Our project aims to support meaningful collaboration and knowledge exchange between health researchers, research users, and key stakeholders to co-develop a person-centred approach to MDI within an interdisciplinary community health centre (CHC). We will bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to identify the vision of medical and dental integration at the CHC, the activities needed to achieve this vision, and indicators to evaluate success. The convening and collaborating activities will include the formation of a Stakeholder Implementation Advisory Group (SIAG), ongoing meetings between researchers and SIAG participants, and interviews with key stakeholders at the CHC. Our goal is to elevate community voices and knowledge to inform the development of person-centred MDI at the EFry CHC that meets the needs of clients.

The health sector is uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events driven by climate change, experiencing impacts like increased healthcare demand and disruption to healthcare infrastructure. There is a notable gap in comprehensive methods for estimating their economic impacts on the health system. This project seeks to address this gap by developing an approach to estimate the economic impacts of extreme weather events on the health system. The project will involve three steps, 1. A review of the literature, 2. Consultation with researchers and knowledge users, 3. Piloting of the framework on a case study.
We are seeking funding for the second step of this work. Focus groups will be conducted with health economists, they will be presented case studies of extreme weather events and asked questions on approaches to costing these events with the aim of gaining insights into ways to design methods to address the complexities of extreme weather events. Additionally, interviews will be conducted with policy makers and planners to explore the kinds of health economic evidence they need to support climate resilience planning in the health system. The results will be synthesized to develop a gold-standard approach.

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.