Anxiety disorders are the most common of all mental health conditions. They affect 20 percent of pregnant and postpartum people, and are associated with significant distress and life interference for sufferers, as well as negative consequences for the fetus and infant.
Little, if any, routine screening for these disorders is conducted. This is mostly because accurate screening tools have yet to be identified. The majority of screening studies have used poor quality research methodology or have assessed measures which appeared to perform too poorly to be recommended for widespread use. The result of this is that perinatal anxiety disorders often go unidentified, resulting in continued suffering and life impairment.
The purpose of this research is to identify one or more accurate and reliable perinatal anxiety disorder screening tool(s). To do this, we will conduct a large scale study of pregnant and postpartum people in which we assess the accuracy of the most promising perinatal anxiety disorder screening tools.
This research will provide important information to inform healthcare providers, policymakers and scientists, about the most effective approach to screening for anxiety disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
In 2007, the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) began developing a data-driven process to redesign how care is delivered to patients: Care Delivery Model Redesign (CDMR). The overarching goals of CDMR are to achieve care delivery that is responsive to the care needs and experiences of patients, embodies inter-professional practice, and is based on data and evidence. This evaluation will aim to answer three questions about the model:
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To what extent have the activities of CDMR contributed to delivering care that meets or exceeds a recognized standard?
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To what extent have the activities of CDMR contributed to optimized staff utilization, based on patient care needs?
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What are the factors that enable the development of a high-functioning inpatient unit? While questions 1 and 2 focus on patient care quality and optimizing staff, question 3 is intended to capture the interplay of factors between these two domains and others, such as leadership and culture.
Primary Investigators: Katy Mukai and Dr. Ann Holyrood
The Enhanced Seniors Team (EST) is an initiative under the Care Continuum Transformation Project (CCT) that the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) launched at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. The EST focuses on improving care for frail, at-risk older adults being seen in the Emergency Department (ED). The aim of the EST is to initiate early, goal-directed care planning and evidence-based interventions to prevent cognitive and functional losses associated with acute illness among hospitalized older patients. The team collaborates with the medical and surgical unit teams to achieve patient goals, decrease hospital length of stay and improve transition to home. The interdisciplinary EST includes a case manager who helps reduce unnecessary hospital admissions by providing referrals that increase access to community-based services and resources.
The health authority wishes to evaluate the impact of the EST in Nanaimo in order to inform implementation of the model in other VIHA hospitals.
