The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate Advance Care Planning (ACP) to determine from the patient and families’ perspectives, the prevalence of ACP, satisfaction with end of life (EOL) communication and decision-making, and to enable local or regional teams to develop and implement specific action plans aimed at increasing the quality and quantity of ACP efforts specifically, and the overall quality of EOL care in general.
Continue reading “Advance Care Planning Evaluation in Hospitalized Elderly Patients”
This community-based research project will build capacity amongst nurses to care for First Nations Elders with memory loss in a culturally safe way. The objectives are:
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To translate First Nations perspectives on dementia research findings into a knowledge translation intervention for front-line nursing staff based on traditional storytelling with Elders;
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To determine the knowledge, skills and values of nursing staff with respect to cultural safety and dementia care before and after the traditional storytelling intervention; and
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To assess the effectiveness of the KT intervention in terms of changing nursing practice and improving care for First Nations Elders with memory loss.
Continue reading “Culturally safe dementia care: Building nursing capacity to work with First Nations elders with memory loss”
The purpose of this research is to determine why such high numbers of patients – up to 1 in 5 – who undergo knee replacement surgery are dissatisfied with the outcomes of their surgery. Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA), is the most requested joint replacement surgery in Canada, and will continue to increase in response to the needs of an aging population. A greater understanding of the variations in patient outcomes, and the factors that contribute to the dissatisfaction rate, will inform surgical program planning and help to standardize procedures and services to achieve better outcomes.
Continue reading “Why are so many patients dissatisfied with knee replacement surgery? Exploring variations of the patient experience”
The purpose of this project is to generate new knowledge that will foster understanding of what constitutes safe nursing care in acute care settings for people who are experiencing problematic substance use and social disadvantage. The target audience will be practicing nurses who provide care to people experiencing substance use, as well as health care administrators, nursing leaders and policy makers. The key research question is: What is culturally safe care from the perspective of patients and nurses in acute care settings and what supports the delivery of culturally safe care?
Continue reading “Fostering cultural safety in nursing practice with people experiencing problematic substance use”
The overarching goal of this study is to develop a framework to combine evidence and public values to set priorities for cancer control programs (including prevention, screening, treatment and palliative/supportive care). Its objectives are to: (a) develop better methods for identifying, interpreting and applying evidence in different cancer control decision-making contexts; and (b) better understand if, when, and how public engagement and public values should play a part in priority setting processes for cancer control.
Continue reading “Evidence Values and Priority Setting Methods in Cancer Control”
This practice-relevant nursing health services research initiative will address the questions:
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How and in which contexts can a palliative approach better meet the needs of patients with a life-limiting illness and their family members?
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How can a palliative approach guide the development of innovations in health care delivery systems to better support nursing practice and the health system in British Columbia?
Continue reading “Impacts of a Palliative Approach for Nursing (IPAN)”
The objective of this 12-month project is to use a research synthesis approach to develop the knowledge required to inform decision makers charged with the implementation of nurse practitioner and physician assistant roles.
Some areas to be addressed through this synthesis are:
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What are the varying scopes of practice and practice autonomy for both roles?
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What population health needs are best served by which role?
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Are there barriers to implementing both roles simultaneously?
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Can both roles effectively support the BC health care system and, if so, how?
Continue reading “The Utilization and Impact of Nurse Pracitioners and Physician Assistants: A Research Synthesis”
The overall objective of this 18-month project is to explore the use of best practices to facilitate the successful integration and retention of new graduate Registered Nurses (RNs) and Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPNs). This project will evaluate the current application of health human resources best practice knowledge/strategies in BC to support the beginning practice of new nursing graduates, and to identify best practice knowledge/strategies likely to succeed in various health care settings.
Continue reading “Best Practices: Integration of New Graduate Nurses in the Workplace”
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.
