The sustainability of healthcare in BC hinges on innovation and technology to improve health, well-being, and independence while keeping people out of hospital. To make useful technologies we must know where they are needed, how well they work, and how to fit technology into our healthcare system. No one has all the answers. We need to bring together patients and their families, health professionals, industry leaders, engineers, researchers, and hospital administrators to identify health technology priorities and opportunities, and map a plan to move forward. We will host five workshops — one for each participant group to identify priorities, opportunities and challenges. Each workshop will result in a white paper summarizing the priorities of the group. A final co-creation workshop will include all participant groups to identify research priorities, build new patient-centered research teams, and define a pathway for these priority projects to move forward.
Team members: Andrew Sixsmith (Simon Fraser University); Sylvain Moreno (Simon Fraser University); Faranak Farzan (Simon Fraser University); Jaimie Borisoff (British Columbia Institute of Technology); Teresa Cheung (Fraser Health); Lillian Hung (University of British Columbia); Kate Keetch (Fraser Health); Chris Condin (Fraser Health); Fatemeh Khorami (Simon Fraser University); Randy McIntosh (Simon Fraser University); Swapnil Shah (BC SUPPORT Unit); Brittney Schichter (BC SUPPORT Unit); Elicia Maine (Simon Fraser University); Tania Bubela (Simon Fraser University); Mei Fang (Simon Fraser University); Delia Cooper (BC SUPPORT Unit); Clay Braziller (Simon Fraser University).
In 2021, the BC experienced 196 fatal/non-fatal reported overdoses in youth under the age of 19, and 18 lost their lives. Despite the increasing number of youth with substance use disorders in BC, current data shows that voluntary, community-based, and youth-friendly support services are lacking. The Understanding Pathways project aims to address this by learning from youth who have had their lives impacted by substance use, what their diverse hopes, wishes and ideas are for accessible, non-judgmental, safe, and culturally-centered substance use services. The project will engage with youth as co-researchers and collaborate with frontline, community-based, policy, and academic researchers and research users in the field of youth substance use. We will convene with two youth advisory councils to plan and deliver a workshop where we will develop a journey map illustrating the continuum of substance use services required to meet the diverse needs of youth. We will compliment this with a scoping review of youth substance use interventions and promising practices. The journey map and scoping findings will be linked in a research brief to inform future research and knowledge translation activities.
Team members: Andrea Mellor (University of Victoria – Canadian Institutes for Substance Use Research); Denise Cloutier (University of Victoria – Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health); Jenna Bailey (Surrounded by Cedar Child and Family Services); Jennifer Chuckry (Surrounded by Cedar Child and Family Services); Glenys Webster (BC Representative for Children and Youth); Barbara Thompson (Victoria Youth Clinic Society); Zahra Premji (University of Victoria).
Twelve percent of all dental antibiotic prescriptions in BC are for clindamycin, a drug with considerable risk of adverse effects compared with alternatives. Good dental outcomes are achieved with much lower use of that drug in Australia (5 percent), and the UK (0.5 percent). Prescribing clindamycin endangers patient safety due to higher rates of Clostridium difficile infections, increases the risk of resistance, and should only be used when no better option is available. Audit and feedback interventions have decreased antibiotic prescribing rates in various settings, but experience with its use in dental prescribing is limited. Further, there is growing evidence that strategies informed by behavioral theory may be more effective and should be explored. Focus groups will provide an understanding of the current challenges in dental prescribing and test the responses on audit and feedback as well as the planned and alternative behavioral interventions. This would enable tailoring the audit and feedback according to the dentists’ needs making the intervention more relevant to the receivers and more effective.
Team members: Sade Stenlund (BCCDC); Fawziah Lalji (UBC – Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences); Clifford Pau (UBC – Faculty of Dentistry); Mamun Abdullah (BCCDC); Nick Smith (BCCDC); Max Xie (BCCDC); Lynsey Hamilton (BCCDC); Kirstin Appelt (Sauder School of Business); Dana Stanley (UBC – Therapeutics Initiative); Anat Fisher (UBC Therapeutics Initiative); Sophie Y. Wang (University of Hamburg).
Building Roads Together (BRT) is an intergenerational trauma-informed peer-led walking/rolling group program implemented in public urban greenspace, that trains and mentors migrants living in low-income urban neighbourhoods to promote social inclusion, equitable healthy aging, and mental health in their communities. Our Building Roads Together-Global (BRT-G) Solutions Network is adapting, scaling, evaluating, and sustaining BRT in three cities (Surrey, BC; Toronto, ON; Bogota, Colombia). This C2 award is to establish a Victoria site team for our Building Roads Together-Global Solutions Network to adapt, scale, evaluate, and sustain Building Roads Together in low-income, migrant-receiving neighbourhoods in Victoria. We will: 1) Build a new community-university-health system partnership in Victoria; 2) Develop a research agenda to integrate Victoria community partner priorities into BRT-G Solutions Network research objectives; 3) Begin the installation phase of implementing BRT in a low-income, migrant-receiving neighbourhood in Victoria; 4) Co-develop a training strategy for career development in inclusive implementation science; and 5) Build inclusive implementation science capacity among trainees.
Team members: Paola Ardiles (Bridge for Health); Nancy Clark (University of Victoria – School of Nursing, Faculty of Human and Social Development); Fiona Stevenson (DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society); Florentien Verhage (Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria); Sureya Ibrahim (Centre of Learning & Development); Adriana Diaz del Castillo H. (Ensamble Investigaciones).
Loneliness and social isolation have been increasingly recognized as a growing public health priority with extensive evidence that these issues take a significant toll on population health. Despite this escalating urgency, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, effective evidence-based interventions for mitigating social isolation and loneliness are lacking. Based on previous research by UBC researchers, this project proposes “acts of kindness” as an antidote to social disconnection. Our teams at UBC and UWBC will partner to co-develop and test the effects of an online intervention program to promote social connection in lonely BC residents. We expect that this project will provide an accessible, easy-to-implement program that will mitigate the isolation felt by participating BC residents in the periphery of social networks while also reducing the spread of loneliness throughout those BC residents’ social networks. We also expect this project will promote evidence-based approaches to tackle public health issues in the BC community extending beyond the issue of loneliness, so that UWBC (research users) can ensure that effective and high-quality programs reach British Columbians (ultimate research beneficiaries).
Team members: Jasica Grewal (United Way of BC); Tobias Jones (United Way of BC); Yeeun Archer Lee (UBC); Julia Nakamura (UBC); Rachel Hamilton (UBC).
This project aims to bring together a multi-stakeholder group, composed of patient partners as well as research, government, and health care decision-makers to co-develop a research agenda for digital innovation in perinatal health. We believe this work to be both timely and relevant, as the Ministry of Health and Perinatal Services BC refresh provincial strategies for health care digital transformation, which include aims to expand technology to support patient and family care. With this grant, we will conduct a review of the literature to inform the design of a stakeholder engagement plan. We will also organize and implement stakeholder engagement activities, to collaborate on research priorities and identify digital health needs related to perinatal care. We will develop a research agenda outlining a summary of activity findings and three to five evidence-based priorities, which will be shared with key partners whose work can be informed by the findings, through presentations and social media engagement. Through this work, we hope to set the foundation for future research collaboration and innovation in perinatal care to enhance patient, infant, and family health.
Team members: Tibor van Rooij (BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute); Punit Virk (UBC); Marianne Vidler (University of British Columbia); Quynh Doan (BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute); May Tauson (Government of BC); Dominik Stoll (Provincial Health Services Authority); Kathryn Berry-Einarson (Perinatal Services BC); Jennifer Krempien (BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre); Candice Taguibao (Women’s Health Research Institute); Beth Payne (BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute).
The COVID-19 pandemic and climate crises highlighted the need for renewed and strengthened systems to promote population physical activity (PPA) in BC. This need, coupled with calls for using complex systems methods, forms the basis for the proposed activities. Complexity can be seen as the context where numerous interacting elements (i.e. people, entities) in a system make it hard to see, describe, and assess what is happening in the whole. Complex systems methods are a way to gain clarity on complex problems by focusing on the patterns of what the system does or how it behaves. After the completion of a formative scoping review and interviews with stakeholders to assess the current state of systems for PPA in BC, we now plan to invite partners and stakeholders from many sectors and facilitate online group sense making sessions. These sessions will involve participatory processes to develop understanding of the current state of the systems for PPA. A second session will focus on identifying directions for strengthening systems for PPA in terms of policy, practice and research. The project team will provide recommendations for potential roles and responsibilities for the BCCDC to strengthen systems for promoting PPA.
Team members: Drona Rasali (BCCDC); Lori Baugh Littlejohns (BCCDC); Geoff McKee (BCCDC); Daniel Naiman (BC Ministry of Health).
Compared to the general population, people with spinal cord injury (SCI) report higher cigarette smoking rates, poorer health outcomes related to smoking, and lower engagement with smoking cessation treatments. Despite these inequities, SCI-specific smoking cessation supports have not yet been developed to help people with SCI stop smoking. SCI British Columbia (BC) is a community organization dedicated to helping persons with SCI adjust, adapt, and thrive. As our partner on this project, SCI BC identified a need for smoking cessation support for their clients. Using a partnership approach, this project aims to convene a diverse panel of researchers and research users to co-develop a smoking cessation intervention for people with SCI and the protocol for evaluating the intervention. During three meetings, the panel with experience in smoking cessation and/or SCI will review the literature and share their ideas to co-develop an evidence-based smoking cessation intervention. The panel will also help inform the intervention’s evaluation. The systematic co-development process will help to ensure the intervention is feasible, can be delivered by SCI BC, and has potential to support the health of persons with SCI.
Team members: Christopher McBride (Spinal Cord Injury British Columbia); Kathleen Martin Ginis (UBC); Mary Jung (UBC); Guy Faulkner (UBC); Kelsey Wuerstl (UBC).
Chronic pelvic pain affects ~15 percent of women and an unknown number of gender diverse people. Despite its common and devastating effects, chronic pelvic pain is too often dismissed or mismanaged, which is in part due to physicians’ lack of education on the topic. This study will identify knowledge needs about chronic pelvic pain of BC health professionals-in-training, which will guide the development of a future online resource. To do this, we will 1) Convene a group of experts interested in improving education and care for people with chronic pelvic pain; 2) Assess the knowledge level and attitudes towards chronic pelvic pain in gynecology using a baseline survey completed by medical and nurse practitioner students; and 3) Collaborate with experts to review the needs assessment and co-create a plan for a future resource. We aim to improve the understanding of chronic pelvic pain in health professionals-in-training and ultimately improve care for people with this complex condition by addressing the specific knowledge needs and identifying meaningful information to be included in a future resource to address gaps in medical education.
Team members: Natasha Orr (UBC – School of Nursing); Paul Yong (UBC – Faculty of Medicine); Leanne Currie (UBC – School of Nursing); Karim Qayumi (UBC – Faculty of Medicine); Margaret Carlyle (UBC – Okanagan; Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Department of History and Sociology); Rachel Langer (UBC – Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Laboratory); Lan Randhawa (UBC – Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Laboratory); Helena Daudt (Pain BC); Jennifer Krist (UBC – School of Nursing).
South Asians make up 60 percent of the Canadian immigrant population, with Punjabis being the fastest-growing subpopulation of this demographic in BC. Because many Punjabi women have low health literacy skills and face cultural stigmas around mental health, community-based health promotion (CBHP) programs are needed; however, such programs have typically focused on supporting White affluent groups. This project will address these gaps and examine the CBHP program — Healing Through Ancient Teachings — developed for Punjabi women aged 50+ to develop coping mechanisms to manage their mental health. The 13-week program was originally created by community advocate Ms. Jas Cheema who has been serving the Punjabi community in BC for 35+ years. As a certified yoga teacher, Jas includes light yoga, meditation, and discussion in her CBHP program. The proposed project will provide an opportunity to convene the CBHP program to work with research users to collaboratively identify recommendations for future programs. Based on the findings, a report will be co-created with research users to inform the development of culturally appropriate and linguistically acceptable CBHP programs for Punjabi women and other growing ethnocultural communities in BC.
Team members: Sandeep K. Dhillon (Simon Fraser University); Jas Cheema (BC Association of Community Response Networks); Sherry Baker (BC Association of Community Response Networks); Eman Hassan (BC Centre for Palliative Care); Gary Thandi (Moving Forward Family Services); Theodore D. Cosco (Gerontology Research Centre).
