The purpose of this project is to evaluate and disseminate a novel, animated, educational video about unwanted, intrusive thoughts (UITs) of infant-related harm, and their relationship with mental health and infant safety. To our knowledge, this is the only educational video on this topic.
Our primary aim is to distribute the video to audiences throughout BC, including pregnant and postpartum people, their families, care providers and organizations involved in providing care to perinatal people.
Prior to dissemination, we will evaluate the video by administering it to pregnant people to see if it reduces postpartum mental health symptoms which can arise in response to UITs of infant-related harm. One half of study participants will view our video and the other half will view a different video not related to infant harm. We expect that participants who view our video will experience fewer UITs of infant harm, find them less distressing, and report fewer symptoms of depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Testing allows us to share the video with confidence, knowing it is effective in improving parents’ mental health.
This project aims to support the integration of the evidence-based Serious Illness Conversation Program (SICP) into everyday clinical practice. Based on previous research identifying the barriers and facilitators that clinicians encounter when having Serious Illness Conversations (SICs), we will develop and pilot a practical toolkit. The goal of this toolkit is to support health organizations, teams, and clinicians in conducting quality improvement projects aiming to improve the implementation of the SICP into their relevant setting. The toolkit will include recommendations about best practices, workflows and evaluation strategies. We will pilot the toolkit in multiple sectors of the healthcare system in one geographic region within Interior Health Authority. The evaluation data from this pilot will inform any required updates to the toolkit. Finally, we will disseminate the toolkit widely across the province for use in clinical areas.
Nurses spend the most time with patients and caregivers. More than other professions, nurses have been negatively affected by the health human resource crisis. In BC, there is an urgent need to retain and recruit nursing talent and expertise.
We now have new knowledge about what is needed to strengthen the impact of Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs), advanced practice nurses with graduate education and specialized clinical expertise. CNSs are nursing leaders who use their clinical knowledge and leadership to improve both patient outcomes and how healthcare operates overall. The role of CNSs in BC is underdeveloped and significantly underutilized. This is why we recently completed a BC-based study with nurses and leaders to create policy recommendations and action plans to help strengthen and better support the CNS role across BC.
The goal of this project is to extend the reach of this important evidence. We will (1) create a “BC CNS Workforce Toolkit” that includes the new consensus policy recommendations, and (2) hold a series of implementation workshops with high impact stakeholder. We also aim to increase the knowledge translation skills of BC nurses to help address the challenges of the healthcare staffing crisis.
Using as a focus-point one of the Walk With Me team’s recommendations identified in multiple of its research reports — to strengthen Peer Leadership within Island Health — the Project Team will:
a) Co-create a knowledge translation workshop for Island Health managers focused on Peer Leadership (ie: why Peer Leadership is an essential ingredient in the pursuit of an equity-conscious health system; how Peer Leadership might be incorporated and supported by Island Health; strategies to ensure success of Peer Leaders, etc.)
b) Co-deliver this presentation to at least 5 teams of Island Health managers, and
c) Work with managers to strategize the implementation of Peer Leadership plans.
In 2016, the BC government declared a public health emergency because of high numbers of people experiencing overdoses, mostly from opioids like fentanyl and heroin. Since that time, the number of overdoses among youth between the ages of 12-24 has been steadily increasing. This has taken a significant toll on youth and their caregivers and communities.
Overdoses can be avoided by providing youth with the help they need, as early as possible. However, youth who use drugs like fentanyl and heroin face a lot of challenges accessing services and supports. To address this problem, our team has worked with experts to create a model of care that is more aligned with the needs of youth who use opioids.
The next step of this project is to share this model of care with service providers in different regions of British Columbia. We will also gather feedback on how well this model of care fits service providers’ local experiences. This project will help service providers and policy makers put this model of care into practice so that youth who use opioids can get help more quickly.
To ensure social workers are adequately prepared to work in the context of the aging and increasing diversification of the Canadian population, we propose to host a symposium that brings together established researchers, emerging scholars, practitioners;educators, and older adults. The impetus for this gathering is the preparation of a second edition of Hulko, Brotman, Stern and Ferrer’s popular and nationally adopted 2020 Routledge Press text on anti-oppressive social work (AOP) practice with older adults, their families, and communities. Our book filled a gap as it was the first Canadian text on aging to use a critical AOP lens, focus on direct and indirect practice, and showcase the voices and experiences of older adults from equity-denied groups. While creating and marketing the first edition, we identified the need for a community of practice (CoP) as those working in this field are widely dispersed and have limited access to research and education on aging and older adults. Our intention is to grow a CoP like those that are emerging in other countries, and in doing so amplify the work of Black, Indigenous, racialized, and queer scholars whose work often gets overlooked and encourage them onwards as the next generation.
The proposed activities build on the results from the CCEDARR project, which explored how the lessons learned from the pandemic could be applied in resilient responses to climate change in rural Canada. The findings of this qualitative work suggest that community connection and rural networks are influential to rural community resilience, whether in response to the pandemic or challenges related to climate change. As a result, the overarching objective of this work is to support networks of engaged advocates who have the potential to be key leaders in climate change and health. This grant would support two events to bring together youth, secondary school educators, medical students, and rural physicians to strengthen relationships within a multidisciplinary framework and develop climate change education, all while fostering youth leadership. In addition, the grant would support the research and writing of an online learning hub focused on sharing strategies for rural resilience in response to climate change and its impacts on rural health systems. This work would be completed in partnership with educators and medical students and include the outcomes of the proposed networking events.
Group sex is an important health phenomenon, with an estimated one-in-ten people engaging in group sex at some point in their life. Group sex can be a source of pleasure and belonging but may increase risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Despite its estimated prevalence, there has been little research on STI prevention and care among people who have group sex. Most group sex research has been done outside Canada and has focused only on men who have sex with men, excluding other sexualities and genders. My goal is to improve the STI outcomes for people who have group sex in Canada and beyond. My research focuses on 1) community-based knowledge around what makes group sex uniquely risky when it comes to STIs, 2) what STI prevention strategies people use during group sex and how effective they are, and 3) the barriers that healthcare providers face in providing STI care to people having group sex. Based on my findings, I will work closely with group sex community members to develop educational materials and support resources to improve STI prevention and care. Ultimately, I hope to reduce STIs and their negative impact on the health of this diverse stigmatized population.
Metastatic cancer, in which cancer cells invade healthy distant tissue, is the leading cause of death in Canada. Epithelial breast, colon, and prostate cancer of the outermost tissue lining are the most prevalent forms of metastatic cancer and require better tools to prevent life-threatening outcomes. Treatments such as surgery and chemotherapy are either impractical for metastases, invasive, or toxic. The goal of this work is to develop a radioactive molecule that targets matriptase, an enzyme which supports tumor growth and metastasis. A set of molecules will be made, labelled with a radioactive tag, and screened for binding. Conveniently, the radioactive source is interchangeable for imaging or targeted radiotherapy. Using a specialized camera, tumor radioactivity can be noninvasively tracked to classify disease progression. Using a different radioactive tag, radiation can also be delivered to exclusively kill matriptase-positive tumor cells. The lead candidate is expected to enable tumor staging and improve patient outcomes by impeding tumor growth and spread. It may also be used to monitor response to therapy and guide clinical decisions, representing a major advance in the management of metastatic epithelial cancer.
The Age-Friendly BC initiative was initiated in 2007 to make communities (e.g., cities and towns) better for older adults. Improvements in programs and environments for older adults has been a major part of this effort. Surveys are a valuable tool for assessing the well-being of older adults in these communities. However, people from different backgrounds (e.g., gender, culture, age) might understand and answer survey questions differently. This project aims to understand differences in how people interpret survey questions and explore ways to adjust survey scores for these differences, with the objective of providing an accurate picture of older adults’ well-being. Communities can be designed to be fair to everyone if we acknowledge different ways in which people think about their well-being. We will work with older adults and policymakers from the beginning to the end of the project. They will help us create an analysis plan and understand findings. We will also work with them to figure out the best way to share what we find.
