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NEWSLETTER | Fall 2021
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In this issue:
News
- MSSU releases 2020-2021 Report to Community*
- Marking the First National Truth and Reconciliation Day
- Pre-announcement: New MSSU Maritime Scientist Studentship Awards*
- Redesigning Patient-Oriented Research training for online delivery*
Research Updates
- Supporting transitions in care*
- Projected outcomes of an expanded role for pharmacy professionals in the provision of publicly-funded immunization services in New Brunswick
- Supporting collaborative approaches to primary care*
- Exploring 811 use in Nova Scotia – summary findings online*
- A new approach to supporting informal caregivers of people with dementia
Community Updates
- Dr. Jill Hayden leads Cochrane Review of exercise treatment for chronic low back pain
- Mental wellness of coaches and support staff throughout the Olympic Games
- New CIHR Health System Impact Fellows*
- Dr. Gail Tomblin Murphy and Dr. Christine Chambers inducted into Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
- Dr. Marsha Campbell-Yeo Inducted into American Academy of Nursing
Engagement Opportunities
- New Patient Partner opportunities
- Transitions in Care*
- Share your experience with collaborative research
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READYorNotTM Brain-Based Disabilities Trial
Funding Opportunities
- SPOR Evidence Alliance Seed Grant
- Operating Grant: Indigenous COVID-19 Rapid Research Funding Opportunity*
Upcoming Events and Training
- Keeping up with Knowledge Translation
- NB-IRDT Lunch & Learn: Knowledge Transfer
- Implementation findings from the PriCARE Program
- Dalhousie University Health Law Institute Seminar Series
- MSSU POR Training
Publications and Reports
- Recent publications and reports
SPOR Community Updates
- A Journey through Public & Patient Engagement in Health Research: A Road Map
- Indigenous Research Level of Engagement Tool (IRLET)
MSSU Updates
- New staff members and farewells
*Le contenu est aussi disponible en français.
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MSSU releases 2020-2021 Report to Community |
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The MSSU is pleased to release the 2020-2021 Report to Community. The report highlights the MSSU’s activities over the past year and showcases new data linkages, and efforts to support the pandemic response and strengthen patient engagement in the Maritimes.
“It is an exciting time at the MSSU,” said Marina Hamilton, MSSU Director. “We are forging new partnerships, contributing to research that has the potential to improve health care in the region, and demonstrating our commitment to our diverse community in tangible ways. We look forward to continued collaboration and new successes in the coming year.”
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Marking the first National Truth and Reconciliation Day
September 30, 2021 marked the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. Dr. Jason Hickey, MSSU Science Lead for Indigenous Allyship and Engagement, shared a message about this day of solemn remembrance and encouraged us all to use the day as an opportunity to listen, read, learn and reflect on our responsibilities as Treaty people. Reconciliation is an ongoing and active process, not confined to a single day, and the message also provides direction and resources for those hoping to engage in allyship and reconciliation.
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Pre-announcement: New MSSU Maritime Scientist Studentship Awards |
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Early in 2022, we will be introducing a new funding program, the MSSU Maritime Scientist Studentship Awards. This competition will be open to high-caliber trainees engaged in patient-oriented health research and entering or enrolled in a Master’s, Doctoral, or Postdoctoral Fellow program at universities in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. This new award program replaces the NBHRF & CIHR-SPOR-MSSU Studentship/Fellowship and MSSU Student Awards. This new program will provide consistency in eligibility requirements, the application review process, and funding levels for trainees in all three Maritime provinces.
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Redesigning Patient-Oriented Research training for online delivery |
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When COVID-19 arrived, we needed to find a way to safely meet the growing demand for Patient-Oriented Research (POR) training. Dr. Caroline Jose, former MSSU Health and Patient Engagement Researcher, worked closely with MSSU Patient Partner David Wells to adapt the format and content of our in-person POR training for online delivery and Maritime audiences. With the support of Diabetes Action Canada (DAC) and André Gaudreau, DAC Patient Partner, we also updated the French training materials and now offer the POR training in French every third month.
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Supporting transitions in care |
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The process of transitioning from pediatric to adult care can be complex, and there is little evidence of best practices. The Transitions in Care project is combining a qualitative study with a quantitative analysis of administrative health data to build a picture of the current transition process, and better understand the perspectives of patients, caregivers, and health care providers. This collaboration involves stakeholders from Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness (DHW), IWK Health, Nova Scotia Health, Dalhousie University, and several Patient Partners.
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Projected outcomes of an expanded role for pharmacy professionals in the provision of publicly-funded immunization services in New Brunswick
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In New Brunswick, COVID vaccines are provided free of charge at pharmacies to promote and speed up vaccination among New Brunswickers – but what would happen if other vaccines were also available at pharmacies free of charge? Would New Brunswickers be more likely to get vaccinated? Would the province’s health care system see any cost savings? Would physicians see a lighter workload, enabling them to take on more patients? NB-IRDT asked these questions, and their results and methodologies are now available in the full report.
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Supporting collaborative approaches to primary care |
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Our team in Nova Scotia is working with health system partners to better understand the barriers and enablers to implementing collaborative family practice teams (CFPTs) in the province. The first phase of this project involved a literature review to examine the known barriers and enablers to implementing collaborative family practice teams. Building on this work, the research team is using a Translating Research into Care (TRIC) grant from Nova Scotia Health to explore local perspectives of the barriers and enablers to the CFPT implementation process and team functioning following implementation.
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Exploring 811 use in Nova Scotia – summary findings online
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The MSSU team in Halifax conducted a study exploring why the public does or does not use 811 services, with a specific focus on vulnerable and marginalized groups. Between November 2019 and January 2020—prior to the COVID-19 pandemic—289 Nova Scotians completed a short online survey or in-person interview about their experiences using or not using 811 services, and their general comfort level accessing health information. It’s worth noting that as 811 is playing an important role in the pandemic response, it is possible that Nova Scotians have different experiences using these services than at the time the research was conducted. The summary findings and more information on the project are available online.
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A new approach to supporting informal caregivers of people with dementia |
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Advanced Gerontological Education (AGE) Inc. developed the Gentle Persuasive Approaches © (GPA) Community program to support informal caregivers of people with dementia. The Alzheimer Society of New Brunswick has partnered with AGE Inc., Horizon Health Network, and the MSSU to implement and evaluate the GPA Community program. As a part of this project, the team delivered training to 38 informal caregivers and collected data on their satisfaction with training, caregiver burden, ability to manage responsive behaviours, and life satisfaction. The team completed data collection in October 2021, and data analysis is underway.
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Dr. Jill Hayden leads Cochrane review of Exercise Treatment for chronic low back pain
Dr. Jill Hayden led the recently published review of exercise treatment for chronic low back pain, one of Cochrane’s largest reviews to date. Dr. Hayden sat down with Cochrane to discuss how this work led to new ways of working collaboratively and with an increased focus on research integrity.
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Mental Wellness of Coaches and Support Staff throughout the Olympic Games
Christopher DeWolfe, 2019-2020 MSSU Student Award recipient, has developed an infographic outlining how to support mental wellbeing during the Olympic games. Christopher presented his infographic to various coaches and support staff who attended the Olympics.
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New CIHR Health System Impact Fellows
Congratulations to all the 2021 CIHR Health System Impact fellows including Mike Reid, 2019-2020 MSSU Student Award recipient, who will be working with Nova Scotia Health and Dalhousie University to design primary health care networks using a patient-centred, needs-based approach, and MSSU Scientist Dr. Mari Somerville, who will be using a learning health system lens to design, implement, and evaluate quality and patient safety initiatives at IWK Health.
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Tackling Anti‑Black Racism in Health Care and Education: National Research Collaborative Takes Action
A group of scholars and researchers co-led by a Dalhousie professor has joined forces in an effort to re-shape medical and health education in Canada to better reflect the impacts of anti-Black racism on the delivery of care for African Nova Scotians and Black people. Dr. OmiSoore Dryden, the James R. Johnston Chair in Black Studies and an associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine, serves as co-lead of the Black Health Education Collaborative (BHEC), along with Dr. Onye Nnorom, a family and public-health physician and president of the Black Physicians' Association of Ontario.
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Dr. Gail Tomblin Murphy and Dr. Christine Chambers inducted into Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
Congratulations to Dr. Gail Tomblin Murphy and Dr. Christine Chambers who were inducted as Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Dr. Tomblin Murphy and Dr. Chambers were recognized for their significant contributions to health policy and the promotion of health science.
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Dr. Marsha Campbell-Yeo Inducted into American Academy of Nursing
Dr. Marsha Campbell-Yeo was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing for her pain, stress and neurodevelopment newborn research, as well as her research developing and evaluating interventions to enhance parental engagement. Congratulations!
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New Patient Partner Opportunities
The MSSU is looking for patients and/or caregivers who want to get involved in health research with the:
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Dementia Rehabilitation in Long-Term Care project - Open until filled
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MSSU PEI Provincial Steering Committee - Deadline Nov. 22, 2021
The roles and time commitments vary by opportunity.
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Transitions in Care
Do you know someone who is currently transitioning from pediatric to adult care or transitioned within the past three years?
The Transitions in Care project is currently recruiting patients and caregivers to participate in one-hour interviews or online focus groups to better understand the experience of transitioning from pediatric to adult care. Participants in this study must be diagnosed with, or be caregivers for patients with, one of three conditions: Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Diabetes, or Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.
This study was approved by the IWK Research Ethics Board (ROMEO file #1026111).
To learn more or participate, contact Julia Kontak, MSSU Knowledge Translation Coordinator, at Julia.Kontak@nshealth.ca by December 1.
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Share your experience with collaborative research
Patient Partners and researchers are invited to participate in a one-hour interview reflecting on their experience working within a collaborative research setting. This includes, but is not limited to, board membership or patient participation within research projects (either as or recruiting Patient Partners). This study is being conducted by Julia Rodgers (Principal Investigator) for the purpose of doctoral research through the Department of Political Science at Dalhousie University (REB File #2020-5322).
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READYorNotTM Brain-Based Disabilities Trial
The Canada-wide CHILD-BRIGHT READYorNOTTM Brain-Based Disability study is recruiting youth to participate in a study to determine the benefits of using MyREADY TransitionTM BBD App, which was designed to help ease the transition from pediatric to adult care. Participants must be 15, 16 or 17 years old, with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Cerebral Palsy or Epilepsy or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder or Spina Bifida, and thinking about being more independent in taking charge of their own health, for example asking questions of doctors or nurses. This study has been reviewed by the University of New Brunswick Research Ethics Board #037-2019.
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SPOR Evidence Alliance Seed Grant |
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The SPOR Evidence Alliance Seed Grant aims to encourage a culture of learning, innovation, and advancement of science in the areas of knowledge synthesis, guideline development, knowledge translation, and patient-oriented research by funding methods projects at the conceptual stage. Funding is available for two awards valued at $10,000 each for one year (non-renewable). The deadline to apply is December 6, 2021.
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Operating Grant: Indigenous COVID-19 Rapid Research Funding Opportunity |
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This funding opportunity will provide funding for research and knowledge mobilization for Indigenous communities (i.e., First Nations, Inuit, Métis and/or Urban Indigenous communities), Indigenous organizations and researchers who identify as Indigenous (or researchers who provide evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples) in Canada who are responding to the unique health and well-being needs of Indigenous Peoples as they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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CIHR Funding Opportunities
To learn more about CIHR's upcoming and open funding opportunities, please visit:
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Upcoming Events and Training |
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Keeping up with Knowledge Translation
Contending with COVID-19: Real-world methods for creating rapid, high-quality, living evidence syntheses
November 18, 12-1 p.m.
Keeping up with Knowledge Translation (KT) is a popular capacity development series that touches on the practice and science of KT—and highlights researchers and organizations in the Maritimes. For our fifth session, MSSU Evidence Synthesis Coordinators Leah Boulos and Kristy Hancock will present on real-world methods for rapid, high-quality, living evidence synthesis during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Want to catch up with Keeping up with KT? |
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NB-IRDT Lunch & Learn: Knowledge Transfer
November 17, 12-1 p.m.
It takes on average 17 years for research to be translated into action (i.e., policy or practice). In this session, April English will dive into how researchers can help bridge that 17-year gap through Knowledge Transfer (KT) - the process involved in moving research (what we know) into action (what we do). Traditionally, KT involved sharing results through research papers - but KT is so much more than that.
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Implementation findings from the PriCARE Program: A nurse-led case management approach in Primary Health Clinics in Nova Scotia
November 17, 12-1 p.m.
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Dalhousie University Health Law Institute Seminar Series
The Institute hosts an extremely popular series of seminars that are open to the public and attracts a broad audience from across the university, government, and health care communities. Invited scholars and practitioners share their knowledge and reflections on the latest health law and policy issues.
Next session:
ARVs, COVID-19 Vaccine Equity and Intellectual Property Protections
November 19, 2021 12:10-1:20 p.m.
Speaker: Marlise Richter, Senior Researcher, Health Justice Initiative, South Africa
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MSSU Patient-Oriented Research Training
January 27-28, 2022
9:30 am - 12:30 pm
We’re pleased to offer virtual Patient-Oriented Research Training based on the Patient-Oriented Research Foundations modules provided by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Training will take place over two half-day sessions. The sessions will focus on providing an understanding of patient-oriented research, the research enterprise and team dynamics. Sessions will be delivered in a co-learning format to provide a diverse learning experience for all.
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Bierer J, Horne D, Stanzel R, Henderson M, Boulos L, Hayden J. Do continuous forms of intra-operative ultrafiltration enhance recovery after adult cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass? A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Syst Rev. 2021 Oct 8;10(1):265.
Curran J, Boulos L, Somerville M, Dol, J, Johnson C, Reynolds B, Caruso J, Flynn T, Mackay R. Public Health Implications of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern October 22, 2021. COVID-END: 2021 June. 38 p. Download the report
Folkins C, Brewster C, Foster R, Gulliver A, Thomson E, Gorman-Asal M, Singh P, Miah P, Magalhaes S, & McDonald T. Projected outcomes of an expanded role for pharmacy professionals in the provision of publicly funded immunization services in New Brunswick October 2021. New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training. 33 p. Read the report
Forbes N. McKinney EP, O’Brien S, Hickey J. (2021). Communities First : Reflections on engaging with Indigenous communities as a foundation for Ph.D. studies. Turtle Island Journal of Indigenous Health, 1(2). Read the article
Hayden JA, Ellis J, Ogilvie R, Malmivaara A, van Tulder MW. Exercise therapy for chronic low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2021, Issue 9. Read the review
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We can help spread the word! If we've supported your research and you've published your findings, let us know by emailing communications@mssu.ca. We'll include your paper in our next newsletter.
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BC SUPPORT Unit | A Journey through Public & Patient Engagement in Health Research: A Road Map
The BC SUPPORT Unit recently released a new online resource, “A Journey through Public & Patient Engagement in Health Research: A Road Map,” which is designed to show the many ways in which patient partners and members of the public can be engaged on a research team.
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SCPOR | Indigenous Research Level of Engagement Tool (IRLET)
The Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research (SCPOR) developed the Indigenous Research Level of Engagement Tool (IRLET), which measures the degree to which a given project meets patient-oriented research criteria in the context of Indigenous communities. The criteria evaluated in this tool include Partnership (Indigenous Stakeholders), Knowledge into Practice, Strengths-Based Approach, and Indigenous Knowledges/Ways of Knowing, rated on a scale from 1 to 5.
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Looking for more SPOR news? Check out the SPOR newsletter! |
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MSSU Welcomes New Staff Members |
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The MSSU team is growing, and we're pleased to welcome three new staff members. |
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Mohammad Pulok, Senior Health Policy Researcher
Dr. Mohammad Pulok recently joined the MSSU as a Senior Health Policy Researcher. Mohammad has a PhD in Health Economics from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) was the health system partner of his PhD research. Before joining the MSSU, Mohammad has worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Health Administration, Dalhousie University and as a research associate at Geriatric Medicine Research Unit, Nova Scotia Health. He also has several years of research and teaching experience in Bangladesh, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. Mohammad is always aspired to promote fairness and justice in the healthcare systems through evidence-based policy research. His recent research focuses on inequity in healthcare use in Canada and health economics of frailty in Nova Scotia. He has published in the leading field and interdisciplinary journals, including the European Journal of Health Economics, Health Policy, Social Science & Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Health & Place, Age & Ageing.
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Kristy Hancock, Evidence Synthesis Coordinator
Kristy Hancock recently joined the MSSU team as an Evidence Synthesis Coordinator. Kristy is an Information Specialist with experience supporting health research in various settings. Most recently, Kristy was a Librarian Educator in the Library Services department of Nova Scotia Health, where she provided research support and training to healthcare professionals and learners from all over Nova Scotia. She has also worked as a Librarian at the W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library, Dalhousie University, where she provided faculty and students with searching expertise for systematic and scoping reviews. Kristy holds a Master of Library and Information Studies from Dalhousie University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Simon Fraser University. She is from Vancouver, BC, but currently lives in Yarmouth, NS.
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Scott Anderson, Knowledge Translation Coordinator
Scott Anderson recently joined the MSSU as a Knowledge Translation Coordinator. Scott is a Registered Nurse and has a Masters of Health Science in Health Promotion. He has a background in community-based research about health care access, HIV and Hepatitis C, knowledge translation and mental health, surgical and palliative care nursing.
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We are saying farewell to six staff members: Caroline Jose, Sam Tung, Liam Rowe, Thitiwan Patanasatientul, Akash Rupareliya, and Alexis Rowter. We’ve also said farewell (for now) to Amy Grant, who is on maternity leave. |
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Trying to reach an MSSU staff member? |
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