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The MSSU is pleased to release the 2019/2020 Report to Community. The report, available online in both English and French, highlights the MSSU’s activities throughout 2019-2020 and demonstrates how our work pivoted with the arrival of COVID-19 in March of 2020.

The stories shared in the report showcase how the MSSU has supported researchers, facilitated collaboration, and strengthened patient engagement in the Maritimes.

“Collaboration is at the heart of the MSSU’s work,” says Marina Hamilton, MSSU Director. “We are privileged to have the opportunity to engage with our many partners to support the health systems in the Maritimes. It’s been incredibly rewarding to reflect on the progress we have made together over the past year.”

Read the report > | Consulter le rapport >

Members of the MSSU community present at CIHR Health System Impact Fellowship Learning Collaborative Webinar Series 

Dr. Christine Cassidy, Assistant Professor, Dalhousie School of Nursing, Jackie Pidduck, Transition Coordinator, IWK Health Centre and Julia Kontak, MSSU Knowledge Translation Coordinator, recently spoke as part of the CIHR Health System Impact (HSI) Fellowship Learning Collaborative Webinar Series. Their presentation focused on the science of Integrated Knowledge Translation (IKT) and the development of meaningful collaboration, as shown through their work together on the Transitions in Care project.

Janet Curran, MSSU KT Science Lead, and Leah Boulos, MSSU Evidence Synthesis Coordinator, are co-leading a rapid living review, requested from Alberta Health Services and the Public Health Agency of Canada, on the three major SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern currently making headlines around the globe. The request was brokered by COVID-END, a CIHR-funded, national network dedicated to coordinating Canada’s knowledge synthesis response to COVID-19. In partnership with the SPOR Evidence Alliance, the role of COVID-END is to broker knowledge synthesis requests from high-level stakeholders to research teams across the country. Janet and Leah are working with a Halifax team that includes members from Dalhousie, Nova Scotia Health, and the IWK. The rapid review will be continuously updated over the next several months, as more information is discovered about the variants of concern.

The team recently finished their first report, Transmission characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

The COVID-19 Evidence Network to support Decision-making (COVID-END) brings together more than 50 of the world’s leading evidence-synthesis, technology-assessment and guideline-development groups, covering the full spectrum of the pandemic response, from public-health measures and clinical management to health-system arrangements and economic and social responses.

Read the full report > | Read the report brief >

In recognition of International Childhood Cancer Day on February 15, 2021, Network of Networks (N2) launched the new pediatric clinical trials video, The Participators – Enter the Study. Available in both English and French, the video explains common terms and language used in clinical trials, how to sign up for research, and how research can help children all over the world. Lauren McLaughlin, MSSU Clinical Research Assistant, was part of the national group of researchers and patient partners who developed this new resource.

Learn more > | En savoir plus >

Meet Virginia McIntyre, Patient Partner

For Virginia McIntyre, sharing her experience living with chronic pain was an important step in overcoming stigma and supporting others on their pain journey. We sat down with Virginia to talk about the challenges of living with chronic pain, the importance of peer support, and the role of patient-oriented research in improving care for people living with chronic pain.

Learn more > | En savoir plus >

A scoping review was recently published as part of the Uniting to Connect Innovative Technology for Youth Mental Health and Addictions Services (UniCITY) research project. The review was conducted to examine the evidence-base for text messaging in mental health and addictions services for children and youth. UniCITY aims to mobilize research into service delivery planning, inform new health policy, and build capacity for research funding competitiveness.

Learn more > | En savoir plus >

The Transitions in Care team published a poster, Exploring the Transition from Pediatric to Adult Health Care in Nova Scotia, at the Transition Hub Pop-Up event Virtual Poster Hall. Over 45 posters and abstracts focused on the transition to adult health services were compiled to provide highlights of new programs, services, and tools that are being developed, tested and implemented across the country. The poster, Exploring the Transition from Pediatric to Adult Health Care in Nova Scotia, is co-authored by three Patient Partners and the MSSU supported their attendance at this event. 

Learn more > | En savoir plus >

The CONNECT manuscript “The Association Between Clinical, Social, Financial Factors and Unmet Needs of Autistic Adults: Results from an Observational Study” has been published in the journal Autism in Adulthood. Co-produced and co-authored by CONNECT’s Patient Partners, the article highlights the considerable gaps among the support needs of Autistic Adults in the Maritimes. CONNECT is funded by the MSSU and by the Consortium national de formation en santé (CNFS).

Learn more > | En savoir plus >

NaviCare/SoinsNavi is looking for a dynamic individual to join the PFAC. They are seeking someone with significant lived experience receiving services within the healthcare system as a youth with health needs or as a parent, guardian, or another involved family member. The PFAC meets monthly in a virtual setting along with an in-person annual meeting in the spring.

Navicare/SoinsNavi is a patient navigation centre for children and youth with health care needs and their families in New Brunswick. A key component of the centre is their patient and family advisory council (PFAC), which consists of 7 volunteer members who advise the patient navigator and research team, as well as collaborates on special projects that arise from discussions with key stakeholders.

If you are interested in becoming part of the PFAC or know someone who would be a good fit, please reach out to cric@unb.ca.

All newborns routinely require painful procedures to ensure they are healthy. Sadly, still most infants do not receive any form of pain treatment. This untreated pain can affect how these babies feel and react to later pain, and early pain exposure has been linked with fear related to needle procedures which has been a contributing factor in the growing vaccine hesitancy rate. Given the distress that parents often experience when seeing their child in pain, many now turn to websites on the Internet to search for health information. A recent review of parent-targeted resources on pain reduction identified few evidence-based resources available on the Internet. Many parents remain ill-equipped, and uninformed about their role in pain management, so it is important to meet parents’ informational needs by offering accessible, evidence-based education.

This study aims to develop a novel eHealth resource, entitled Parenting Pain Away, by adapting existing educational material to educate parents on all aspects of newborn pain management during procedures. The study aims to also assess parental acceptability, knowledge uptake and impact of the eHealth resource when it is provided antenatally and evaluated after childbirth at hospitals in Prince Edward Island.

Expecting parents from PEI are asked to join the study where they will complete a series of surveys and review Parenting Pain Away. You can take part in this study if you or your partner:

If you’re interested in participating in this study, please contact Brianna Richardson at brianna.richardson@dal.ca. 

Learn more > | En savoir plus >

The QEII Foundation has launched its 2021 Diversity in Health Care Bursary program. The purpose of this program is to assist students who identify as African Nova Scotian/Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour, immigrant, 2SLGBTQIA+ , and/or having a disability, in their pursuit of post-secondary education in a health-related profession with a longer-term goal of having a more diverse and inclusive workforce that better reflects our communities.

QUEST-SJ brings together researchers, academics, students and other stakeholders from across disciplines and sectors to build qualitative health research capacity in the Saint John area. Membership currently represents a broad range of qualitative research expertise, interest across various disciplines (e.g., nursing, business, sociology, psychology, medicine), and a mix of healthcare and non-profit organizations.

The qualitative research group meets monthly (except July and August) to discuss topics in qualitative research (e.g., ethics, funding, opportunities to collaborate), methodological approaches to research and other emerging issues in the development of knowledge.

Anyone interested in qualitative health research is most welcome to attend these free sessions:

To register, email quest-sj@unb.ca. 

The inaugural Canadian Healthcare Navigation Conference (CHNC 2021) will be hosted in partnership between NaviCare/SoinsNavi at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John and the Family Navigation Project at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. CHNC 2021 will be held virtually on April 15-16, 2021.

Learn more > | Register here >

CIHR recognizes that the issues surrounding systemic racism are considerable. This is why they would like to participate in open dialogue with the health research community to identify and discuss specific measures they could implement to address barriers faced by racialized and Indigenous researchers and trainees.

While conscious of the importance of co-developing these measures, they do not wish to increase burden on historically excluded groups by asking individuals to share expertise and lived experiences that are already well documented in the public domain. As such, the aim is to use an inclusive and transparent approach to invite discussions on systemic racism specific to CIHR’s funding system. This interactive website is meant to foster discussion, challenge beliefs that perpetuate biases and barriers in the system, share ideas and find solutions to inform the development, implementation, and monitoring of an action plan to address systemic racism within the health research funding system.

Learn more > | En savoir plus >

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.

CIHR | SPOR Update Newsletter

Learn more > | En savoir plus >

SPOR Evidence Alliance | Newsletter

The MSSU is pleased to welcome three new staff members.