Congratulations to this year's recipients of Convening & Collaborating and Reach Awards from Michael Smith Health Research BC.
Michael Smith Health Research BC has announced teams that will receive funding through its Convening & Collaborating and Reach programs, and Fraser Health is well-represented among the recipients.
The Convening & Collaborating (C2) Awards promote knowledge exchange and meaningful collaboration by supporting researchers, trainees and research users in co-developing research that can have direct impacts on people, including patients, health practitioners and policymakers. This year's recipients from within Fraser Health include:
- Establishing a patient-centred collaborative research model to inform research priority setting within Fraser Health's Mental Health and Substance Use Services program
Adeleke Fowokan, clinical research lead, Mental Health and Substance Use, will convene a diverse advisory committee with his team, including individuals with lived experiences, clinicians and researchers, to guide Fraser Health's Mental Health and Substance Use Research Unit. Starting in January, the committee will meet monthly for nine months to co-develop research ideas, set research priorities and inform research approaches. C2 award funding supports participant compensation to sustain a long-term partnership and the cost of publishing findings from this work.
- Examining unregulated drug use among construction workers in the South Asian diaspora
Dr. Nitasha Puri, physician, Addiction Medicine and Substance Use Services, Mental Health and Substance Use Services, is one of the co-leads on the project, aiming to address unregulated drug use among South Asian construction workers and rising overdose deaths in this group. The funding from the C2 awards will allow them to collaborate with the Surrey Union of Drug Users to host Punjabi-language workshops and help co-design a research agenda and survey that reflect the needs of South Asian drug users, leading to more relevant and culturally sensitive research and better support for them.
- Empowering integrated care for healthy aging: Co-developing a collaborative plan with South Asian and Chinese communities for inclusion and equity
With B.C.'s growing older population and many visible minorities, Fraser Health Regional Medical Director for Home and Community Care, Dr. Grace Park, is co-leading a research project focusing on culturally inclusive senior care for Chinese and South Asian populations. The C2 Award will support the project by helping to bring together health practitioners, community partners, policymakers and South Asian and Chinese older adults to co-plan workshops to identify strengths and strategies for inclusion.
- Creating a roadmap for critical care nursing retention
Abbotsford Regional Hospital Critical Care Nurse, Catherine Liao, is co-leading a project where the C2 Award will help bring Intensive Care Unit nurses and managers together to create tailored nurse-centred strategies for recruiting and retaining nurses.
The Reach Awards fund researchers and research users to spread and use research findings effectively. This year, one team from within Fraser Health is a recipient:
- Empowering families as partners: Crafting a toolkit for effective care conference
Long-term care homes are shifting to include residents and essential visitors as partners in care through care conferences where they create personalized care plans. Kirsten Rossiter, Fraser Health regional practice lead for Research and Knowledge Translation, is leading a research project supported by the Reach award funding to develop an online toolkit to empower essential visitors to raise awareness about care conferences and provide them with the information to engage in the process actively.
Learn more about the Michael Smith Health Research BC Convening & Collaborating and Reach Awards winners.