The MSHRBC grants give us another opportunity to celebrate the remarkable achievements of Dr. Lillian Hung, Dr. Leah Lambert and Dr. Fatawu Abdulai.
December 13, 2023
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Lillian Hung and Dr. Leah Lambert in each being awarded a 2023 Michael Smith Health Research BC (MSHRBC) Reach Award. Their dedication to advancing research and pushing the boundaries of knowledge is truly commendable.
Reach awards enable research teams to co-develop events, activities and tools to share research findings, communicate evidence to key audiences and build capacity in knowledge translation.
In addition, we recognize Dr. Abdul-Fatawu Abdulai for his exceptional efforts and collaboration, earning him the well-deserved 2023 MSHRBC Convening & Collaborating (C2) Award.
C2 awards support health researchers and research users to engage in meaningful collaboration to co-create relevant and impactful research for people such as patients, health practitioners and policymakers.
These colleagues' commitment to excellence in research is an inspiration to us all. We look forward to the further contributions your research has in store for healthcare in Canada.
Best wishes on your continued success!
Michael Smith Health Research BC Reach Awards
Dr. Lillian Hung | Co-Lead: Rekesh Corepal | UBC
Sharing knowledge to connect, collaborate and co-create Dementia-inclusive Spaces for Community Access, Participation, and Engagement (DemSCAPE)
The Dementia-inclusive Spaces for Community Access, Participation, and Engagement (DemSCAPE) study is a two-year research project (2021-2023), that brings together researchers, trainees, advocacy organization members and municipal partners in Metro Vancouver and Prince George. The project identified patterns in activities outside the home by people with dementia. It also explored how the environmental features of the neighbourhood influenced participants’ mobility and community participation.
To promote community engagement and increase awareness, we will create educational activities with people with lived experiences and community and municipal partners. These activities will showcase the project findings by video and photo exhibits to the general public virtually. Moreover, we will have two public discussion sessions called World Cafés to encourage conversations, collaborative learning and new ideas with in-person video and photo exhibits and interactive games. Our aim is to enhance understanding of the features of a dementia-inclusive environment and advocate for positive changes.
This project will have a significant impact in increasing awareness of dementia-inclusive communities.
Dr. Leah Lambert | Co-Lead: Ruby Gidda | BC Cancer
Embedded Knowledge Mobilization: Strengthening Oncology Nurses' Capacity for Effective Advanced Care Planning Conversations
Advance care planning (ACP) is a process that supports patients to reflect on their personal values and preferences towards care, and share these preferences with their healthcare team. ACP supports patient- and family-centered care, ensuring the care a patient receives aligns with their goals and preferences. Recent research conducted at BC Cancer aimed to learn how to better support oncology nurses in conducting ACP across the cancer journey. Study findings provide important insight into (1) local barriers and facilitators for oncology nurses to conduct ACP and (2) changes needed to support nursing-led ACP at BC Cancer.
To translate these findings into clinical practice, we will assemble direct care nurses, nursing leaders, patient and family partners, and relevant knowledge users to inform a nursing practice change that enhances oncology nurses' ability to conduct ACP. Our approach will involve key activities, including the establishment of a provincial ACP working group to oversee all activities, engagement sessions with direct care nurses to identify barriers and facilitators to the proposed practice change, and targeted implementation strategies such as educational sessions to promote awareness and build ACP proficiency.
Michael Smith Health Research BC C2 Award
Dr. Abdul-Fatawu Abdulai | Co-lead: Kaitlyn Goldsmith | UBC
Defining research priorities for trauma-informed design of digital health interventions in sexual health
There has been an increase in the adoption of digital health interventions, especially among people with sensitive and potentially stigmatizing sexual health challenges. While digital health technologies can be convenient and cost-effective, there are concerns that negative online activities could inadvertently trigger emotional trauma among end-user patients. Trauma-informed design has emerged in response to the threats of technology-mediated trauma. Yet, this important field is lacking clear research direction on the best and meaningful ways to conduct research that satisfies the collective interest of all the stakeholders that are typically involved in the design and deployment of digital health interventions. This proposed interdisciplinary stakeholder engagement brings together experts in digital health, trauma-informed care, and patient partners in sexual health to explore research priorities on trauma-informed design of digital technologies. This project will identify key research priorities on trauma-informed design that reflect the collective interest and priorities of the stakeholders.