Identifying Primary Care Models of Dementia Care that Improve Quality of Life for People Living with Dementia and their Care Partners: An Environmental Scan.

Dementia is a growing concern in Canada, affecting peoples' health and raising the cost of care. Between June and October 2019, we conducted an environmental scan to identify primary care models, strategies, and resources for dementia care from 11 pre-selected countries and assess their impact on quality-of-life measures. Search strategies included a rapid scoping review, grey literature search, and discussions with stakeholders.

Impact of the Connected Medicine collaborative in improving access to specialist care: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: In 2017, the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement launched the Connected Medicine collaborative to support the implementation, spread and adaptation of 2 innovative remote consult solutions - the Champlain Building Access to Specialists through eConsultation (BASE) eConsult service and the Rapid Access to Consultative Expertise (RACE) service - across Canada. We evaluated the impact of the programs implemented through the collaborative.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from provincial teams that participated in the Connected Medicine collaborative, which took place between June 2017 and December 2018 in 7 provinces across Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador).

A tribute to Dr. Serge N. Timasheff, our mentor.

Dr. Serge N. Timasheff, our mentor and friend, passed away in 2019.

How long are Canadians waiting to access specialty care? Retrospective study from a primary care perspective.

Objective: To calculate patient wait times for specialist care using data from primary care clinics across Canada.

Design: Retrospective chart audit.

Setting: Primary care clinics.

Key factors for national spread and scale-up of an eConsult innovation.

Background: Expanding healthcare innovations from the local to national level is a complex pursuit requiring careful assessment of all relevant factors. In this study (a component of a larger eConsult programme of research), we aimed to identify the key factors involved in the spread and scale-up of a successful regional eConsult model across Canada.

Methods: We conducted a constant comparative thematic analysis of stakeholder discussions captured during a full-day National eConsult Forum meeting held in Ottawa, Canada, on 11 December 2017.

The Feasibility of Using Electronic Consultation in Long-Term Care Homes.

Patients in long-term care (LTC) homes face barriers to accessing specialist advice. Electronic consultation (eConsult) has the potential to improve access for these patients. We used a multi-method approach to evaluate adoption of the Champlain BASE eConsult service in LTC homes across Eastern Ontario, Canada.

Creating Clinical Cohorts: Challenges Encountered in Two Canadian Provinces.

In 2013, the Living with HIV (LHIV) Innovation team established clinical cohorts of people living with HIV in Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador, and they linked the data to provincial health administrative databases. Access to these data enabled researchers to conduct studies across provincial borders; contribute to a national dialogue on HIV health system performance; and give recommendations for evidence-based healthcare, health policy and public health. However, research funding is episodic; maintaining cohorts requires stable funding.

Evolving Toward Shared HIV Care Using the Champlain BASE eConsult Service.

Electronic consultation (eConsultation) is a potential strategy to improve access to specialist expertise and facilitate collaborative care models. The Champlain BASE eConsult service allows for asynchronous communication between primary care providers (PCP) and specialists on a secure, web-based system. HIV experts accessible include HIV physician specialists, HIV pharmacists, and social workers with expertise in HIV.

How the delivery of HIV care in Canada aligns with the Chronic Care Model: A qualitative study.

With the advent of continuous antiretroviral therapy, HIV has become a complex chronic, rather than acute, condition. The Chronic Care Model (CCM) provides an integrated approach to the delivery of care for people with chronic conditions that could therefore be applied to the delivery of care for people living with HIV. Our objective was to assess the alignment of HIV care settings with the CCM.

Canadian HIV Care Settings as Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs).

Purpose: For people living with HIV (PLWH) using continuous antiretroviral therapy, HIV is now a complex chronic condition often managed in primary care settings. The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a model to deliver comprehensive, coordinated, and integrated primary care that promotes collaboration between primary and specialist care and allied services. The study assessed how both Canadian primary and specialist HIV care settings align with the PCMH.

"Still learning and evolving in our approaches": patient and stakeholder engagement among Canadian community-based primary health care researchers.

Plain English Summary: Increasingly, health researchers are conducting their research in partnership with non-researchers such as patients and caregivers, advocacy groups, clinicians, and policymakers. The idea behind this partnership is to make research more relevant and appropriate. However, so far there is not much evidence about how this partnership or engagement actually affects research.

The organizational attributes of HIV care delivery models in Canada: A cross-sectional study.

HIV treatment in Canada has rapidly progressed with the advent of new drug therapies and approaches to care. With this evolution, there is increasing interest in Canada in understanding the current delivery of HIV care, specifically where care is delivered, how, and by whom, to inform the design of care models required to meet the evolving needs of the population. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of Canadian care settings identified as delivering HIV care between June 2015 and January 2016.

Patient activation among people living with HIV: a cross-sectional comparative analysis with people living with diabetes mellitus.

Standardized self-management supports are an integral part of care delivery for many chronic conditions. We used the validated Patient Activation Measure (PAM®) to assess level of engagement for self-management from a sample of 165 people living with HIV (PLWH) and 163 people with diabetes. We conducted multivariable logistic regression to assess associations between demographics and PAM® scores.

Understanding Patient Referral Wait Times for Specialty Care in Ontario: A Retrospective Chart Audit.

Context: When examining wait times for specialist care, the duration between a patient's referral and specialist visit (wait time one) is poorly understood.

Objectives: To calculate wait time one in primary care clinics across Ontario using chart audit.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart audit at five Ontario-based primary care clinics in 2014-2015.

Experiences of practice facilitators working on the Improved Delivery of Cardiovascular Care project: Retrospective case study.

Objective: To examine the barriers to and facilitators of practice facilitation experienced by participants in the Improving Delivery of Cardiovascular Care (IDOCC) project.

Design: Case studies of practice facilitators' narrative reports.

Setting: Eastern Ontario.

Just a click away: exploring patients' perspectives on receiving care through the Champlain BASETM eConsult service.

Background: Excessive wait times for specialist care can have a substantial negative impact on health outcomes. The Champlain BASETM (Building Access to Specialists through eConsultation) eConsult service based in Ottawa, Canada has demonstrated the ability to improve patients' access to specialist care.

Objective: We interviewed patients who were treated using eConsult in order to explore their attitudes towards the service and their experiences of receiving care via the service.

Improved Delivery of Cardiovascular Care (IDOCC): Findings from Narrative Reports by Practice Facilitators.

Practice facilitation can help family physicians adopt evidence-based guidelines. However, many practices struggle to effectively implement practice changes that result in meaningful improvement. Building on our previous research, we examined the barriers to and enablers of implementation perceived by practice facilitators (PF) in helping practices to adopt the Improved Delivery of Cardiovascular Care (IDOCC) program, which took place at 84 primary care practices in Ottawa, Canada between April 2008 and March 2012.

A new approach to improving healthcare personnel influenza immunization programs: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Healthcare personnel influenza immunization rates remain sub-optimal. Following multiple studies and expert consultations, the "Successful Influenza Immunization Programs for Healthcare Personnel: A Guide for Program Planners" was produced. This trial assessed the impact of the Guide with facilitation in improving healthcare personnel influenza immunization rates in Canadian healthcare organizations.

Parental perceptions of school-based influenza immunisation in Ontario, Canada: a qualitative study.

Objective: To understand the perspectives of Ontario parents regarding the advantages and disadvantages of adding influenza immunisation to the currently existing Ontario school-based immunisation programmes.

Design: Descriptive qualitative study.

Participants: Parents of school-age children in Ontario, Canada, who were recruited using a variety of electronic strategies (social media, emails and media releases), and identified as eligible (Ontario resident, parent of one or more school-age children, able to read/write English) on the basis of a screening questionnaire.

The good, bad, and ugly of online recruitment of parents for health-related focus groups: lessons learned.

Background: We describe our experiences with identifying and recruiting Ontario parents through the Internet, primarily, as well as other modes, for participation in focus groups about adding the influenza vaccine to school-based immunization programs.

Objective: Our objectives were to assess participation rates with and without incentives and software restrictions. We also plan to examine study response patterns of unique and multiple submissions and assess efficiency of each online advertising mode.

Immunizing health care workers against influenza: a glimpse into the challenges with voluntary programs and considerations for mandatory policies.

Background: Vaccination of health care workers (HCWs) is an important patient safety initiative. It prevents influenza infection among patients and reduces staff illness and absenteeism. Despite these benefits, HCW influenza immunization uptake is low.

Health care worker influenza immunization rates: the missing pieces of the puzzle.

Background: Immunization rates are used to assess the level of protection against influenza, but limited data exist on how such rates are measured in health care organizations. We conducted key informant interviews with campaign planners to learn about processes for collecting immunization data, including barriers and facilitating factors for measuring and reporting rates.

Methods: We conducted telephone interviews with 23 influenza immunization program planners across Canada working in 7 acute care hospitals, 6 continuing care facilities, and 8 public health organizations in 2012.

Measuring influenza immunization coverage among health care workers in acute care hospitals and continuing care organizations in Canada.

Background: Immunizing health care workers against influenza is important for preventing and reducing disease transmission in health care environments. We describe the ability of Canadian health care organizations to measure influenza immunization coverage among health care workers and identify factors associated with comprehensive influenza immunization measurement.

Methods: A Web-based survey was distributed to influenza immunization campaign planners responsible for delivering the 2010-2011 influenza vaccine to health care workers working in acute care hospitals or long-term continuing care organizations.