Evolving partnerships: engagement methods in an established health services research team.

Background: The Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) program is a partnered health services research team that aims to improve the quality of care and quality of life for residents and quality of worklife for staff in nursing homes. This team includes academic researchers, trainees, research staff, citizens (persons living with dementia and family/friend caregivers of persons living in nursing homes), and decision-makers (ministries of health, health authorities, operators of nursing homes). The TREC team has experience working with health system partners but wanted to undertake activities to enhance the collaboration between the academic researchers and citizen members.

The voices of lived experience: reflections from citizen team members in a long-term care research program.

Background: The Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) program is a partnered health services research team that aims to improve the quality of care and quality of life for residents and quality of worklife for staff in nursing homes. The TREC team undertook several activities to enhance the collaboration between the academic researchers and us, the citizen members. Known as VOICES (Voice Of (potential) Incoming residents, Caregivers Educating uS) we aim to share our experience working with a large research team.

Noninvasive interface for transtracheal mechanical ventilation for patients with severe cervical spine deformity.

This article describes a custom-molded patient-to-ventilator interface that permits mechanical ventilation via a tracheostomy site for patients for whom tracheostomy tubes can not be used because of severe cervical deformity. The nocturnal delivery of intermittent positive-pressure ventilation resulted in normalization of oxyhemoglobin saturation and end-tidal CO2 and alleviation of symptoms of alveolar hypoventilation. Thermoplastic patient-ventilator tubing interfaces can be constructed to permit ventilatory assistance for patients with tracheostomies who can not use tracheostomy tubes.