Evidence-Based Decision-Making 8: A Primer on Health Policy for Researchers.

There is a growing expectation that research will be used to inform decision-making. It is important for researchers to understand how health policy is developed and the different ways they can influence the development of policy.Public policy is developed to resolve identified problems.

Quality improvement in curriculum development.

Purpose There is a growing emphasis on teaching patient safety principles and quality improvement (QI) processes in medical education curricula. This paper aims to present how the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland engaged medical students in quality improvement during their recent curriculum renewal process. Design/methodology/approach In the 2013-2014 academic year, the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland launched an undergraduate medical education curriculum renewal process.

An Exploration of Palliative Care Needs of People With End-Stage Renal Disease on Dialysis: Family Caregiver's Perspectives.

Patients with end-stage renal disease supported on dialysis experience high morbidity and mortality. Little is known about family caregiver experiences during the disease. Qualitative research methods were used to explore the experiences of family caregivers caring for patients receiving dialysis.

Trajectories of body mass index among Canadian seniors and associated mortality risk.

Background: This study aims to characterize the heterogeneity in BMI trajectories and evaluate how different BMI trajectories predict mortality risk in Canadian seniors.

Methods: Data came from the Canadian National Population Health Survey (NPHS, 1994-2011) and 1480 individuals aged 65-79 years with at least four BMI records were included in this study. Group-based trajectory model was used to identify distinct subgroups of longitudinal trajectories of BMI measured over 19 years for men and women.

The interactions of Canadian ethics consultants with health care managers and governing boards during times of crisis.

Background: Health care organizations can be very complex, and are often the setting for crisis situations. In recent years, Canadian health care organizations have faced large-scale systemic medical errors, a nation-wide generic injectable drug shortage, iatrogenic infectious disease outbreaks, and myriad other crises. These situations often have an ethical component that ethics consultants may be able to address.