Featured Researchers – Community-Based Primary Health Care
Research Profile – Sharing best practices to improve the health of remote northern communities
Who
Susan Chatwood is the Executive and Scientific Director of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She is an Assistant Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Issue
Current evidence demonstrates that there are substantial disparities in the health of people living across the circumpolar countries and regions. As well, the various countries and regions respond to their health challenges with different models of health care delivery for remote communities and indigenous people.
Approach
Improving health and health care in Canada’s north first requires a reorientation toward circumpolar partnerships, to share best practices and build evidence-based policies. In an effort to build northern research capacity, the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research has created a space for northerners to meet, engage in health research, and create northern solutions in a circumpolar context. The initiative was supported by the federal government’s Arctic Research Infrastructure Program, the Tri-Territorial Health Access Fund, and a CIHR team grant.
Impact
As a result, the Institute has helped spearhead the development of a set of guidelines on research ethics and policy for the North; a branch office of Statistics Canada’s Research Data Center; the Web-based Circumpolar Health Observatory; and a research library on circumpolar health. It is hoped that these developments will lead to shared best practices among circumpolar countries and regions and, most importantly, improved health outcomes for northern people.
Research Profile – Improving primary health care for people living with multiple chronic diseases
Who
Dr. Martin Fortin, Applied Chair in Health Services and Policy Research on Chronic Diseases in Primary Care funded by CIHR, the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation, and the Centre de santé et de services sociaux de Chicoutimi; Professor and Director of Research for the Department of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke.
Issue
The vast majority of patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and asthma are seen by family physicians in a primary care setting. The majority of these patients have more than one disease or chronic condition at the same time. Multiple chronic diseases result in poor quality of life, psychological distress, and additional problems related to the use of medication.
Approach
Dr. Fortin is working to find healthcare solutions for people dealing with multiple chronic conditions or diseases. He is currently working on the development of new models of care based on interprofessional collaboration.
One such initiative, called PR1MaC, is bringing together researchers, primary care professionals, and regional decision makers to work on integrating chronic disease rehabilitation services into primary health care. The project aims to improve access to these services by bringing them closer to the point of entry of the patient into the health system.
Dr. Fortin collaborates with colleagues from Canada and around the world to find solutions to primary health care problems. One such collaborative effort is a project called “Optimizing the Use of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in Primary Health Care Chronic Disease Management” (in partnership with the University of Western Ontario). This international team will conduct a program of research that will produce specific evidence to recommend ways to optimize the use of EMRs in chronic disease management in Canada.
Impact
Ultimately, Dr. Fortin’s goal is to help optimize healthcare for people living with multiple chronic conditions, thereby improving their health and their quality of life.
Research Profile – Encouraging the use of electronic medical records among primary health care practitioners
Who
Dr. Amanda Terry (PhD Epidemiology) is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Studies in Family Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, and the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Issue
Although there is increasing interest in the implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) in Canada, the overall level of use of this technology among primary health care practitioners is low compared to other countries, such as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Even when primary health care practitioners do adopt EMR, their use of advanced features is limited. If we are to achieve the benefits of electronic records, it is important that primary health care practitioners use this technology in a comprehensive way, and integrate it into their practice. However, there remain many unanswered questions about how to best utilize this tool in primary health care practice, and a lack of research capacity in Canada with which to address this gap.
Approach
Dr. Terry’s current research in primary health care focuses on understanding issues in EMR adoption among primary health care practitioners, in developing approaches to measuring EMR data quality, and in exploring ways to enhance the value of EMR in primary health care practice. She also works to enhance the connection among primary health care stakeholders in Canada, and to build research capacity.
Impact
Dr. Terry’s research will have a potential impact on health care in three important ways: 1) to aid policy-makers in preparing for the eventual wide-spread implementation of electronic records in Canada; 2) to assist primary health care practitioners in adopting the records and to maximize their use of this technology in practice; and, 3) to build research capacity for answering primary health care questions about EMR.