One System, Multiple Hospitals: A Unified Paediatric Healthcare System Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
To address severe adult in-patient capacity pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic, 15 community hospitals were mandated to close their in-patient paediatric units (167 beds) and transfer paediatric in-patients to a single paediatric tertiary hospital. The tertiary hospital increased bed capacity through a surge plan activation, while community hospitals redeployed resources to fill the gaps in adult care. Also, 530 patients were transferred solely to increase adult bed capacity during the closure. Several factors enabled the system to function collaboratively. Closures increased the potential adult in-patient capacity by ...
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - January 31, 2023 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Primary and Community Care Mapping: Helping Communities Collaboratively Plan Health Services in a Patient-Centred Manner
Primary care, a core feature of sustainable, high-quality healthcare systems, is undergoing significant system changes across Canada. Complex system change often fails without active implementation support. Primary and Community Care (PACC) Mapping is a rapid co-design method that helps community stakeholders engage in planning at various stages of their change. PACC Mapping has been used in multiple provinces for a range of areas, from maternity care to vaccine planning. This paper outlines the PACC Mapping approach, early experiences and scaling through training facilitators. (Source: Healthcare Quarterly)
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - January 31, 2023 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Cybersecurity: Guiding Principles and Risk Management Advice for Healthcare Boards, Senior Leaders and Risk Managers
In recent years, the average cost of healthcare-related data breaches increased from approximately US$7 million in 2020 to over US$9 million in 2021. Moreover, breaches in healthcare have been consistently more costly than in other sectors for 11 consecutive years. With the frequency and costs of cyberattacks expected to rise, healthcare organizations must carefully plan for and identify strategies to mitigate cyber-related risks. This paper provides practical guidance for boards, senior leaders and risk managers in the development and implementation of organization-specific cybersecurity measures, with a focus on the iden...
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - January 31, 2023 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
TAIBU Community Health Centre’s Proportionate Response to a Disproportionate Pandemic
Data from the City of Toronto indicate that the majority of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as of December 2021 were among individuals who identified with a racialized group. In this paper, we summarize how TAIBU Community Health Centre, an organization mandated to serve the Black and Francophone communities in the Greater Toronto Area, prioritized and embedded race-based data collection in order to highlight the specific experiences of Black and racialized communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lessons learned from this work can be used to help support race-based data collection. (Source: Healthcare Quarterly)
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - January 31, 2023 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Mapping the Newcomer Journey for More Equitable Population Health: Insights from an Ontario Health Team
The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified systemic vulnerabilities and made the global and Canadian newcomer experience even more fragile. In 2022, the Kitchener, Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich (KW4) Ontario Health Team launched a journey-mapping initiative with the aim to better understand newcomers' lived experiences with regard to their health and wellness within the first two years of their arrival in the region. We interviewed 17 newcomers from 11 different countries. The outcomes of this project are helping to inform a people-centred integrated health system approach toward service redesign and the creation of te...
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - January 31, 2023 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Social Prescribing in Canada: A Tool for Integrating Health and Social Care for Underserved Communities
Social prescribing is a practical tool for addressing the social determinants of health through supported referrals to community services. This globally spreading intervention aims to meet the needs of underserved populations and to better link health and social care organizations by supporting self-management and connecting participants to non-clinical supports in their communities, such as food and income support, parks and walking groups, arts activities and friendly visiting. This paper describes the current state of social prescribing in Canada, provides an overview of the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing and...
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - January 31, 2023 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
The Childhood Mental Health of One
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the interdependence of children's schooling and their mental health, with each child being unique in response to pandemic-related disruptions. There is a will and a financial path forward to work across sectors to promote a mental healthcare model that champions the unique challenges facing each child. This model requires individualized care plans and proactive outreach to children who are reluctant to disclose their suffering. (Source: Healthcare Quarterly)
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - January 31, 2023 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Overuse of Tests and Treatments: Has Canada
Made Progress?
Overuse of healthcare services is a complex issue. Also known as low-value care, these are tests, treatments and procedures that are commonly ordered despite clear evidence that they do not help with patient care and may even cause harm. National clinician societies have developed over 450 Choosing Wisely Canada (CWC) recommendations to spur conversation about what is appropriate and necessary treatment. The latest report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information and CWC measured the trends and variation in the use over time of tests and treatments related to 12 CWC recommendations (CIHI 2022). Reductions in overu...
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - January 31, 2023 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
The Impact of Sex and Gender on Prescribing
Cascades in Older Adults
Prescribing cascades occur when an adverse drug event is misinterpreted as a new medical condition, leading clinicians to prescribe an additional medication. Studies using ICES data have detected a number of common prescribing cascades, particularly among older adult populations. These findings have contributed to international initiatives aimed at optimizing prescribing practices in this population, with the goal of minimizing the risk of drug-related harms. Examining prescribing cascades through a sex and gender lens will better inform guidelines and recommendations tailored to older men and women. (Source: Healthcare Quarterly)
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - January 31, 2023 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Pandemic Preparedness and Beyond: Person-Centred Care for Older Adults Living in Long- Term Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The increasing complexity of residents' needs, emphasis on social distancing and limited access to high-quality support presented challenges to patient-centred care during the pandemic. Yet the pandemic created an opportunity to explore novel approaches to achieving person-centred care within long-term care (LTC). We share three projects designed to enhance care delivery in the context of the pandemic: to address personhood needs during outbreaks, to improve the quality of medical care and to deliver personalized palliative and end-of-life care using a prediction algorithm. These projects enabled better care during the pan...
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - December 15, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
What We Have Heard: Next Steps for Long-Term Care Pandemic Preparedness in Canada
In this concluding article, Healthcare Excellence Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research reflect upon and respond to the lessons learned from the contributing articles in the special issue and summarize key takeaways for the next steps in evidence-informed pandemic preparedness in long-term care in Canada. The implications of their cross-organizational partnership for achieving collective impact now and in the future are also discussed. (Source: Healthcare Quarterly)
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - December 12, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Reflecting on the Journey to Develop New National Long-Term Care Standards
Samir K. Sinha – Implementation Science Team lead and chair of the Health Standards Organization's National Long-Term Care Services Standard Technical Committee – sheds light on the development of the long-term care national standards. Sinha also discusses what the standards hope to achieve for improved quality of care and quality of life across the sector. (Source: Healthcare Quarterly)
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - December 12, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Experiences of Essential Care Partners during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Visitor restrictions in long-term care (LTC) have had many consequences for residents, their families and care providers. The value of family presence in LTC was obscured during the COVID-19 pandemic until the designation of essential care partners (ECPs) was introduced to support the re-entry of family caregivers into LTC. Three ECPs share their personal experiences of caring for a loved one in LTC before and during the pandemic. Partnerships with LTC homes, residents, families and ECPs are identified as a unifying way forward to bolster future pandemic preparedness and ensure that current and future residents receive saf...
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - December 12, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Improving Family Presence in Long-Term Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Family caregivers play a vital role in supporting the physical and mental health of long-term care (LTC) residents. Due to LTC visitor restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, residents (as well as family caregivers) showed significant adverse health outcomes due to a lack of family presence. To respond to these outcomes, eight implementation science teams led research projects in conjunction with Canadian LTC homes to promote the implementation of interventions to improve family presence. Overall, technological and virtual innovations, increased funding to the sector and partnerships with family caregivers were deemed e...
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - December 12, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Lessons from Long-Term Care Home Partners during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Rapid response to a quickly evolving pandemic was critical to keep residents and those who provide care in long-term care (LTC) safe. Two Ontario-based LTC homes, Perley Health and peopleCare Communities, share key aspects of their pandemic response that left both homes well positioned to partner in the Strengthening Pandemic Preparedness in Long-Term Care rapid response research program (HEC 2022a). To share lessons learned and generate evidence around practical solutions to mitigate future outbreaks, Perley Health and peopleCare Communities identify key considerations to enhance quality of care and quality of life for LT...
Source: Healthcare Quarterly - December 12, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
