Strengthening research in community hospitals and translating evidence into better patient care were the focus of the Niagara Health Knowledge Institute’s sixth annual Research Day, which brought together nearly 200 researchers, clinicians and health system partners from across Niagara, Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area on Thursday.
“This is a yearly highlight not just for Niagara Health, but for everyone who is passionate about strengthening research in community healthcare settings,” says Elaina Orlando, Director, Research Operations at Niagara Health. “Research Day provides the opportunity to bring together researchers who have unique experiences, perspectives and ideas to work toward a common goal: improving patient care and the patient experience by embedding research into clinical practice where the majority of Canadians receive care.”
The event, which took place at Niagara College’s Niagara-on-the-Lake campus, included workshops featuring breakout sessions, poster presentations, networking opportunities, an NHKI clinical research spotlight, award presentations and a keynote panel.
First-time attendee Matthew Bosnich, who will be graduating from Niagara College’s recreation therapy program in June, says there were multiple highlights of the day for him, such as participating in a workshop about grant proposal writing, which was led by Madelyn Law, Director, Quality, Patient Safety and Risk at Niagara Health.
“I’ve never written a grant proposal and was interested in understanding the process of it,” says Bosnich. “I got to work in a group with people who actually had experience writing grant proposals, so I learned a lot.”
His favourite part of the day, however, was participating in the poster presentations, where he presented his poster entitled, ’From cognitive assessments to road readiness: Supporting driving decisions in memory clinics: Phase 1 feasibility and acceptability of a driving simulator.’
“I’ve never done anything like that before, so it was a new experience for me,” he says. “It felt like an accomplishment to be able to share our work, and being able to translate that to other people and see them be interested and ask questions. I met a lot of people doing a lot of amazing things at Research Day and really enjoyed listening to everyone’s different perspectives and the knowledge that they brought.”
"I met a lot of people doing a lot of amazing things at Research Day and really enjoyed listening to everyone’s different perspectives and the knowledge that they brought.”
The keynote panel brought together diverse voices to explore innovative strategies around bringing more research closer to home. Comprised of physician researchers, health research administrators and a patient partner, the panelists explored ideas for enhancing research capabilities in community healthcare settings. The conversation centred around this year’s theme: “Building research capacity in community hospitals by strengthening collaboration, expanding education and deepening engagement with the communities they serve.”
A common sentiment from the panel included how fostering partnerships between hospitals, academic institutions and community organizations can lead to more robust and impactful research outcomes.
“We love the energy that fills our campus when clinicians, researchers and students gather and are so pleased to continue to be a part of this important event,” says Fay Lim-Lambie, Vice-President, Academic at Niagara College.
This was the third year in a row that the event was held at Niagara College’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus, and solidifies the shared commitment to building a healthier Niagara.
“Our relationship with Niagara Health is foundational for students in our Myhal School of Nursing and School of Allied Health,” she says. “We are proud of the NHKI-NC Summer Research Scholarship, which is a perfect example of how our two institutions collaborate to create meaningful opportunities for future healthcare professionals."
Dr. Jennifer Tsang, NHKI Executive Director and Chief Scientist.
Dr. Jennifer Tsang, NHKI Executive Director and Chief Scientist, says community hospitals see most of the patients in Canada, but historically, most of the research has happened in bigger centres.
“If we want research that actually changes care for the people we serve in Niagara, we have to do that research here, with the people who live here, alongside the teams who care for them,” says Dr. Tsang. “That is the work we are building at NHKI, and that is the work this day celebrates.”
“If we want research that actually changes care for the people we serve in Niagara, we have to do that research here, with the people who live here, alongside the teams who care for them."
Recognizing research excellence at Niagara Health
Dr. Jennifer Frendo, Family Medicine Physician, left, presented the award to Dr. Helen Caetano, Chief of Surgery, right.
Dr. Helen Caetano, Chief of Surgery at Niagara Health, was this year’s recipient of the Medical Staff Association (MSA) Physician Award. She was instrumental in supporting a first of its kind collaborative clinical trial between our Hematology/Transfusion Medicine Research program and the Division of Orthopedic Surgery. The success of the clinical trial enabled Niagara Health to achieve exceptional recruitment and performance outcomes in this national trial, becoming one of the highest recruiting sites in Canada, second only to a large academic health sciences centre.
Dr. Kevin Chan, Executive Vice-President, Medical; Chief of Staff, left, presented the award to Carla Feltrin, Interim Manager, Infection Prevention and Control, right.
Carla Feltrin, Interim Manager, Infection Prevention and Control, received the Dr. Johan Viljoen Staff Research Award. With more than 40 years of service at Niagara Health, she continually seeks opportunities to integrate the work of her team with research and quality improvement methods, always with the intention of improving quality of care for the patients we serve.
Elaina Orlando, Director, Research Operations, left, presented the award to Ramsha Faisal, Clinical Research Co-ordinator, right.
Ramsha Faisal, Clinical Research Co-ordinator in the Hematology/Transfusion Medicine Research program, was the recipient of this year’s Research Staff Award. She played a crucial role in the EPCAT III trial and also supports Dr. Mohammad Refaei’s systemic quality improvement studies, contributing directly to care that is integrated into our clinical practices.
NHKI by the numbers
- Number of active, multi-centre clinical research studies: 58
- Number of patients enrolled in multi-centre clinical research studies: 629
- Value of successful grant applications with Niagara Heath researcher participation: $2.9 million
- Number of research staff: 11
- Number of research volunteers: 9
- Numbers of publications by authors affiliated with Niagara Health: 30
Learn more about the NHKI and research underway at Niagara Health.
