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Michael Smith Health Research BC funded three FHS research project teams led by Assistant Professor Kiffer Card (upper left), Assistant Professor Krista Stelkia (upper right), and Professor Meghan Winters and PhD candidate Meredith Sones with their community partner South Vancouver Neighbourhood House (lower center)

Three FHS research teams secure Michael Smith awards

December 13, 2023

by Sharon Mah 

Michael Smith Health Research BC announced on December 12, 2023 that three research teams led by Faculty of Health Sciences members have received awards from the organization's two team competitions: the Convening and Collaborating (C2) Awards, and the REACH Awards.

These awards enable health researchers to "foster collaboration, disseminate and implement evidence, and increase the impact of their research — ultimately improving the health of people and communities in BC." Through the course of these projects, teams will have the opportunity to collaborate with and/or co-develop research with communities being impacted, and also develop knowledge translation skills and experiences.

Please join us in congratulating these great teams! 

Convening and Collaborating Awards

Kiffer Card

(co-lead: Sandra Allison)

Convening Health and Community Service Providers and Patients to Support the Co-Design of A Digital Social Prescribing Platform

This project aims to support meaningful collaboration with Island Health and the Nanaimo Division of Family Practice in order to co-develop a social prescribing program. Social prescribing is a model of patient-centered, team-based care that aims to link individuals with community services to address their non-clinical health needs. By leveraging social prescribing, Island Health and the Nanaimo Division of Family Practice aim to address social and material determinants of health by building low-barrier referral pathways for “social prescriptions” within the Nanaimo region. Examples of social prescriptions include Parks and Recreation passes, referrals to job programs, and other types of social and material support. In order to implement social prescribing in the Nanaimo region, we propose the co-design of Connect Rx, an online platform that will facilitate social prescribing (See prototype). To accomplish this, we will (1) identify community assets and social prescriptions in Nanaimo, (2) convene health and community service providers to participate in the co-design of Connect Rx, and (3) co-develop an evaluation that can be used to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy of Connect Rx.

 

Krista Stelkia

(co-lead: Nel Wieman)

Identifying Priorities to Address First Nations-specific Racism in the Health Care System in Partnership with the Office of the Chief Medical Officer at First Nations Health Authority in BC

Indigenous-specific racism has been identified as an undeclared public health emergency by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer (OCMO) at the First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia (BC). The 2020 In Plain Sight report found that Indigenous-specific racism in the BC health care system was common and widespread. In response, our project will bring together a team of Indigenous health researchers, health systems leaders, physicians and a trainee to identify action-oriented priorities and pathways to address First Nations-specific racism in the BC health care system. Our objectives are to: 1) foster a collaborative partnership between Indigenous health researchers and research users (health systems leaders and physicians) from the OCMO ; 2) build research capacity in addressing First Nations-specific racism; 3) co-host a convening space to identify gaps, challenges, and research priorities to address First Nations-specific racism; and 4) co-develop a research priorities report and action plan to address First Nations-specific racism in the health care system. The outcomes of this project will help to catalyze collective action in advancing First Nations-led anti-racism strategies within the BC health care system.

Reach Award

Meghan Winters and Meredith Sones

(co-lead: Mimi Rennie)

FHS professor Meghan Winters (3rd from left) and PhD candidate Meredith Sones (far right) with the members of their research team and staff members from South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, their community partner.

Youth.hood: Mobilizing research to achieve healthier built environments for youth in under-resourced neighbourhoods

Our proposal will extend the reach of research findings from Youth.hood—a community-engaged research project exploring how built environments shape social connectedness and health for youth living in under-resourced areas. Youth.hood grew out of the success of our long-standing collaboration (SFU Health Sciences/Urban Studies, South Vancouver Neighbourhood House) to uncover social infrastructure gaps in South Vancouver: inequities that effectively disadvantage the health and resilience of residents. Youth.hood findings tell a compelling story of the role that social infrastructure plays in connectedness, cultural identity, and resilience, and how a lack of active transportation infrastructure, neighbourhood upkeep, and quality youth-friendly spaces create barriers to wellbeing. Our proposal will mobilize findings with an aim to advance healthier built environments for youth in South Vancouver, and inform broader dialogue and practice on planning of healthier cities with and for young people. Through tools and engagement activities co-designed and co-delivered with community, our proposal promises to achieve impacts at multiple levels—including environmental, policy, and practice—in Vancouver, and for city building more broadly.