James Lind Alliance (JLA) - Priority Setting Partnership: As a result of work conducted from 2019- 2021, a top 10 list of research priorities for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in Saskatchewan was published. After learning there were many questions from the public that were already answered but were not easily accessible to OSA patients and families, the Respiratory Research Centre (RRC) developed three animated short videos in an attempt to close the knowledge gap. Patients and families of OSA patients from the JLA final workshop as well as RRC patient advisors were invited to participate in the production of the videos.
Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s #WeHearYou advocated for healthcare workers dealing with the pandemic. The team disseminated KT to support health care workers, and provided resources for leadership and management for combating burnout during the pandemic.
Trans Health Navigator Project, a Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation/SCPOR Sprout grant recipient out of SHA, supports trans and gender diverse (TGD) individuals in consulting with a peer navigator to provide information and connect clients with healthcare resources in the province and assist in identifying and connecting clients with physicians and other healthcare providers who have a reputation for providing safe, high-quality care for TGD individuals. Navigators were available to provide 70 healthcare providers education and other services about trans and gender diverse people. Learn more about this project in the Creating Impact section.
Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Farmers and Ranchers Mental Health (FARMH) Initiative team offered mental wellness sessions to youth in schools and free phone sessions about farmer/rancher mental health to producers. The work has started the conversation and opened peoples’ eyes to the potential of virtual care via virtual reality rather than solely telehealth.
In order for physicians providing developmental or psychiatric pediatric care to be truly client-centred, the Saskatchewan Health Authority supported project Preference of developmental behavioural pediatrics patients in accessing services during and post pandemic found that most parents preferred a hybrid of access to both in-clinic and virtual care that should compel availability of both options to patients. Next steps might include repeating the initial survey in other areas of medicine and developing best practice clinical guidelines for a hybrid model of in-person and virtual care.
As part of the COVID-19 Evidence Support Team, literature was reviewed and synthesized to provide individuals leading the vaccine delivery with evidence based recommendations for its roll out. As the vaccine roll out was implemented across the province, two types of comprehensive evaluations of the process (realist and developmental) were conducted.
A framework for the standardized development, evaluation and maintenance of clinical pathways in Saskatchewan is in development. The components of this framework include formal approval process, proposed SHA reporting structures, team roles and responsibilities, work plan checklist, pathway prototype checklist, Patient Family Partner orientation package, shared decision-making framework, maturity matrix evaluation tool, replication checklist and project documentation tools and templates.
A framework for the implementation of an LHS within SHA, including an LHS glossary (to ensure cross-disciplinary operational term definitions) is in development. To ensure applicability across disciplines and departments within the organizations, an SHA LHS Community of Practice has been established.