WORLD SPINE CARE WORKS WITH CMCC ALUMNA DR. JENNIFER WARD TO COLLABORATE WITH THE PIMICIKAMAK OKIMAWIN COMMUNITY

(WSC) is set to collaborate with the Pimicikamak Okimawin (Cross Lake First Nation) community in Northern Manitoba. Key to the project’s success is Dr. Jennifer Ward (Class of ‘03), an Indigenous chiropractor who has been delivering care on the Opaskwayak reserve for the past 20 years.

team, we hope to design a model of care that is not only culturallyspecific, but one that will have long lasting impacts on the health and wellbeing of Pimicikamak. This research has the potential to be delivered to communities right across Canada.”

Study methodology

In the research study entitled Reducingbarrierstoconservative spinecaretominimizeopioid exposure:Aglobalspinecare implementation, World Spine Care

“We are studying the feasibility of implementing the Global Spine Care Initiative (GSCI) Model of Care (MOC) in Pimicikamak, a First Nations community in Northern Manitoba,” says Ward. “By being involved in this research, we are understanding how an existing model of spine care can be customized to suit the needs of this community and how proper spinal care can add value to the well-being of not only the individual, but to the community as a whole. By ensuring that patients have access to the right care, at the right time, in the right place and by the right

“The work that I am doing right now has the potential for considerable impact,” says Ward. “I currently travel to Pimicikamak weekly to conduct the chart review, community health surveys and interviews. In the upcoming weeks, I will provide services to a community that has not had the services of a chiropractor in a long, long time. By travelling here to the patients, we have eliminated the barrier to access. And with the receipt of grants from the Canadian Chiropractic Association, the Canadian Chiropractic Research

Foundation, the Skoll Foundation and Health Canada, we will be able to provide treatments in the existing facilities at Pimicikamak. This has eliminated the barrier of a fee for service structure.

“More importantly, by collaborating with the leadership, the health care staff and the people of Pimicikamak, we are understanding ways in how to incorporate our Indigenous perspectives and world view into the existing model of spine care. This provides a more profound impact, because it brings my teachings as an Indigenous person to my profession. By braiding and weaving our traditional teachings into our health care system, we hope to create a model that is culturally appropriate and successful in creating a new standard of spine health for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Pimicikamak, a Nation of approximately 8,500 people on the reserve, has suffered from an overburdened health care system and its citizens face increasing health concerns. “Pimicikamak is pleased to participate in the Global Spine Care Initiative (GSCI) research project,” says Chief David Monias, Pimicikamak Okimawan. “This research will provide us with statistics and assist the team in examining and understanding how spinal issues may or may not cause spinal pain and/or poor motor skills. The most important part is the potential to advance best practices in therapies, health, and wellness to help people with spinal pain experience improved motor function and increase their quality of life.”

While Ward is the key player in implementing the study, she is also completing her PhD at the University of Manitoba. “I believe that education is a life-long journey and I wanted to be able to serve my community in a different way,” she says. “As an Indigenous practitioner, being in private practice on the Opaskwayak reserve for the past 20 years has allowed me to provide services to local residents. I hope to one day be able to expand my impact on Indigenous communities right across Canada.”

The WSC study team is comprised of researchers and chiropractors from the University of Manitoba, l’Université du Québec à TroisRivières (UQTR) and CMCC, drawing on the data made possible by Dr. Ward and the participation of Pimicikamak Okimawin. Dr. André Bussières (Class of ’91), a UQTR and McGill University researcher and Dr. Steven Passmore (U of Manitoba) are the primary investigators for the study.

"We must first understand the interest and capacity of the environment to welcome change, and work with individuals, as well as listening to community voices including patients, local leaders, Nursing Station staff and also Indigenous healers who practice care more centred on ancestral tradition. What is interesting and positive is that manual therapy represents for them this holistic vision of care that respects the choices of the individual," says Bussières.

CMCC faculty members involved in the study include Drs. Pat Tavares,

The long view

Providing hands-on care for low back and neck pain is just one part of a larger strategy over the next few years. This initiative also includes training local clinicians on the GSCI model of care and a communitybased, educational movement program informed, in part, by traditional Cree dance styles. The GSCI, the scientific arm of World Spine Care, aims to work with underserved communities around the world. According to the GSCI, rates of chronic back pain are higher in low- and middle-income countries. Still, they can also be high in rural areas of higher-income countries where access to health care is limited.

This research aims to better understand the interest and capacity of the community to welcome change, and work with individuals, as well as listening to community voices including those of patients, local leaders, and Nursing Station staff. In partnership with leaders and clinicians, knowledge gained will serve to facilitate capacity building in the community, and culturally adapt, and implement the GSCI model of spine care. The group expects to integrate the new clinical service and community program in late fall/early winter 2023. The research will also evaluate the impact on the health of the community residents.