20 minute read
Online education
New digital learning tool for understanding dementia
BBuilding off the success of a groundbreaking theatre production and film called Cracked: New Light on Dementia, KITE senior scientist Dr. Pia Kontos and KITE senior research associate Romeo Colobong have launched a new online educational tool designed to nurture understanding of dementia.
Dementia in New Light: A Digital Learning Experience uses a cinematic display featuring audio and visual assets to educate audiences about the challenges faced by people living with dementia, due to the detrimental effects of stigmatization, and provides a roadmap for how society can become more inclusive and supportive.
“People living with dementia are often thought of as completely unaware of their surroundings and incapable of any meaningful communication,” said Dr. Kontos, who is also a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
“This deprives them of opportunities to be social, make decisions regarding their own care, and legitimizes care that is dehumanizing.”
Project collaborators Drs. Sherry Dupuis, Christine Jonas-Simpson, Julia Gray, and Alisa Grigorovich worked with Dr. Kontos, Colobong, and Forge Media + Design to create this innovative educational initiative.
It was created in response to feedback from audience members of Cracked who urged the team to create an online educational tool that delved deeper into some of the key messages of the production.
“The digital learning experience will help audiences understand the perspectives of people living with dementia and their families,” said Colobong. “This will encourage them to challenge their own assumptions and to help to build a better world for people living with dementia.”
To participate please visit https:// dementiainnewlight.com/
Currently, there are over 500,000 Canadians living with dementia today. This number is expected to grow to just under 1 million by 2030.
Given the prevalence of dementia, the team feels that everyone would benefit from using this educational tool – people living with dementia, family caregivers, health care providers, policy makers, and so many more.
There are plans in the works for it to be used to enhance training programs for personal support workers and nurses, providing a much-needed and comprehensive curriculum on stigma and relational caring. ■ H
Interested in Emergency Management Ontario (EMO) certified courses?
You can receive both a record of completion from George Brown College and an EMO certificate with the following courses: BEM: Basic Emergency Management Basic Incident Management System 200 Intermediate Incident Management System 300
BE THE FUTURE OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Explore your professional development opportunities with Continuing Education at George Brown College
Our programs are geared to health and security professionals and can be conveniently completed at your own pace on a course-by-course basis. You can pursue these programs fully online or by taking a mix of online and on-campus delivery methods. Emergency Management Program Public Health Emergency Management Program
coned.georgebrown.ca/emergency
Register now for fall courses!
Learning specialized long-term care competencies through free gamified training
By Nicole Pacampara
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the long-term care sector. With staff shortages across the board, there is an urgent need to increase and train workers to ensure quality of care for the most vulnerable members of our society.
Grounded in a serious and immersive game world, the Learning Inter-Professionally Healthcare Accelerator (LIPHA) is changing the way new hires and students in Ontario’s longterm care (LTC) sector learn and build specialized competencies in LTC.
“We need new approaches to recruitment, skill building, re-skilling, and up-skilling in frontline health care. LIPHA uniquely fills that need, with an innovative, engaging, and cost-effective training approach supporting the next generation of longterm care staff who ensure older Ontarians live their best possible lives,” says Dr. Allison Sekuler, President & Chief Scientist, Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) and Baycrest Academy for Research and Education at Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, and Sandra A. Rotman Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, Rotman Research Institute.
Using a mix of short and full simulations, eLearning, game activities and resources, LIPHA motivates and rewards the learning of foundational knowledge on LTC best practices along with providing a safe space to practice caring for realistic, simulated LTC residents.
Continued on page 20
Continued from page 19 Free gamified training
Learners are scaffolded to higher levels of performance as they master increasingly challenging simulations while receiving instant feedback. As they progress, through the game world on a healer’s journey set in ancient Carthage, LIPHA fosters knowledge, skills, and values essential to supporting safe, person-centred, relational, and team-based care.
LIPHA was developed as a partnership between the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research, and Innovation in Long-Term Care (Ontario CLRI) at Baycrest, George Brown College, Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University), and Baycrest, as part of an eCampus Ontario grant. The platform enhances the onboarding and training of frontline workers in the long-term care sector – from personal support workers, nurses, to students considering a career in the field. It’s accessible online anytime, anywhere, and on any device. “Closing the skills gap in long-term care requires an innovative approach to make progress quickly,” says Dr. David Conn, Executive Vice President, Education, Baycrest Academy. “LIPHA’s applicability with existing and prospective frontline healthcare workers, and its gamified and self-directed approach allows learners to become more engaged with their training, yielding benefits like better retention, which leads to better care.”
LIPHA’s real-life learning scenarios were fine-tuned using input from CABHI’s Leap platform, a virtual community connecting older adults and caregivers with innovators. With the involvement of this community in LIPHA’s development, the platform ensures its design, delivery, and growth are informed by the lived experiences of older adults and caregivers – the ultimate beneficiaries of LTC workforce improvements in recruitment, retention, and professional development.
More than 600 learners across seven LTC homes and three schools completed the program through an investment of $1.2 million by the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU). Administrators praise the platform for its positive impact on the training of new hires, the quality of care provided by learners, student interest in gerontology and aging, and student confidence in providing care for older adults.
“I really enjoyed the platform because it uses a unique approach to learning compared to traditional approaches,” says one LTC Home. “…it will be beneficial for training processes for staff.”
This year through the Government of Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care’s PSW Education Fund, 7,000 free LIPHA seats are rolling out to long-term care homes and post-secondary education institutions across Ontario. This is made possible through a collaboration among CABHI powered by Baycrest, the Ontario CLRI at Baycrest, and the Kunin-Lunenfeld Centre for Applied Research and Evaluation within Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute.
LIPHA is now actively recruiting new organizations interested in using the platform for training. Ontario-based long-term care organizations and educational institutions can access LIPHA at no cost. A variety of learning packages for PSWs and nurses are available, including 14-16 hours (new hires), 20-35 hours (student clinical experiences) and an 8-hour introductory microcredential (new hires and senior students). Technical, implementation, and education support is provided to enrolled organizations to help with the rollout of LIPHA. Additionally, staff backfill funding support is available for long-term care homes.
Looking to sign up your organization or learn more about the platform? Visit LIPHA’s website and get in touch with the LIPHA team. ■ H
Always Keep Learning
There is no better time than now to continue learning. Saegis offers accredited courses on workplace culture, communication, and change and quality that can help develop safer, healthier teams and improve patient safety.
Successful Patient Interactions
Helping physicians and other healthcare providers communicate more effectively with their patients, the program is designed to increase work satisfaction and reduce risk for the long term.
Strategies for Managing Unprofessional Behaviour for Leaders
Supporting healthcare managers, people leaders, and those looking to grow into leadership, this program gives you skills and strategies to promote professional behaviour in your team and become a more effective leader.
Just Culture in Healthcare Certifi cation Course
Understanding and reinforcing just culture principles helps you create a culture of learning that sustainably reduces risk and improves patient safety.
Effective Team Interactions
Learn practical strategies for improving communication skills, building psychological safety and ensuring clear communication within your team.
Change and Quality
Help your team move from idea to execution through the development of a tailored, realworld action plan for quality improvement. Minister Jill Dunlop, Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities, visiting CABHI’s Innovation Showcase and members of the LIPHA team. (L – R): Stacey Guy, Faith Boutcher, Jenna Pirmohamed, Matthew Goulbourne, Minister Jill Dunlop, David Conn, Shusmita Rashid, Daniel Galessiere.
New courses are starting soon! Visit saegissolutions.ca for our full offerings.
patient at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is the world’s first to benefit from a new medical device developed to treat stroke by rapidly removing the offending blood clot in 10 minutes, ultimately reversing the symptoms of stroke and preventing permanent damage to the brain.
As a research-intensive teaching hospital LHSC is committed to finding and developing innovative health care solutions to treat patients for a variety of emergency conditions, including stroke. On June 24, 2022, Dr. Michael Mayich and his team used a new device called a balloon distal access catheter (BDAC) to successfully remove a blood clot from an artery in the brain of Wilene Leyen. The procedure was performed through a tiny incision over the right hip and took less than 10 minutes, reconstituting blood flow to a large part of the brain and restoring Ms. Leyen’s movement and speech almost immediately.
“Performing more than 200 emergency stroke surgeries each year, our team at LHSC knows the importance of identifying strokes and acting quickly,” said Dr. Michael Mayich, an Interventional Neuroradiologist at LHSC. “When a blood clot is causing a stroke, over 2 million brain cells can be lost each minute, so seconds count. By locating and removing the clot in a shorter period of time, the patient has a higher probability of regaining mobility and speech. This device offers the possibility of removing clots in fewer attempts, shortening the procedure and maximizing the chances of good outcomes for our patients”.
Mechanical thrombectomy is a new minimally invasive treatment for strokes caused by blood clots which block blood
World first procedure removes blood clot in 10 minutes A flow to the brain. It is performed by a specialized team which includes neuroradiologists, stroke neurologists, neurosurgeons, imaging technologists and anesthesiologists who are on-call 24-7 to provide this emergency service. LHSC was the first hospital in the world to use the BDAC to treat a patient experiencing a stroke. The device uses a balloon to temporarily halt flow in a vessel while suction is applied to remove clots causing the stroke and restoring flow to the endangered part Quick Facts of the brain. The Health Canada ap• Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Canada and a leading proved device was developed by Vena cause of disability and 50 per cent of patients who suffer a stroke will Medical, based in Kitchener-Waterloo be left with a permanent disability and has since been used to treat stroke • Since 2015, thrombectomy has become the new standard of care patients at The Ottawa Hospital. treatment for certain groups of acute stroke patients “The LHSC stroke team has given • LHSC is the first hospital in the world to use the BDAC to treat a patient me my life back,” said Wilene Leyen. experiencing a stroke. The BDAC combines the roles of a balloon guide “I can do almost everything I was able catheter and distal access catheter increasing chances of success on to do before I suffered the stroke and the first pass and potentially improving patient outcomes I’m very grateful Dr. Mayich was able to perform this procedure.” ■ H
Canada Health Infoway
Partnership Conference
Secure your Spot Alongside Digital Health Leaders
The Infoway Partnership Conference is back in person Nov. 15-16 in Montreal. Join us to hear about our latest initiatives and share successes and lessons learned with colleagues and industry experts.
Discounted rates available! Register now:
infoway-inforoute.ca/partnership
Visits to the emergency department and hospitalizations are 22 per cent higher among individuals who use cannabis compared with those who do not, according to a new study. The study, published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research and led by researchers at Unity Health Toronto and ICES, found serious physical injury and respiratory-reasons were the two leading causes of ED visits and hospitalizations among cannabis users. The findings suggest an association between cannabis use and negative health events, which the researchers say should underline the need to educate and remind the public of the harmful impacts of cannabis on health. Recreational cannabis use has increased in Canada since decriminalization in October 2018.
“Our research demonstrates that cannabis use in the general population is associated with heightened risk of clinically serious negative outcomes, specifically, needing to present to the ED or be admitted to hospital,” said Dr. Nicholas Vozoris, lead author, a respirologist at St. Michael’s and an associate scientist at the hospital’s Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute.
“Unlike tobacco, there is some uncertainty or controversy regarding the adverse health impacts of cannabis. Some individuals may perceive that cannabis has some health benefits and is otherwise benign. Our research highlights to those using – or considering to use – cannabis, that this behaviour is associated with important negative health events.”
To compare health outcomes among cannabis users and individuals who don’t use cannabis, researchers used data collected in a survey of individuals who self-reported cannabis use and linked it with health administrative data from ICES for Ontario residents ages 12 to 65 years old.
Continued on page 24
LESS transmission
MORE
than PCR
We are committed to delivering a higher level of PCR excellence with unmatched testing that protects staff and patients, reduces HAI transmission, and enables appropriate bed management. Speed, plus Accuracy, plus
Flexibility
That’s the PCRplus advantage. From Cepheid. Visit www.cepheid.com/en/HAIs
Learn More
MORE protection
Cannabis users
Using propensity score matching – a statistical matching technique – researchers compared the health outcomes of nearly 4,800 individuals who reported any cannabis use in the preceding 12 months with the health outcomes of over 10,000 individuals who reported never having used cannabis, or having used cannabis only once and more than 12 months ago. Researchers incorporated 31 different variables while matching study participants to minimize an unfair comparison, including demographics, multiple physical and mental health diseases, and tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use.
The primary goal of the study was to explore whether there was a link between cannabis use and respiratory-related hospitalization or ED visits. The researchers found no significant associations between cannabis use and respiratory-related ED visits, hospitalizations, or death from any cause. However, they did find that overall visits to the ED or hospitalizations for any reason was significantly higher among cannabis users.
In addition to having greater odds of going to the ED or being hospitalized, the findings show that one of every 25 people who use cannabis will go to the emergency department (ED) or be admitted to hospital within a year of using cannabis.
Among the reasons cannabis users went to the ED or were hospitalized, acute trauma – defined as bodily injury – was the most common, with 15 per cent of cannabis users who got medical attention receiving it for this reason, and 14 per cent receiving care for respiratory reasons.
“The results of our research support that health care professionals and government should discourage recreational cannabis consumption in the general population. Given the context of cannabis decriminalization in Canada, which has very likely facilitated the broader use of this product in the population, more efforts need to made from our health and political leaders to educate and remind citizens about the harmful impacts of cannabis on health,” said Dr. Vozoris, who is also a scientist at ICES. ■ H
New research finds Better patient outcomes and reduced costs for patients on ventilators
By Roxane Bélanger
The COVID-19 pandemic shed greater light on the importance of Canadian hospitals ensuring they have adequate resources and staffing in place to provide ventilation to critically ill patients who need assistance breathing.
Intensive care units at hospitals across the country were forced to scramble to add beds, medical staff and ventilators to keep up with surging demand, particularly during the earlier waves of the pandemic.
Now, as the pandemic continues to simmer and they try to best manage strained budgets amid a health human resources crisis, hospitals and their government funding partners may be asking themselves what kind of ventilation is most cost-effective and delivers the best outcomes for patients?
A recently released Canadian research paper – Proportional-Assist Ventilation with Load-Adjustable Gain Factors for Mechanical Ventilation: A Cost-Utility Analysis – provides food for thought.
The study synthesized available evidence from previous research to explore the cost-utility of two methods of ventilation used in Canada – pressure support ventilation (PSV), a form of mechanical ventilation in which each breath is supported by a constant pressure set by a clinician, and proportional assist ventilation (PAV), in which the ventilator’s software adjusts the level of assistance to match the activity of a patient’s respiratory effort.
It found that PAV is more cost-effective, delivering a savings of $7,642 per patient, compared to PSV. At the same time, PAV also benefited patient care, increasing a measurement of quality of life by 16 per cent.
“Mechanical ventilation plays an important role in critical care and there will likely always be a need for it to some extent in Canadian ICUs, but based on all of the data we collected and analyzed, it’s likely that Canadian hospitals will find PAV to be more cost-effective than conventional ventilation support for Canadian hospitals and lead to more positive outcomes for patients,” says study co-author Rhodri Saunders.
Respiratory Therapist Danny Veniott says the study provides further confirmation for what he sees firsthand on a daily basis in his role as Program Manager of the Respiratory Therapy and Airways Clinics at St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener.
“Our own data shows us we’re able to get more people off the ventilator and able to do it much more quickly when we use our PAV protocol, than with other modes of ventilation, including PSV,” he says.
St. Mary’s began using PAV as its predominant form of ventilation nearly a decade ago after a pilot project convinced leadership of the patient benefits, including less ventilation time, quicker recovery, fewer negative side effects and reduced reliance on sedatives and medications. The hospital treats approximately 1,300 patients per year who require ventilation, including those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, multi-system failure and acute cardiac issues.
“We’ll use traditional full-support modes when a patient is acutely ill, but as soon as they’re stable enough to breathe spontaneously with assisted ventilation, then we get them on PAV,” says Veniott.
Richard Kauc, a Respiratory Therapist and Ventilation Specialist at Medtronic Canada, is hopeful the study may provide more hospitals the data they need to offer patients greater access to PAV. Medtronic manufactures critical care ventilators with PAV for the global market.
“The true merits of PAV should be seen in the quality outcomes – less time on a ventilator, less time in the ICU and less likely to die,” he says. “This study looked at existing research that shows better patient outcomes and wanted to see of there was also an economic benefit, and the answer was, ‘Yes.’” ■ H
Pet Therapy Program for hospital healthcare workers
BC Children’s Hospital Foundation in partnership with PetSmart Charities of Canada™ have launched a Pet Therapy Program specifically designed to assist BC Children’s Hospital staff cope with stress, anxiety, and work-related health issues. As the pandemic continues to challenge healthcare workers, the Pet Therapy Program will help to promote the physical and mental healing power of therapy animals for BC Children’s Hospital staff.
“It is wonderful to see the Pet Therapy Program dogs visiting the hospital and putting smiles on the faces of the healthcare staff,” said Malcolm Berry, President and CEO of BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. “The past two and half years have provided challenges for everyone, and the staff at BC Children’s Hospital, are no exception. As the pandemic landscape continues to evolve, our healthcare workers have pivoted and adapted accordingly to ensure that B.C.’s sickest and most seriously injured children continue to receive excellent care. When our dedicated hospital staff are taking their breaks during their shifts, the therapy dogs provide a healthy and peaceful healing environment, and a much-needed distraction for care workers during their busy day.”
All volunteers and pets in BC Children’s Hospital’s Pet Therapy Program are evaluated and certified by St. John’s Ambulance and BC Pets and Friends. The hospital’s pet therapy program offers monthly staff wellness group events and supports resiliency rounds for nurses on inpatient floors. Each visit allows opportunities for staff to pet the dogs and take a mental break from the busyness of their day.
“When the Pet Therapy dogs greet me during my workday, I immediately feel my shoulders relax and I can’t help but smile,” said Kelsey McCormick, Clinical Resource Nurse at BC Children’s Hospital. “After visiting with the therapy dogs, I feel calmer and more equipped to deal with the tasks at hand. I become more patient, my thinking becomes clearer, and I feel like I am a better communicator.”
“It is so wonderful to see the benefits that the therapy dogs provide BC Children’s Hospital healthcare workers,” said Lisa Knight, Child Life Specialist and one of the Pet Therapy program coordinators. “This is a specialized program specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of B.C.’s top healthcare staff and assist in alleviating some of the stress and anxiety that they experience on a regular basis. Pet therapy can also improve energy levels, self-esteem, and verbal communication skills.”
“PetSmart Charities of Canada understands the healing power of animals, especially their ability to reduce depression, anxiety, and work-related mental health issues,” said Kate Atema, Director of Community Grants at the national charity. “We are excited to once again be working with BC Children’s Hospital Foundation on an innovative Pet Therapy Program specifically dedicated to the hospital staff.
“It is wonderful to see BC Children’s Hospital Foundation being proactive and looking for ways to provide useful tools, activities, and programs for their healthcare workers to engage in that help reduce their stress levels,” added Atema. ■ H
Safe Environments. Healthy Workers.
Public Services Health and Safety Association has the team, products, and resources to help you create a safer and healthier workplace.
Protect your workers and connect with us today. Visit pshsa.ca
