Ministry of Health Research Seed Grant Program

Mobilizing knowledge to inform improved recovery-oriented youth substance use services
Funding: $51,531

• Danya Fast, Assistant Professor, Division of Social Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
• Kora DeBeck, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy, SFU
• Eugenia Oviedo-Joekes, Professor, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
• Seonaid Nolan, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
• Eva Moore, Physician, BC Children's Hospital
• Karen Giang, Physician, Foundry Central
• Caroline Mniszak, Research Librarian, BC Centre on Substance Use
• Cameron Eekhoudt, PhD student, Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
• Trevor Goodyear, PhD student, School of Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science, UBC
• Monique Sandhu, MSc student, Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
• Diana Rolan, Youth Collaborator, Youth Health Advisory Council, BC Centre on Substance Use

The project aims to establish a provincial research collaboration that will identify policy and programmatic recommendations to improve care for young people (between the ages of 14 and 24) who use drugs pursuing recovery from substance use disorders (SUDs). Recognition of SUDs as chronic and relapsing and a recovery trajectories perspective have each underscored the importance of connecting youth with evidence-based services across a continuum of care, inclusive of harm reduction, treatment, and abstinence-oriented supports. There is a need to reimagine what recovery and recovery supports for youth and their caregivers looks like, informed by existing literature.

The project will:

• conduct a scoping review to identify qualitative and mixed methods research focused on young people pursuing recovery and their caregivers; and
• engage with stakeholders to discuss the findings of the scoping review and inform a final report.

Role of opioid agonist treatment in a substance use strategy for BC youth
Funding: $86,423

• Skye Barbic, Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
• Steve Mathias, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, UBC; Executive Director, Foundry
• Kirsten Marchand, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Occupational Science and
• Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
• Roberto Sassi, Associate Professor and Head, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, UBC; Psychiatrist-in-Chief, BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre
• Rodney Knight, Research Scientist, BC Centre for Substance Use
• David Marsh, Associate Dean Research, Innovation and International Relations, Northern Ontario School of Medicine; Adjunct Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences North
• Dan Nixon, Youth Engagement Specialist, Foundry
• Renee Cormier, Lead, Knowledge Exchange and Special Projects, Foundry
• Jo Henderson, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Executive Director, Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario; Senior Scientist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
• Kristin Cleverley, Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Senior Scientist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
• Chloe Gao, MD/PhD student, Faculty of Medicine, UBC

The overall goal of this research study is to understand and differentiate the implementation and measurement of a range of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) service delivery models for youth in diverse settings (e.g., primary care, integrated youth services, community, hospital, residential services, rapid access clinics, etc.) and develop a consensus for best practices that are fit for purpose for youth in the larger context of a substance use strategy for youth in BC.

The team will undertake three key activities, which have been developed in collaboration with Foundry, BC’s provincial network of integrated youth services:

• a systematic review, including peer reviewed and grey literature to produce a publication;
• validation of the systematic review findings with 20-25 experts via semi-structure interviews; and
• development of consensus guidelines and subsequent knowledge mobilization.

Mental health crisis response indicators
Funding: $150,000

• Mary Elizabeth Snow, Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, UBC; Scientist and Program Head, Evaluation, Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences
• Michelle Carter, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Psychiatry, St. Paul’s Hospital
• Mohamed Ibrahim, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Faculty of Arts, UBC
• Tyson Singh Kelsall, PhD student, Faculty of Health Sciences, SFU; Social Work Co-Lead, Kilala Lelum Community Health Centre
• Maja Kolar, Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing; Faculty of Applied Science, UBC; Director, Mental Health Act Practice and Standards, Vancouver Coastal Health/Providence Health Care
• Marina Morrow, Professor and Chair, School of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Health, York University
• Angela Russolillo, Director, Mental Health Clinical Research, Providence Health Care
• Amy Salmon, Clinical Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, UBC; Associate Director, Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences
• Colleen Varcoe, Professor Emeritus, School of Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science, UBC
• Camia Weaver, Instructor, School of Criminology, SFU; Sessional Faculty, Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of the Fraser Valley

The research goal is to develop an indicator set to evaluate mobile mental health (MH) crisis response from the perspective of people with lived and living experience (PWLLE). The indicator set will be usable for comparative evaluations of different MH crisis responses, including civilian-led (e.g. peer-assisted care teams) and joint civilian-police response programs in BC. The team anticipates both qualitative and quantitative indicators related to risks and benefits of mobile MH crisis response, including recommendations to promote equity-oriented, person-centred, and trauma-informed approaches.

The team will conduct a jurisdictional scan of mobile MH crisis response in North America to identify knowledge gaps broadly. It will leverage existing mechanisms to recruit PWLLE receiving these services to participate in focus groups, including participants from northern BC, Indigenous and racialized populations, and refugees. The team will present the review summary to the groups and capture their perspectives on additional indicators. The team will also consult with 10-15 organizations that provide services to PWLLE receiving these services. A final report will include recommendations for implementing the indicator set.

Bridging the gap between expanded pharmacist services and payment models
Funding: $250,000

• Wei Zhang, Assistant Professor, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, UBC; Scientist and Program Head of Health Economics, Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences
• Olivia Tseng, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine, UBC; Associate Research Member, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation
• Nick Bansback, Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, UBC; Program Head, Decision Sciences, Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences
• Mark Harrison, Associate Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UBC; Scientist, Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences
• Michael Law, Professor and Faculty, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
• Larry Lynd, Associate Dean Research, Professor, and Director of Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UBC
• Craig Mitton, Professor, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, UBC; Senior Scientist, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation
• Peter Zed, Associate Professor and Member, Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UBC

This project aims to generate evidence on different pharmacy payment models using a combination of administrative data, stakeholder views, a jurisdictional scan, and existing studies. It will be conducted by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in health policy, health economics, pharmacy practice, and payment models.

Specific objectives are to:

• characterize how pharmacies in BC are compensated, including the use of expanded pharmacist services over time using BC administrative data;
• identify barriers and enablers to the delivery of clinical services by pharmacists, in particular the role that payment models might play. This will include interviews and/or focus groups of stakeholders, including pharmacists, patients, pharmacy owners, physicians, and decision makers in BC;
• review and identify the strengths and limitations of potential pharmacist remuneration models via a jurisdictional scan of the Canadian and international academic and grey literature; and
• make comprehensive recommendations to improve the existing model or introduce new payment model(s) by synthesizing the evidence from the above through iterative discussions among decision makers and health policy researchers. Recommendations will be prioritized based on their feasibilities and potential impacts.