Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) Partners with Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to Strengthen Pandemic Preparedness and Response in Long-Term Care

Implementation Science Teams are evaluating effectiveness and promoting the adoption of promising practices now and in future to strengthen pandemic response

TORONTO, Dec. 4, 2020 /CNW/ - CABHI, powered by Baycrest announced its partnership with the newly amalgamated organization that brings together the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) and Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI), CIHR and health ecosystem partners across Canada to fund Implementation Science Teams in support of long-term care (LTC). 

As part of CABHI's ongoing system level efforts to coordinate and support pandemic preparedness and response, CABHI is joining ecosystem partners in supporting Implementation Science Teams to evaluate the implementation, spread and scale of promising practice interventions and policy options for pandemic preparedness in LTC and retirement homes. The researchers being funded will use implementation science (the study of methods and strategies that facilitate the uptake of evidence-based practice and research into regular use by practitioners and policymakers) to assess the outcomes of implementing six identified promising practice interventions and policy options.

CFHI and CPSI lead the initiative and are joined by additional funding partners: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, New Brunswick Health Research Foundation, Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.

In addition to funding the six Ontario-based teams, CABHI will work directly with teams across Canada to support knowledge mobilization through a community of practice to  share training resources and strategies that address barriers and enhance organizational readiness to spread and scale the promising practices. A collaborative effort that will contribute to increasing our collective potential for reach and impact.

CABHI's funding will support these essential projects:

• Bruyère Research Institute will evaluate and help to scale the Designated Care Partner program integrating family caregivers in LTC.
• University Health Network will evaluate the effectiveness of the Dementia Isolation Toolkit supporting compassionate and safe isolation and quarantine of residents during a pandemic.
• University Health Network will determine steps and resources to improve infection control practices in nursing homes.
• Ryerson University will examine visitor and family caregiver access to LTC and implications for infection control.
• McMaster University will assess and roll out a palliative toolkit for LTC.
• University of Ottawa will provide data to address implementation questions of safety, effectiveness and ethics related to family caregivers presence in LTC.

"We have never had a greater need for mobilizing innovative approaches to support older adults in long-term care and retirement homes than in the face of COVID-19. This initiative plays a critical role in meeting that need, and CABHI is thrilled to join our pan-Canadian partners to support the Implementation Science Teams. We aim to amplify program impacts and help ensure the spread and scale of the most promising interventions to reach as many residents and workers as possible, to keep Canada's older adult population safe and healthy during the pandemic and beyond."

Dr. Allison B. Sekuler, Managing Director, Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation, powered by Baycrest

"We are delighted to welcome CABHI as an important partner supporting the Implementation Science Teams and spreading and scaling the work to benefit many residents, families and healthcare staff. This partnership will greatly contribute to the ability to ensure that many long-term care and retirement homes can receive and act on key learning and insights generated by this research."

Jennifer Zelmer, President and CEO of the newly amalgamated Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement and Canadian Patient Safety Institute

"CIHR is pleased to work with partners to fund important research supporting long-term care and retirement homes during this pandemic. Research is key to informing policy and practice solutions to protect our vulnerable older adult population and the essential workers who provide care. It also provides the needed scientific knowledge to strengthen pandemic preparedness in these care settings."

Dr. Michael Strong
President, Canadian Institutes of Health Research

CABHI gratefully acknowledges the support of its funders, the Government of Canada through the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Baycrest Foundation.

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About the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI)
A solution accelerator for the aging and brain health sector, CABHI provides funding and support to innovators for the development, testing, and dissemination of new ideas and technologies that address unmet brain health and seniors' care needs. Established in 2015, it is the result of the largest investment in brain health and aging in Canadian history. CABHI is a unique collaboration of health care, science, industry, not-for-profit and government partners whose aim is to help improve quality of life for the world's aging population, allowing older adults to age safely in the setting of their choice while maintaining their cognitive, emotional, and physical well-being.

SOURCE Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation