Forum work highlighted at Innovation Fund Showcase

November 22, 2010 – The work of the McMaster Health Forum was highlighted during the province’s first Innovation Fund Showcase organized by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Ontario Medical Association.

The Forum displayed a poster highlighting its efforts and achievements on the topics of chronic disease management, chronic pain management and cancer care delivery, at the event held this month in Toronto. The Showcase featured a selection of research projects being led by academic physicians committed to transforming healthcare delivery in Ontario.

The Forum’s poster focused on initiatives to design and implement an evidence-informed approach to pressing health challenges that requires the creative interplay of the best available data and research evidence with the tacit knowledge, views and experiences of those who will be involved in or affected by the approach.

Stakeholder dialogues involving influential thinkers and doers were held in 2009 on the topics of chronic disease management in Ontario’s health system and supporting chronic pain management in health systems across Canada. Each produced an evidence brief that drew on the best available research evidence to define the problem and identify possible options to address it. The poster provided details on the outcomes of each dialogue – a dialogue summary, topic overview, video interviews with participants and a year-long evidence service – which are fostering ongoing discussions that will lead to concrete changes to address these challenges.

The poster also outlined actions taken by other professional groups as a direct result of the stakeholder dialogues on chronic disease and chronic pain.

The Forum’s work on cancer care delivery, specifically enhancing patient transitions from treatment in a regional cancer centre to survivorship in the community, is ongoing, with a stakeholder dialogue planned in the winter of 2011.

To view the poster, click here.