OTC and EXTRA Alumni Event

Thursday, October 21, 2010
Westin Harbour Castle Hotel (Toronto)

As it entered its 9th year of operations, the Ontario Training Centre in Health Services and Policy Research (OTC) hosted an Alumni Event to celebrate the accomplishments of the OTC network as a driver to building capacity in health services and policy research and supporting the growth of evidence-informed decision making in health care in Ontario.

Starting with a breakfast (8:00-9:00 a.m.) and finishing with a Wine-and-Cheese (4:30-6:00 p.m.), the day featured a panel, posters a networking lunch, concurrent sessions, and a closing keynote by Jonathan Lomas, founding CEO of the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF), with the presentation "No-man's-land or everyman's land? Reflections on thirty years in the space between academia and action."

The event showcased:

• the capacity building extent of the Diploma (and collaborative program) in health services and policy research;
• the health services and policy research of students, graduates, faculty, and mentors;
• the partnerships with decision-makers in Ontario; and
• the training of senior health care service executives in evidence-informed decision making through the Executive Training for Research Application (EXTRA) Program.

Over 100 people were in attendance, including OTC graduates, students, faculty, mentors, senior university officers from the participating OTC universities, funding and decision-making partners, and EXTRA graduates, fellows, and mentors. 

The poster exhibition and concurrent sessions focused on topics in the areas of:

• health services or policy research;
• EXTRA Intervention Projects (IPs);
• researcher-decision maker partnerships;
• application of research to policy or practice; and
• education innovations to build capacity in health services and policy research. 

Specific topics addressed by the concurrent presentations included:

• Sachigo Lake wilderness emergency response education initiative.
• International-unregulated health worker project.
• Sexual  health promotion and youth with disabilities.
• Teamwork and supervision satisfaction in the hospital sector.
• Adherence to tobacco use and dependence practice guidelines in First Nations health settings.
• Unregulated health workers serving immigrants and aboriginal populations.

• Integrating services for frail elders: an international comparison.
• Perceived safety and walkability: environmental and social effects and prevalence of physical activity.
• New nurses and professional retention.
• Evidence-based decisions at Peel Public Health.
• Helping community-based organizations use systematic reviews.

• Building evidence-informed decision making capacity with a workforce development model.
• Rapid Systematic Reviews: methods and implications.
• Adult day programs across Champlain: characteristics and service delivery.
• Diverse inclusive governance: a new approach to aboriginal health governance.
• Expanding health professional scopes of practice in pharmacy.
• Mental health service use trajectories for maltreated children in Ontario.

• Access to health care services by recent immigrants.
• Improving women's health through developing an Ontario Women's Health Strategy.
• Immigrant women's experience accessing breast health information and screening.
• Examining physically active smokers.
• Immigrant women's experiences seeking reproductive health services.
• A portrait of access to maternity care in a rural and small town in Atlantic Canda.

This celebratory milestone was an excellent opportunity for members of the network to reconnect and catch up with everyone's project and initiatives.

The event was sponsored by CIHR through Knowledge and Translation and Dissemination Events Funding. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of the event.

Miguel A. Perez, Ph.D.
Program Manager,
Ontario Training Centre in Health Services and Policy Research (OTC)