Archived - Health System Impact Fellowships (for doctoral trainees and post-doctoral fellows) – Host partner organizations: Profiles

• AGE-WELL National Innovation Hub: Advancing Policies and Practices in Aging and Technology (APPTA)

  Location of organization

  York Care Centre, Fredericton, New Brunswick

  About us: Mandate and strategic goals

  AGE-WELL NCE (Aging Gracefully across Environments using Technology to Support Wellness, Engagement and Long Life NCE Inc.) is Canada’s technology and aging network. AGE-WELL is dedicated to the creation of technologies and services that benefit older adults and caregivers. Our aim is to help older Canadians maintain their independence, health and quality of life through technologies and services that increase their safety and security, support their independent living, and enhance their social participation.

  As part of AGE-WELL’s mandate, a National Innovation Hub aimed at providing practical solutions to the policy challenges Canada is facing in supporting an aging population has been developed. APPTA’s mission is to support the development and implementation of best practices in aging and technology across Canada in fulfillment of Canadians’ rights to dignity by maintaining their independence, health and quality of life, and enhancing their social participation.

  APPTA will design innovative solutions to specific policy, program and service challenges, and will develop best practices for rapid adoption of technologies across Canada. To do so, APPTA will bridge the gap between researchers in the AGE-WELL network by working directly with provincial and federal government agencies to identify their needs, and supporting researchers in knowledge mobilization of the solutions they have created. For more information, see: APPTA website.

  HSIF Impact goal

  Fellows will have the opportunity to work within the Hub to further our mission of providing innovative, evidence-based solutions to the complex socioeconomic and cultural challenges related to Canada’s aging population. The impact goal for this fellowship is: Developing innovative policy solutions that address seniors’ health challenges in Canada by mobilizing knowledge and best practices developed by leading Canadian researchers into practical policy and service-based solutions.

  HSIF Priority areas

  APPTA’s priority is to provide a stimulating, inclusive and rewarding environment for its staff so that we can achieve our goal of advancing policies and practices in aging and technology. Fellows may be engaged in these priority areas:

  • Identifying existing policy solutions for improvement in seniors’ care;
  • Developing innovative approaches to collaborating with government on prevalent issues for the Canadian senior population; and
  • Creating knowledge mobilization opportunities for researchers and/or government in health systems innovation.  

  Type of work

  Successful fellows will have important and unique opportunities to lead innovation through:

  • Engaging in environmental scans, literature reviews and data analysis of existing work relating to policies and practices in aging;
  • Development of strategies/policies for improvement of the Canadian health system in relation to aging;
  • Building a repository of evaluated programmes and services that can inform policy solutions for Canadian governments; and
  • Performing impact and/or economic assessments of solutions proposed by the Hub and implemented at a provincial or national scale.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  APPTA will provide comprehensive training and mentorship to fellows and an orientation to the style of work completed in innovation hubs, as well as access to the York Care Center facility. Professional development will include:

  • Building competencies in policy and services development, project coordination and management, change implementation and interdisciplinary work;
  • Refining skills related to analysis and evaluation of data and health-related programs and policies, as well as effective knowledge translation and mobilization;
  • Numerous opportunities for networking, presentation of findings at national conferences, engagement with seniors in activities to understand their needs, and meetings with governments to recommend transformations for an improved health system for Canada’s aging population.  

  Working language

  The main working language for the APPTA Hub is English. However, proficiency in both official languages is an asset.

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  APPTA is open to hosting either a doctoral or post-doctoral trainee as part of our team.

  Contact information

  Applicants interested in exploring a Health System Impact Fellowship opportunity with APPTA should contact Candice Pollack at cpollack@agewell-nih-appta.ca with the required application materials.

• Amaris Consulting, Inc., Health Economics & Market Access (HEMA) Department

  Location of organization

  110 Yonge Street
  Suite 1601
  Toronto, Ontario

  Mandate and strategic goals

  Amaris is an independent, international technologies and management consulting group. Created in 2007, Amaris is already established in over 50 countries and supports 700 clients worldwide throughout their projects' lifecycle. Our expertise covers five areas of innovation, including:

  • Business and Management
  • IT/IS
  • Telecom
  • Engineering and High Technologies
  • Biotech and Pharma

  The selected fellow will be joining the Health Economic & Market Access (HEMA) team as part of the Biotech and Pharma business line.

  Founded in 2009, the HEMA department now includes over 60 consultants with backgrounds in medical research, health economics, modelling, statistics, pharmacy and epidemiology. This multidisciplinary team is able to support a wide range of projects focusing on evidence synthesis, evidence generation and value communication to support market access, reimbursement and pricing strategy. We work at a global, regional and local level for clients from the pharmaceutical industry, the medical device industry, the biotech industry and the public sector. To learn more, visit Amaris.

  HSIF Impact goal

  Fellows will support the HEMA team on projects in the context of drug reimbursement, market access and health economics.

  The collaboration will include one primary project, with direct involvement in all phases of the project, from defining the study question through to communication of results. The fellow will play a key role in managing the client relationship and mentoring other team members, gaining valuable strategic insight, project/people management experience and communication skills.

  HSIF Priority areas

  The priority areas for the HEMA team include:

  • Health technology assessment (HTA) and submissions to public and private payers
  • Health economics
  • Market access
  • Value communication (communicating the value of a technology in terms of health, cost and societal benefits)
  • Biostatistics (meta-analysis, network meta-analysis, survey methods)
  • Landscape assessments
  • Systematic and targeted literature reviews
  • Real world evidence

  Type of work

  The successful fellow will have the opportunity to lead and/or contribute to various areas of work, including, but not limited to:

  • Strategic market access, including value communication
  • Identifying and analyzing relevant pricing and reimbursement sources of information
  • Systematic literature reviews
  • Health economic modelling
  • Client and stakeholder engagement
  • Development of submission dossiers for public and private formularies
  • Applying project management skills to complete projects within the defined project scope and budget, while exceeding client expectations

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  Amaris aims to mentor fellows and foster the development of their analytical and professional skills. A fellowship with Amaris uniquely offers the opportunity to connect and collaborate with various stakeholders in the healthcare landscape on both a national and global level, while continuously evolving technical skills related to health economics and market access. Amaris is committed to creative thinking and innovative methods to provide strong, strategic, and reliable solutions to our clients.

  Working language

  English (Mandatory)

  French (Optional)

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Either/Both

  Contact information

  Rebecca Hancock-Howard
  Team Lead, Canadian Market Access
  rebecca.hancock-howard@amaris.com

• BC Centre for Disease Control

  Location

  Vancouver, British Columbia

  About us - Mission/Mandate

  The BCCDC provides provincial and national leadership in public health, disease surveillance, detection, treatment, prevention and consultation. The BC Centre for Disease Control is affiliated with the University of British Columbia in conducting and coordinating research, education and policy development. To learn more, visit our Website.

  HSIF impact goal

  The BCCDC is involved with a wide range of applied research that can directly impact service provision and health policy creation. Examples include the use of big data to assess intervention cost effectiveness at a population level and to support rational public policy. Creating cascades of prevention and care models. Using syndemics to study how best to support vulnerable populations.

  Priority areas for HSIF experiential learning

  The BCCDC programs include:

  • Tuberculosis
  • Sexually Transmitted Infections
  • GetCheckedOnline
  • BC Observatory for Pop. & Public Health
  • Anonymous HIV Testing
  • Chee Mamuk (Aboriginal Health)
  • Do Bugs Need Drugs?
  • Harm Reduction
  • Hepatitis Prevention & Care - BC Hepatitis Testers Cohort
  • Outreach
  • Point of Care (Rapid) HIV Testing
  • SmartSexResource
  • Service Areas
  • Clinical Prevention
  • Communicable Diseases Prevention
  • Public Health & Emergencies including the response to the overdose crisis
  • Environmental Health
  • Immunization Programs

  Please visit the Website to see the BCCDC’s comprehensive approaches to public health in British Columbia.

  Type of work

  The type of work an awardee could expect to lead/contribute to includes: data integration and analysis; reviewing, assessing, and synthesizing complex research findings from scientific literature, and other lines of evidence, to create knowledge translation documents that are succinct; research and respond to complex questions and issues related to public health concerns; perform statistical analysis, interpret data, identify significant results, draw conclusions and make recommendations; document findings and publish detailed research reports.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The BCCDC sits at the crossroads of applied research and service provision. This provides trainees a unique experience where they can see their efforts translate into changes in service provision, or be involved in creating evidence based policy recommendation that directly impacts peoples’ health. The BCCDC is also affiliated with the University of British Columbia in conducting and coordinating research, education and policy development. Trainees will have access, leadership, and mentorship from highly trained specialists in every field of public health.

  Working language

  English only, other languages welcome.

  Eligibility

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either? Both doctoral trainees and post-doctoral fellows are invited to submit expressions of interest.

  Contact details for further information and to submit expression of interest

  Naveed Janjua
  Clinical Associate Professor UBC
  Senior Scientist, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control
  phone: 604–707–2514
  naveed.janjua@bccdc.ca

  Hepatitis Education Canada
  BC Hepatitis Testers Cohort

• BC Patient Safety & Quality Council

  Location

  Vancouver, British Columbia

  Mandate and strategic goals

  The BC Patient Safety & Quality Council provides system-wide leadership to efforts designed to improve the quality of health care in British Columbia. Through collaborative partnerships with health authorities, patients, and those working within the health care system, we promote and inform a provincially coordinated, patient- and family-centred care approach to quality. We also provide advice and make recommendations to the Minister of Health. In support of this mandate, we undertake activities that are determined through extensive consultation with our partners and stakeholders to define where we can best add value. Drawing on our resources, relationships and the diverse expertise of our staff, we are at once a leader, an advisor, a partner, a facilitator, an educator, and a supporter.

  To learn more, visit the Council’s website.

  Strategic Plan 
  Terms of Reference  

  HSIF impact goal

  Fellows will have the opportunity to work with BCPSQC staff and Council members as well as our partners, on projects that advance our work on four key strategic priorities:

  • Provide system-wide leadership on quality, in collaboration with stakeholders;
  • Engage patients, caregivers and the public as partners in their health care system;
  • Build capability for health care system transformation and improvement; and
  • Support improvements in the quality of care.

  For more information, please refer to the Council’s Strategic Plan.

  HSIF priority areas

  Depending upon the interest of the Fellow, the Council has a number of potential priority areas of interest for the fellowship including:

  • Patient & Public Engagement: Exploring the impact of patient and public engagement, including the involvement of patient and family members in co-design and as committee members.
  • Economic Evaluation: Assessing interventions and investments in health care improvement.
  • Appropriateness: Assessing and exploring opportunities for addressing appropriateness in advancing quality of care in British Columbia.
  • Behavioral Economics: Assessing the potential and interventions of behavioural economics as a strategy within health system improvement initiatives.

  Type of work

  The successful fellow will develop new knowledge that can be used to support the Council’s and others efforts to improve quality of care. The specific nature of work will depend on the final project proposal. Work may include strategy development, stakeholder engagement, data analysis (including both qualitative and quantitative methods), program evaluation, impact assessment and/or measure development. 

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The BC Patient Safety & Quality Council is well positioned to offer a Health System Impact Fellow with an opportunity to enrich their CHSPRA competencies including:

  • Change management and implementation
  • Interdisciplinary work
  • Leadership, mentorship and collaboration
  • Analysis of data, evidence and applying critical thinking
  • Knowledge translation, communication and brokerage

  The Council offers a strong learning environment through both the internal corporate culture and organizational mandate. We work across the health system with a variety of partners including Ministry of Health, regulatory bodies, health authorities, professional associations, non-profits and academic institutions, all of which the fellow will have the potential to engage and work with through partnership and collaboration opportunities. The Council has a well-established program to advance patient and public engagement through our Patient Voices Network, with meaningful patient engagement being embedded in our own work as well as fostered in others.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either?

  Both

  Contact information

  Christina Krause
  Executive Director
  ckrause@bcpsqc.ca
  250-490-6994

• Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

  We anticipate being able to offer two positions within the following branches of the Research and Analysis Division:

  • Canadian Population Health Initiative (CPHI) (Toronto or Ottawa office)
  • Health System Analysis and Emerging Issues (HSA&EI) (Toronto office)

  Location

  Toronto and Ottawa offices, Ontario

  Mandate and strategic goals

  • CIHI’s vision and mandate
  • CIHI’s current strategic plan [ PDF (4.9 MB) - external link ]

  HSIF impact goals

  CIHI is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides essential information on Canada’s health systems and the health of Canadians. We provide comparable and actionable data and information that are used to accelerate improvements in health care, health system performance and population health across Canada. The impact goal for this fellowship would be to move CIHI’s work around its priority themes and populations forward through analytic work.

  HSIF priority areas

  CIHI’s current strategic plan (2016-2021) [ PDF (4.9 MB) - external link ] outlines focused efforts on influencing and improving Canada’s health systems, guided by 4 priority populations:

  • Seniors and aging
  • Mental Health and addictions
  • First Nations, Inuit and Métis
  • Children and youth

  Type of work

  The CIHR fellow would primarily undertake quantitative analytic work, and other potential types of work include qualitative analytics, stakeholder consultation, environmental scanning, literature and scoping reviews, and policy analysis. This work will focus around CIHI’s strategic priorities around Mental Health and Addictions (topics include caregiving and geographical mapping of needs and supply of mental health services), Seniors (topics include healthy ageing and caregiver needs) and Children and Youth (topics include suicide and transitions in care).

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  CIHI is uniquely positioned to develop and strengthen Research and Analytic skills and Professional skills, in alignment with CHSPRA’s core competencies. Fellows will benefit from the following experiential learning opportunities:

  • Contribute to collaborative analytical projects involving CIHI’s priority populations with environmental scans, developing research questions and scoping methodology
  • Gain understanding of how CIHI’s priority themes (Patient Experience, Quality and Safety, Outcomes, Value for Money) are embedded in analytic work
  • Enhance knowledge of CIHI datasets
  • Learn about corporate processes including: analytic development cycle, internal gating, publications and communications
  • KTE development and planning through advisory group work and consultations with key stakeholders

  Working language

  English. Fluency in written and spoken English is required; bilingual fluency would be considered an asset.

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Applications for both Doctoral trainees and post-Doctoral fellows will be considered.

  Contact information

  Dr. Sara Allin
  Canadian Population Health Institute
  sallin@cihi.ca

• Canadian Partnership Against Cancer

  Location

  Toronto, Ontario

  About us - Mission/Mandate

  The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (“the Partnership”) is an independent organization funded by the federal government to implement the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control. Our work spans the cancer control continuum, from prevention and screening to research and supportive care, effecting system-level change and reducing the burden of cancer on Canadians. To learn more, please visit our website.

  HSIF impact goals

  Fellows and/or doctoral trainees will have a unique opportunity to substantively contribute to a diverse array of work to implement and advance the new priority areas of the Partnership’s 5 year strategic plan We See Progress [ PDF (5.3 MB) - external link ]. The Partnership’s work, which continues to span the cancer control continuum, is organized under five themes - quality, equity, seamless patient experience, maximize data impact and sustainable system – to anchor the next 5 years of action on cancer control.

  Priority areas for HSIF experiential learning

  Based on field of study, experience and interest, fellows and doctoral trainees may express interest in one or more of the following Partnership priority areas:

  1. Advance cancer control with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples and partners – The Partnership continues to build on the foundational strategy of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Action Plan [ PDF (5.3 MB) - external link ]. Strategic areas of focus are: community-based health resource skills and capacity; community awareness, culturally responsive resources and services; access to programs and services in remote and rural communities; and patient identification systems. Projects also include efforts to embed a focus on First Nations, Inuit and Métis cancer control across the Partnership by realizing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. Other projects involving First Nation’s, Inuit or Métis include; advancing improvements in continuity of care in a culturally responsive and safe way, with First Nations, Inuit and Métis cancer patients residing in rural, remote and isolated communities; improving patient navigation by identifying data gaps in collaboration with data stewards; minimizing the disparities for First Nations, Inuit and Métis patients and families who are going through a cancer journey; and, engaging effectively with patients and families to ensure the First Nations, Inuit and Métis voice is included in all the work that the Partnership does.

  2. Improve the quality and availability of Palliative Care – The vision of the Partnership’s Palliative Care Strategy is that Canadians and their families have access to high quality, timely and appropriate palliative care that supports living well, and dying with dignity and respect in the setting of their choice. The key components of this work includes initiatives aimed at increasing coordination and improving integration of early palliative care through collaboration between primary care and oncology specialists, as well as increasing the ability to quantify the burden of cancer and improved symptom control using patient-reported outcomes (PRO). The Partnership continues to strengthen and promote quality improvements that support Canadian’s and their families access to high quality, early evidence-based palliative care at the right time, right place and based on the needs of the individual. For more information please see this recent palliative care and end-of-life report.

  3. Health Economics Initiative: This program of work focuses on strengthening the capacity to quantify the economic burden of cancer to make evidence-informed decisions about new and existing cancer control interventions. One of the tools used is an online micro-simulation model (OncoSim) that is offered to public sector stakeholders to assess health outcomes, resource utilization, costs and cost-effectiveness of population-level cancer control strategies. Priority projects for the upcoming two years include: Assessing the economic impact of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control, comprehensive quantification of out-of-pocket costs for cancer patients and caregivers, quantifying the indirect burden of cancer to the economy, economic evaluations of palliative care interventions and using OncoSim to support policy-making. For more information on the Partnership’s Health Economics work, see Oncosim.ca.

  Type of work

  Doctoral trainees and/or fellows will have the opportunity to become immersed in the Partnership’s daily work and operations, and will contribute by: participating in/leading stakeholder dialogue/consultation; strategy development for a range of program initiatives; environmental scanning; conducting systematic reviews; developing evidence briefs (based on comprehensive literature reviews), performing quantitative and qualitative data analysis and economic analysis; developing technical and web-ready reports; delivering internal and external presentations; and participating in a range of partner and stakeholder activities for information sharing and program development purposes.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The Partnership will provide an orientation and exposure to our unique approach to addressing cancer control, co-operating and collaborating across jurisdictions and organizations to optimize the effectiveness and efficiency of cancer control efforts across the continuum. This approach gives the doctoral trainee and fellows the rare opportunity to work at a pan-Canadian level with multiple stakeholders and experts in cancer control and strategy across the country. CPAC will also provide fellows with concrete experience and professional development in the areas of strategy development, government relations, project management, leadership, and negotiation.

  Working language

  English

  Eligibility

  Both doctoral trainees and post-doctoral fellows are invited to submit expressions of interest.

  Contact details for further information and to submit expression of interest

  Kathleen Dennis, Talent Management
  Canadian Partnership Against Cancer
  One University, Suite 300
  Toronto, Ontario M5J 2P1
  Phone: 416-728-9139
  kathleen.dennis@partnershipagainstcancer.ca

• Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI)

  Location of organization

  Edmonton, Alberta or Ottawa, Ontario

  About Us - Mandate and strategic goals

  The Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) is a not for profit organization that exists to raise awareness and facilitate implementation of ideas and best practices to achieve a transformation in patient safety. Established by Health Canada in 2003, CPSI reflects the desire to close the gap between the healthcare we have and the healthcare we deserve. Our vision is that “Canada has the safest healthcare in the world” and we work with governments, healthcare organizations, professional associations, accrediting and regulatory bodies, researchers and academia, healthcare providers and patients in pursuit of our mission to inspire extraordinary improvement in patient safety and quality. To learn more, visit Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI)

  Why Our Mandate is Important? According to a report commissioned by CPSI, over the next 30 years in Canada within acute and home care settings there could be roughly 400,000 average annual cases of patient safety incidents (PSIs) combined, generating an additional $2.75 billion (2017$) in healthcare costs per year. This is equivalent to such events occurring in Canada every minute and 18 seconds, and a resulting death every 13 minutes and 14 seconds.

  CPSI’s new strategy focuses on two key elements:

  1. Demonstrate What Works – Support is needed for successful implementation of measurable, sustainable patient safety improvement, and initiatives need to be evaluated to demonstrate what works.
  2. Strengthening Commitment – The evidence of what works needs to be translated into standard practices for practitioners and providers at all levels of the health system. These best practices can then be incorporated into a more robust system of commitment, responsibility and expectations for patient safety in Canada.

  HSIF Impact goal

  CPSI is an active and respected pan-Canadian organization and recognized as a pre-eminent global leader in providing evidence-informed information and resources to advance patient safety and quality. Since its inception in 2003, CPSI has worked in collaboration with partners and stakeholders across the health system to promote and accelerate healthcare improvement in Canada. Our activities have included knowledge generation, synthesis, and translation; patient safety and quality improvement capability-building for health providers and leaders; cultivation and strengthening of coalitions and networks across the health system; and championing meaningful participation of patients and families in healthcare improvement at all system levels.

  Fellows working with CPSI will have the opportunity to directly contribute to improving the quality and safety of healthcare in a pan Canadian setting. CPSI enters its next mandate in 2018 with a new strategic plan and is envisioning bold new directions and an expanded role. CPSI aims to work with partners to foster safer health systems, inspiring no less than a social movement for patient safety. CPSI will do this through targeted initiatives to influence and support policy, practice, and public empowerment for transformational patient safety improvement.

  HSIF Priority Areas

  CPSI is a unique and outstanding organization for fellows interested in significantly contributing to the field of patient safety by advancing the knowledge base and capacity for evidence-informed policy, strategy and practice in the following priority areas:

  • In our efforts to foster a more positive patient safety culture throughout Canada, CPSI has the moral imperative to contribute knowledge for legislation, policy, regulation, accreditation and education changes related to patient safety. We will be more deliberate in engaging and supporting system level capability with leaders, policy makers and educators.
  • There is no overarching framework through which to understand the state of patient safety and the magnitude of preventable harm in Canada. We believe we can become an international leader in our thinking and approach to measuring and monitoring patient safety at all system levels. CPSI has begun to shift its approach to helping providers and leaders to identify, make sense of and use data and information for improvement while applying successful strategies from the field of implementation science.
  • CPSI has been a pioneer in Canada in advocating for and supporting patient and family involvement in healthcare improvement. For more than 10 years, CPSI has been meaningfully partnering with patients in our programs, resource development and our own internal foundational documents and structure. Evaluating the impact of engaging and empowering patients and the public on patient safety awareness and outcomes is very challenging but considered by many essential to fundamentally shifting the attention to drive “patient safety right now” forward.
  • Community- and home-based care is the most rapidly growing segment of healthcare. It has been estimated that 10-13% of home care clients experience harm on an annual basis. Generating and translating knowledge and building capability for improvement in the community and especially in the transition between care settings is essential.
  • CPSI has contributed to growing the patient safety evidence base, helping healthcare organizations build the business case for patient safety. We could significantly further contribute through greater emphasis on evaluation of our own programs and interventions.

  Type of work

  The successful fellow(s) will have a range of opportunities to lead and/or contribute to any or all of the following: environmental scanning and strategy development for a range of programs and initiatives; developing background materials and briefings to inform CPSI senior leadership and governance; conducting comprehensive literature reviews and developing evidence briefs; performing quantitative and qualitative data analysis and economic analysis; participating in/leading stakeholder consultations; developing technical and web-ready reports; delivering internal and external presentations; representing CPSI on pan-Canadian committees and working groups; participating in/leading a range of collaborative activities and meetings with partners and stakeholders; facilitating and nurturing partnerships with governments, health organizations, patient and client advocacy groups and other key stakeholders in patient safety.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  CPSI staff comprises caring, energetic people, dedicated to helping the Canadian healthcare system become the safest and best in the world. Having a passion for what we do is core to our operations and we measure our success in part by creating a collaborative environment where all team members experience reward in their work.

  CPSI provides a comprehensive orientation for all team members and opportunities to participate in a variety of formal and informal learning events and experiences, including those provided by CPSI. CPSI's work is based on the premise that everyone teaches and everyone learns, and we encourage generous sharing of knowledge, ideas and solutions.

  Working language

  English only

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Either/Both.

  Contact information

  Wayne Miller, Patient Safety Improvement Lead, wmiller@cpsi-icsp.ca

• Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l’Estrie – Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS)

  Location of organization

  Sherbrooke, (Quebec)

  About Us - Mandate and strategic goals

  The CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS in Sherbrooke, with all the other health care and social services institutions in the province, aims to improve accessibility, continuity and quality of health care and services to population.

  Our organization distinguishes itself from other institutions by being the only CIUSSS to integrate a University Hospital. Thus, it offers a complete range of services to the population. Structured around 9 local health and social services network, the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS gathers 17 000 employees and 100 installations for a population of 500 000 inhabitants. Several strategies were developed by the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS to meet the needs of the population and allow a continuous improvement of care. As a good example, we implemented 6 care pathways structured around an innovated animation process in order to facilitate the integration of care and services. This organizational structure supports the participation of all stakeholders using an intersectorial and collaborative approach. In addition, the process insures full participation of the users in the implementation of the care pathways. Patient participation is at the core of our performance model.

  Finally, our organization integrates the university mission within its activities. Indeed, the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS includes three infrastructures dedicated to research: two research centers recognized by Quebec health research fund (FRQS) – CHUS Research Centre and Research Centre on Aging – and one institute: Institut universitaire de première ligne en santé et services sociaux (IUPLSSS).

  HSIF Impact goal

  Under the supervision of the scientific director and the scientific assistant of IUPLSSS, the successful applicant will contribute to the realization of the following objectives:

  - Supporting the integration of the university mission within the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS by leading research projects and knowledge transfer activities related to the implementation of care pathways.

  - Improving the organizational performance by helping to develop a culture of evaluation and a culture of measure and by helping enhancing the integration of care and services. In order to meet those objectives, the organization relies on an integrated management performance system and an organizational process of animation design (care pathways).

  HSIF Priority Areas

  The improvement of the organization performance and the integration of the university mission require that the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS develops a high level of expertise in research, in evaluation and in project management to support the administrative and clinical teams in the realization of their projects. This experiential learning internship fits perfectly into the project of implementation of the 6 health care pathways as well as into the implementation of the integrated system of performance.

  Type of work

  The CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS holds a unique place in the network of health organizations, being the only one integrating a University Hospital. The successful applicant will be under the research administration department which gathers the CIUSSS expertise in research, knowledge transfer, evaluation of technologies and best practices. The research department directly supports the structure and animation processes of health care pathways as well as all the clinical departments. More specifically, the trainee will develop the following sectors:

  1. Methodology of evaluation (developmental evaluation, impact evaluation, process analysis, context analysis, mixed methods, development of performance indicators)

  2. Knowledge transfer (development of knowledge transfer tools, development of user participation strategies, integration of experiential knowledge)

  3. Organizational development (support for the development of intra and inter organization collaborations, development of problem analysis strategies, supports in the development of Obeya [war room] )

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  A professional growth and development plan will be created for and with the successful applicant to accelerate core competencies of the CIHR’s Training Modernization Initiative on the health services and policies researches. It will include:

  1- Development of skills in research and analysis: Analysis and Evaluation of health and health-related policies and programs; Data Analysis; Evidence and critical thinking;

  2- Development of professional skills: Leadership, Mentorship and Collaboration; Project management; Interdisciplinary work; Networking, Dialogue and Negotiation

  Working language

  French (English is an asset)

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow for two years (70% of the time in the institution).

  Contact information

  Sylvain Bernier, Direction de la direction administrative de la recherche, CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS,
  sylvain.bernier.ciussse-chus@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

• Choosing Wisely Canada

  Location

  St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario

  About us: Mandate and strategic goals

  Choosing Wisely Canada is a national, clinician-led campaign to engage clinicians and patients in conversations about unnecessary care to help make smart, effective choices for high quality care. Choosing Wisely Canada is based at the University of Toronto and St. Michael's Hospital.

  HSIF impact goal

  Choosing Wisely Canada is committed to reducing unnecessary care in Canada. As the campaign matures, evidence of impact is important. The fellow would participate in mixed methods research to evaluate the impact of the campaign. This will be on a topic related to campaign strategic planks of measurement and evaluation, implementation, medical education, international collaboration or regional networks.

  HSIF Priority areas

  Choosing Wisely Canada is engaged in research, evaluation, performance measurement, patient engagement and medical education. Evaluation of the campaign’s impact would benefit from the expertise of a health services researcher.

  Type of work

  The fellow would work on a targeted research project related to a campaign plank. This would likely include mixed methods research such as review of data, along with more qualitative research such as key informant interviews and surveys.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  This fellowship offers an opportunity to grow and develop professional skills as well as research and analytical skills. In particular, professional skills of leadership, management, collaboration and project management will be advanced as the fellow will be able to work independently, collaborate with a diverse network of colleagues both within Choosing Wisely Canada and internationally. For research and analytical skills, the fellow will have the opportunity to deepen their experience in applied mixed methods health services research.

  Working language

  English, French is an asset but not required

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Doctoral trainee

  Contact information

  Dr. Karen Born
  karen.born@utoronto.ca

• College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)

  Location of organization

  Mississauga, Ontario

  Mandate and strategic goals

  The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) is the voice of family medicine in Canada. Representing more than 35,000 members across the country, it is the professional organization responsible for establishing standards for the training, certification and lifelong education of family physicians and for advocating on behalf of the specialty of family medicine, family physicians and their patients. The CFPC accredits postgraduate family medicine training in Canada’s 17 medical schools.

  Mission
  Leading family medicine to improve the health of all people in Canada by setting standards for education, certifying and supporting family physicians, championing advocacy and research, and honouring the patient-physician relationship as being core to our profession.

  Strategic Goals
  1. Set standards to develop and sustain skilled family physicians
  2. Meet the evolving health care needs of our communities
  3. Promote the value of patient care provided by family physicians

  HSIF Impact goal

  To help support the CFPC to meet its strategic goals, the organization looks towards the use of evidence informed approaches that will enable them to make sound decisions. One of the responsibilities it has is in supporting Canadians to have access to competent and caring family physicians able to practice in any community across the Canada. To determine the extent to which the CFPC is able to meet this responsibility, Fellows will be involved in studying the impact of the curriculum reform instituted by the CFPC in 2010. The CFPC was the first to nationally introduce competency-based medical education (CBME) as its approach to physician training. All 17 Family Medicine programs adopted the CBME approach. With this major curriculum reform involving over 2400 family physician trainees per year in over 400 clinical teaching sites across the country with thousands of family physicians, specialists and other health professionals involved, the CFPC felt it was important to evaluate the curriculum intervention. Thus a program evaluation plan was launched using mixed methods to determine the impact on residents, graduates, faculty, family practices, patients, the health system (local, regional, national) and on the CFPC itself. Fellows will have experiential learning opportunities to ask questions, mine data, implement research methodologies, gather data and share their outcomes with educators, practitioners, system planners, policy-makers and potentially government. Using the CFPC’s national voice as well as its influence across provinces and territories through its local chapters, the research conducted can help to support the CFPC in enhancing its educational standards, measure the CFPC’s role in meeting the evolving healthcare needs of communities and testing the value of patient care delivered by family physicians trained in a “new” way.

  HSIF Priority areas

  The CFPC’s anticipated priority area(s) for the experiential learning include informing health systems change related to:

  • health workforce/ health human resource (HHR)planning,
  • health care systems organizational models
  • quality improvement (QI) activity and
  • development of program evaluation tools and methodologies

  Type of work

  Fellows can anticipate using existing pan Canadian family medicine medical education data and applying mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) approaches to develop performance measures for comprehensive care, program evaluation tools and methodologies, and to inform future Canadian health human resource (HHR) planning strategies.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  CFPC will provide the Fellow interested in using educational data to inform health system planning and policy with the unique opportunity to develop relationships with both academic and NGO professionals that will be valuable in future career endeavours. CFPC is committed and positioned well to provide unique professional development opportunities in alignment with the CHSPRA’s enriched (professional) core competencies. Through the examination of the multi-faceted pan-Canadian data the fellow will develop his/her competencies in:

  • Analysis and Evaluation of health and health-related programs and policies;
  • Change management and implementation of national initiatives in medical education, practice & policy
  • Analysis of data, evidence and critical thinking

  Working language

  This opportunity is available in English only.

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Prefer to have Post-Doctoral fellow for 2 years

  Contact information

  To learn more about the details of the opportunity and/or to submit an expression of interest please contact Dr Ivy Oandasan (ioandasan@cfpc.ca) or Lorelei Nardi (lnardi@cfpc.ca)

• Continuing Care Branch, Health Service Delivery Division, Alberta Health, Government of Alberta

  Location of organization

  Edmonton, Alberta

  About Us: Mandate and Strategic Goals

  The primary vision of the Ministry of Health is to ensure that Albertans are active partners in accessing and transitioning through a safe, high quality, sustainable health care system so that they can “receive the right health care services, at the right time, in the right place.” At the foundation of this vision is the principle that health care should be conveniently and seamlessly accessed at the community level and should be integrated with other community and social services.

  • Speaking notes, Honourable Sarah Hoffman, Minister of Health To the PCN Accelerating Primary Care Conference [ PDF (92.5 KB) ] - external link ]
  • Business plan 2017-20 [ PDF (334.6 KB) ] - external link ]

  With this vision in mind, the Continuing Care Branch (CCB) is responsible for the development of provincial strategic and program policy for continuing care including home care and facility-based care. This requires working closely with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and community partners in planning, implementing and evaluating the shift from current acute care and physician-driven service models to integrated home and community-based health and social service provision.

  HSIF Impact Goal

  One of the Ministry of Health’s key strategies to improve health outcomes is the introduction of “an expanded model for home and community care which will increase access and the variety of services available to Albertans”. The CCB is working with AHS to develop an evaluation framework for monitoring the impact of increased provincial and federal funding for home and community care. The trainee would implement key components of the framework.

  HSIF Priority Areas

  • Standardized reporting of home care data – Clarification and validation of the province’s home care client data in preparation for more public reporting.
  • Assessing the impact of changes to home/community care – There is a need to establish a formalized system for monitoring and assessing the impact of the increased investment to home and community care. This would include reporting on what results are expected to be achieved and whether we are achieving the planned objectives.

  Type of work

  The fellow would be involved in: measuring and monitoring the impact of transformative changes in the home and community care program; conducting quantitative data analysis; completing literature reviews and policy briefings; bringing forth evidence to recommend and support future policy/program shifts.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The fellow would gain first-hand experience with the following research and analytic skills identified as core competencies:

  • Analysis of data, evidence and critical thinking - The Alberta Continuing Care Information System (ACCIS) was developed by the Ministry of Health and contains interRAI assessment data of individual home care, supportive living, and long-term care clients. ACCIS is a complex and sophisticated system and data can be used to assess trends and performance at various levels. The trainee would be responsible for the thorough and thoughtful analysis of the ACCIS data to derive evidence to support strategic policy decisions. The trainee would learn about the factors that impact policy decisions, the opportunities for evidence to inform those decisions, and how to communicate the evidence most effectively.
  • Stakeholder networking and engagement – Alberta Health’s Continuing Care Branch prides itself in working closely with key stakeholders throughout policy development and implementation. The trainee would work closely with counterparts in AHS, service providers and facility operators, and clients and family members. 

  Working language

  English only

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Applications for both Doctoral trainees and post-Doctoral fellows will be considered.

  Contact

  Please contact Carmen Grabusic, Director, Program Policy and Quality Improvement, Continuing Care Branch, Alberta Health, for further details at 780.422.8209 or carmen.grabusic@gov.ab.ca.

• Correctional Service of Canada, Mental Health Branch

  Location of organization

  Ottawa, ON

  Mandate and strategic goals

  • About CSC
  • CSC Health Services

  HSIF Impact goal

  CSC provides health services to incarcerated individuals at levels that are equivalent to what is available in the community. Upon release, CSC staff establish linkages to re-connect individuals with provincial/territorial health services. The fellow will make evidence-informed recommendations to senior managers to support ongoing transformation of mental health service delivery in CSC, including resourcing, service delivery model and the recent introduction of an electronic medical record.  

  HSIF Priority areas

  Examples of experiential learning activities include a review of screening and triage processes, use of big data to inform clinical practice and policy improvements, and surveillance activities to inform resource allocation. These align with CSC’s current health services priorities:

  • Patient safety and continuous quality improvement in the delivery of essential health services
  • Improved capacity to address needs of vulnerable populations
  • Improved decision making through collecting and analyzing health information
  • Healthy workforce/workplace
  • Partnerships

  Type of work

  Type of work will be matched to candidate strengths and interests, within one or more of the following categories:

  • Quantitative data analysis (e.g. including data extraction and manipulation with SQL, and analysis using Excel and SAS)
  • Environmental scans or literature reviews to identify best practices
  • Knowledge translation (e.g. developing dashboards to disseminate information to senior managers or health professionals)
  • Leading consultative processes through focus groups or interviews
  • Guideline development
  • File reviews and/or research interviews

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  Fellows will benefit from a wide range of experiential learning activities, including:

  • One on one training in relevant areas (e.g. SQL analysis, advanced use of Microsoft Excel, writing briefings for senior managers)
  • Project management experience, including mentorship on tools and processes used in project planning and delivery
  • Interdisciplinary work through interactions with a wide range of health professionals, researchers of various disciplines and correctional staff.
  • Networking opportunities with international, and provincial/territorial partners
  • Experience presenting recommendations to executive teams

  Working language

  English, French or Bilingual fellows will be considered.

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Applications for both doctoral trainees and post-Doctoral fellows will be considered.

  Contact information

  Michael Martin, PhD
  Senior Project Officer, Mental Health Branch
  michael.s.martin@csc-scc.gc.ca

• Deloitte

  Location

  Toronto, Ontario

  About us – Mission/Mandate

  Deloitte is well-recognized as a leader in professional services, where our experienced professionals strive to deliver seamless, consistent services wherever our clients operate. Specifically within healthcare, Deloitte has supported clients across Ontario's, Canada’s and International Health Care Systems and the continuum of care, helping clients understand their key business drivers and trends impacting their data, information and research strategies; develop and enhance their design and visualization of reporting; and, examine more strategic questions about how to generate value from their data and information. We have a strong global team that combines the science of analytics with strategy-level insights to help healthcare organizations make decisions more accurately, objectively and economically to deliver sustainable value.

  HSIF impact goal

  Fellows will have the opportunity to work with different practices at Deloitte that specialize in healthcare strategy, health economics, digital health and health analytics to advance our strategic goal to assist players and partners in the healthcare system evolve in their mission. To advance the strategic goal, Deloitte seeks to:

  • Develop creative analytica approaches to solve client's problems
  • Develop and roll out key provincia initiatives for the healthcare system in Ontario
  • Influence the transformation of the healthcare system

  Deloitte has worked with the most eminent health systems, healthcare delivery, clinical research and academic health care organizations in Canada, the US, and globally. Fellows in the program will thus be offered a rich breadth and depth of opportunities which will provide tremendous benefits as fellows progress in their careers.

  Priority areas for HSIF experiential learning

  Deloitte's priority areas are as follows:

  • Strategic advisory (strategic planning, clinical service planning, visioning, transition planning) for healthcare organizations
  • Generation of value from organization's data and information.
  • Assisting organizations in their challenges in realizing the full potential of communicating health system performance
  • Assessing the effectiveness of therapies, programs and practices across the health system
  • Evolving and integrating funding models
  • Examining and refreshing leading practices and organizational responses to public sector trends and health care policies.
  • Thought leadership including external scans, research on leading health practices, innovative technological solutions and interactive stakeholder engagement

  Type of work

  The successful fellow(s) will have a range of opportunities to lead and/or contribute to any or all of the following: strategy development; environmental scanning of health systems; evaluation of programs, therapies or policies; analysis and modelling of healthcare data; economic analyses; development of reports for clients; and participating in meetings with internal and external clients.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  Deloitte seeks to mentor fellows and provide professional development in business skills, technical skills, networking, and in creating top-tier dynamic solutions for clients in a rapidly evolving space.

  Deloitte has strong connections with the top organizations globally, which provides fellows with a unique exposure to a wide landscape of healthcare players. The members at Deloitte have significant experience in consulting, academia, government, and industry to provide strong mentorship for fellows.

  Working language

  English.

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either?

  Either/both

  Contact information

  Dr. Shanil Ebrahim at shaebrahim@deloitte.ca

• Department of Health and Community Services, NL

  Location

  St. John’s, Newfoundland 

  About us – Mission/Mandate

  The mission of the Department of Health and Community Services is to provide leadership to our many stakeholders, including the regional health authorities, in the development of policies and programs that support an enhanced health system and effectively serves the people of the province helping them achieve optimal health and wellbeing. To learn more visit Department of Health and Community Services website.

  HSIF impact goal

  Fellows will have the opportunity to work with the Department of Health and Community services to advance the department's Triple Aim approach to lower cost through system improvement, better health of the population, and better care for individuals to lead a shift in the healthcare system.

  Priority areas for HSIF experiential learning

  The Department of Health and Community Services presents a significant opportunity for fellows interested in contributing to advancing our knowledge base and developing new evidence-informed policy and strategy in one or more of the following areas:

  • Primary health care, including the development of interdisciplinary primary health care teams;
  • Mental health and addictions, including research and development of innovative delivery models for mental health and addictions services;
  • The use of e-health technology and evidence to improve health care delivery, including the development of a health data analytics action plan in partnership with the health research sector.
  • Modernizing and streamlining the delivery of services; and
  • Home care, community supports and capacity building.

  Type of work

  The Successful fellow will have the opportunity to lead and/or contribute to any or all of the following: strategy development for a range of policy initiatives, evaluation of various government initiatives, including those undertaken with community and academic partners, performing qualitative and quantitative data analysis, developing briefs and memoranda, delivering internal and external presentations, and participating/leading stakeholder dialogue/consultation.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The Department of health and Community Service will provide fellows with an orientation and exposure to the provincial health policy development process, as well as experience and professional development in the areas of policy development, health analytics, program evaluation, stakeholder relations, and project management. The fellow will receive direct supervision and mentorship from senior-level officials in the Department.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either?

  Either/both

  Contact information

  Michael Harvey at michaelharvey@gov.nl.ca

• Dignitas International

  Location of organization

  Toronto, Ontario

  About us: Mandate and strategic goals

  Dignitas International (DI) is a Canadian medical and research organization with operations in Malawi and Northwestern Ontario. We innovate sustainable solutions to global health challenges, build resilient health systems, and advance the right to health for marginalized people and underserved communities. DI’s theory of change [ PDF (650 KB) - external link ] and its strategic plan [ PDF (3.2 MB) - external link ] are available online. DI aims to develop innovative solutions to emerging health challenges affecting indigenous communities in Canada and the Global South.  

  HSIF impact goals

  • Impact goal 1: Develop and disseminate high-impact research and knowledge translation products focused on models of care that promote prevention, earlier diagnosis, and better treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Indigenous communities in Canada and throughout the Global South.
  • Impact goal 2: Develop and implement novel climate change and health programming in partnership with Canadian Indigenous communities and communities in Malawi.
  • Impact goal 3: Create, evaluate and disseminate knowledge on the development, implementation and outcomes of Indigenous-led Models of Care with a focus on diabetes and other chronic diseases.
  • Impact goal 4: Explore the feasibility of integrating mental health programming within DI’s Indigenous Health Program (IHP) via new partnerships with Indigenous organizations and communities, and implementing mental health and wellness as a cross-cutting theme within existing IHP initiatives.

  HSIF priority areas

  Priority area 1: Building a Body of Evidence that Drives Equity-Focused NCD Policy and Practice
  As new NCD policies and programs are formulated in Canada and around the world, there is an opportunity to better include populations experiencing high rates of NCDs and unequal access to health services in these processes. Meaningful engagement with target groups is critical to designing models of care to that are accessible and culturally appropriate. DI’s vision is to build a body of evidence that drives equity-focused NCD policy and practice based on international best practice and knowledge exchange. We have developed a network of health leaders from Canada, South America and Africa that is committed to this goal. We will develop and disseminate research and knowledge translation products that promote prevention, earlier diagnosis and treatment of NCDs for marginalized people and underserved communities.

  Priority area 2: Developing Climate Change and Health Programming in Canada and Malawi
  DI is currently undertaking a feasibility study in Canada and Malawi that is exploring climate change and health with the aim of identifying a strategic niche for DI in the field and informing the design of a pilot initiative(s). Fellows interested in this area will focus on refining, implementing and evaluating the recommendations of this feasibility study. The study will determine how DI can best work with partners to strengthen health system preparedness and response to climate change with a focus on addressing the needs and priorities of Indigenous and underserved populations that are at increased risk to the impacts of climate change due to their location, relationship to the land, health, gender, socio-economic status and other related social determinants.

  Priority area 3: Exploring Local Data to Impact Health Outcomes in Indigenous-led Models of Care
  Remote on-reserve First Nation communities in Northwestern Ontario experience a high burden of diabetes, which is linked to other serious health conditions. In response to this critical health issue, DI partnered with the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) to launch a Community Health Worker (CHW) Pilot Project with a goal to improve diabetes service provision at the community level. As DI supports SLFHNA to strengthen and grow the CHW program, we plan to broaden this model of care to include self-management and mental wellness support for diabetes patients, and explore how CHWs might also support additional chronic conditions.

  As our team moves towards expanding the scope and reach of the CHW Pilot Project, we plan to deploy strategies that: i) partner with Indigenous organizations and communities to implement and evaluate this customized health intervention; ii) develop knowledge management, translation and exchange strategies to engage Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge users to strengthen evidence-informed decision-making; and iii) support the development of Indigenous-led chronic disease strategies with scientific evidence and relevant local and international best practice learning.

  Priority area 4: Integrating Mental Health into Indigenous Health Programming
  DI is exploring new geographies and programmatic areas that reflect community health priorities and enable us to support the development of Indigenous-led models of care to improve health outcomes. We are interested in supporting Indigenous researchers, health system policymakers, managers and frontline staff to help address mental health challenges identified by Indigenous communities as having a significant impact on indigenous populations in Canada. In response, DI is launching a feasibility study to explore how we can build respectful and sustainable partnerships to help address the mental health needs and priorities of Indigenous populations that are at increased risk and improve mental health care to those underserved in the health system. As part of this study we will also identify opportunities to implement mental health and wellness as a cross-cutting theme within existing IHP projects and initiatives.

  Type of work

  The HSI fellow(s) will have a range of opportunities to lead and contribute to the following: proposal and partnership development; designing and testing new program ideas; conceptualizing and implementing new areas of study; performing quantitative and qualitative data analysis; conducting systematic reviews and producing knowledge products for knowledge users globally; coordinating planning processes with DI staff and program partners.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  DI will provide fellows with experience in medical programming, research and knowledge translation in global health. Successful fellows will be mentored and supported to design and test novel ideas for research and programs that respond to current and emerging health challenges in Canada and beyond. Fellows will have the opportunity to develop and enhance professional skills in the areas of: program/project development, study and evaluation design, knowledge translation and exchange, stakeholder engagement, partnership and network development, interdisciplinary teamwork and planning. With programs in both Canada and Malawi, DI is well positioned to offer fellows a unique opportunity to develop Canadian-based programming, which will also have relevance and application to DI’s work in Malawi and other global health settings.

  Working language

  English only

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Either/both are eligible

  Contact information

  For more information, please review the Eligibility and How to Apply sections of the funding opportunity. Interested applicants should send their resume and a statement of interest to jobs@dignitasinternational.org with “HSI Fellow Impact Goal # Last_Name” in the subject line by February 2, 2018. Individuals who identify as First Nations, Inuit, or Métis are strongly encouraged to apply. If you have any questions regarding the programs of work above email Josh Berman regarding Priority areas 1 & 2, and Katie Johnson regarding Priority areas 3 & 4.

• First Nations Health Authority (FNHA)

  Location of organization

  Coast Salish Territory, West Vancouver/Vancouver, British Columbia

  Mandate and strategic goals

  FNHA works with local First Nations, government and other partners to improve health outcomes for First Nations in British Columbia. ​This work is mandated by a number of health agreements (Transformative Change Accord: First Nations Health Plan [ PDF (3.1 MB) - external link ] [2006], Tripartite First Nations Health Plan [ PDF (423 KB) - external link ] [2007], and Tripartite Framework Agreement on First Nations Health Governance [ PDF (1.0 MB) - external link ]), and direction given by BC First Nations leadership. For further information please review: FNHA’s Mandate and FNHA’s Summary Service Plan 2017/2018 [ PDF (1.4 MB) - external link ].

  Impact goal

  First Nations’ needs and interests are now, more than ever, being considered and included in mainstream health care policy development and service delivery, including in primary health care. FNHA’s approach to PHC, referred to as Primary Health Care ++ (PHC++), is, at its core, based on the First Nations Perspective on Health and Wellness. This strengths-based perspective is holistic and emphasizes physical, social, mental and emotional wellness, rather than simply responding to illness. PHC ++ places the individual, family and community at the centre, supported by layers of care that provide wrap-around services enabled by partnerships with the provincial government, regional health authorities, community services and clinical committees.

  The ‘++’ represents a number of unique perspectives on health and wellness of First Nations in BC, including: the importance of cultural safety and humility as well as trauma-informed care; the provision of traditional wellness, oral health and mental health and wellness at the primary care level; and strong integration with upstream community public health and wellness services.

  Priority areas

  Working with the Strategic Policy Team in the Policy, Planning and Transformation Department, the fellow will engage in policy work aimed at improving access to primary health care through analyzing system-based barriers to primary care/PHC++ and supporting the development and implementation of innovative, community-based PHC models.

  Type of work

  The fellow will be asked to conduct policy development, analysis, planning and research, to reduce barriers to PHC++ for First Nations Peoples in BC. This may include the development of reports, presentations, and publications.

  Professional growth and development

  FNHA is a unique First Nations health organization of professional, innovative and dedicated team members and leaders. The fellow will have the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge in an organization that is leading transformational change for First Nations in BC.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  The FNHA is open to either a doctoral trainee or post-Doctoral fellow. The successful fellow will be selected based on best fit for the organization.

  Contact information

  Kevin Lowe, Director, Strategic Policy
  Kevin.Lowe@fnha.ca

  Leah Kelley, Senior Policy Analyst
  Primary Health Care, Strategic Policy
  Leah.Kelley@fnha.ca

• Fraser Health Authority, Population and Public Health

  Location of organization

  Surrey, British Columbia

  About us - Mandate and strategic goals

  Our vision is: Better health. Best in health care. Our purpose is to improve the health of the population and the quality of life of the people we serve. To learn more about Fraser Health Authority and our strategic directions, please see the following Web pages.

  • About Fraser Health
  • Strategic Direction
  • Health Reports

  HSIF impact goal

  Population and Public Health (PPH) is undergoing a renewal process to better meet the needs of our population and achieve maximum impact on population health. We are refocusing our efforts using a renewed population and public health approach to expand our reach across settings and life stages. This fellowship will provide critical support to senior leadership in making evidence-based decisions about potential service changes and creating new knowledge about transformative change towards population-based service models. 

  HSIF priority areas

  PPH renewal is a department-wide initiative that involves adapting and improving programs and partnerships related to health protection, prevention and promotion. Based on the fellow’s interest and expertise, the priority areas of focus within PPH for the HSIF could include a macro level focus on the initiative as a whole and/or a specific focus on particular dimensions of change including increasing our capacity to:

  • Provide services reaching many people at once vs. individual clinical services, positively and effectively influencing the determinants of health
  • Support healthy living, chronic disease and injury prevention across the life course
  • Reduce health inequity
  • Comprehensively address BC’s Guiding Framework for Public Health (Promote, protect, prevent: Our Health Begins Here [ PDF (2.18 MB) - external link ])
  • Partner with other health providers/sectors to deliver integrated prevention services while meeting our mandated responsibilities

  Type of work

  The policy fellowship will focus on process and outcome evaluation to support PPH renewal. Specific roles for the fellow would involve evaluation planning in collaboration with senior leadership including identifying key process and outcome indicators along with feasible ways to measure progress. The fellow would also be involved in the initial implementation of the evaluation plan including analysis of administrative data along with qualitative or mixed methods data collection and analysis. Renewal actions are being defined iteratively in consultation with staff and partners so the focus of the evaluation at this stage will primarily be on developmental and process evaluation but developing early indicators of whether the initiative is on track to meet its goals is equally important.   

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  Fraser Health provides a unique learning environment for fellows passionate about PPH and evidence-informed decision-making. The HSI Fellow will have the opportunity to work closely with Fraser Health’s senior leadership team and key partners from other sectors.

  Additionally, the nature of this opportunity addresses many of the core competencies and will embed experiential learning and mentorship in:

  • working across health disciplines and with partners beyond the health sector
  • evaluating health policies, programs and structures
  • gaining a deep understanding of how health system transformation occurs and what facilitates or inhibits it
  • change management for both internal staff and partners
  • negotiation of transformative change
  • tailoring communication to a wide variety of audiences 

  Moreover, Fraser Health has an internal Strategic Transformation Team who has been working alongside our leadership to design and implement change and would further enhance learning. The fellow will have the opportunity to engage regularly with this team.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Post-Doctoral Fellow (preferred) but would consider PhD candidate.

  Contact information

  Interested candidates should contact Dr. Martin Lavoie with the required expression of interest materials:

  Dr. Martin Lavoie, MD, FRCPC
  Executive Medical Director and Medical Health Officer, Population and Public Health
  martin.lavoie@fraserhealth.ca

• Health Canada, Office of Pharmaceuticals Management Strategies, Strategic Policy Branch

  Location

  Ottawa, Ontario

  About us – Mission/Mandate

  Health Canada’s mandate
  Strategic Policy Branch

  HSIF impact goal

  Fellows will have the opportunity to advance/develop policy options in relation to federal healthcare priorities and to expand forward thinking on Health Technology Management, especially in the area of non-drug health technologies, with the view of improving Canada’s health care system, improving patient outcomes, and also equipping health care decision makers with the evidence, knowledge and supports to enhance their decision making.

  Priority areas for HSIF experiential learning

  Three inter-related complex policy areas:

  • Health technology: Key tools which also create financial and other pressures. With health technology assessments mostly informing adoption decisions, decision makers’ needs aren’t fully met.
  • Non Drug Health Technologies (NDHT): They offer unique management challenges which are intensified by technological change, little pan-Canadian infrastructure, diversity in scope, etc.
  • Health Technology Management (HTM): A new systems-based approach to management with great potential to generate value/efficiencies in the health system.

  Type of work

  The experiential learning opportunity involves examining ways to enhance decision-making in relation to health technologies, and to support the use of a life cycle approach from adoption to disinvestment in managing these technologies, including ways to assess outcome measures and reimbursement processes. It will include contributing to and leading on: issue identification; issues and data analysis; policy options development, costing and evaluation; consultation; and development of recommendations in the three priority areas noted in answer 4.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  Health Canada was named one of the National Capital Region’s top employer of 2017. The department offers a supportive learning environment and opportunities not only to shape some of today’s important health issues but also to influence the lives of Canadians.

  Health Canada will provide fellows with an orientation and exposure to health policy issues in Canada as well as work experience related to critical health technology policy issues, mostly from a non-drug health technologies perspective. In addition to having a dedicated senior executive supervisor/mentor, the fellow will have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues and national health experts.

  Working language

  Workplace language is mostly English and bilingualism is an asset.

  Eligibility

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either? We are seeking a post-doctoral fellow for a two year assignment.

  Contact details for further information and to submit expression of interest

  Nicole Charron
  Tel.: 613-946-1821
  Email: nicole.charron2@canada.ca

  Barbara LeBrun
  Tel.: 613-941-2497
  Email: barbara.lebrun@canada.ca

• Health Quality Council (HQC), Saskatchewan

  Location of organization

  Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

  About us: Mandate and strategic goals

  The Health Quality Council (HQC) is a provincial organization with a legislated mandate to accelerate improvement in the quality of health care in Saskatchewan. Since our establishment in 2002, HQC has been working with patients and families, clinicians, administrators, researchers, and quality improvement specialists to make health care better and safer for everyone in Saskatchewan. We do this by building improvement capability and spreading innovation throughout the province, through education, improvement initiatives, and research. To learn more, visit HQC’s website.

  HSIF impact goal

  Fellows will have the opportunity to work with HQC staff, and our key partners, on projects that advance our work on four key strategic priorities:

  • Integrate patients and families as partners in all aspects of health care
  • Build learning systems to spread knowledge on improving health care quality and safety
  • Measure health care outcomes and processes to generate evidence for decision making
  • Drive improvements in health care quality and safety by spreading best practices, ideas, and innovations

  For more information, please see HQC’s 2016-2019 Strategic Plan [ PDF (293 KB) - external link ].

  HSIF priority areas

  Depending on the fellow’s interests and expertise, HQC’s priority areas of interest for the fellowship include:

  • Patient/Public Engagement: Exploring how to effectively capture and share patient-reported experiences and outcomes, and involve patient and family advisors in engaging the public about health policy.
  • Economic evaluation: Assessing interventions and investments in health care improvement.
  • Health system simulation modeling: Using simulation models of patient flow and dynamics in community-based care settings to inform practice and policy intervention choices.
  • Health equity: Working in partnership with Saskatchewan Indigenous Peoples and key Saskatchewan researchers to build capacity for improving health and health care.
  • Community care: Supporting and evaluating inter-sectoral, upstream human services interventions that reduce pressure on health services.
  • Physician engagement: Engaging physicians in quality improvement and leadership.

  Type of work

  A key focus for the successful fellow will be developing pragmatic knowledge translation capability. While the precise nature of the work will depend on the finalized project proposal, it could involve data analytics – including qualitative and quantitative methodologies, stakeholder engagement and building capability in developing measures or establishing developmental evaluation.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  A Health System Impact Fellow would have the opportunity to enrich their CHSPRA competencies at HQC in the following key areas:

  • Analysis and evaluation of health and health-related programs and policies
  • Analysis of data, evidence, and applying critical thinking
  • Knowledge translation, communication, and brokerage
  • Interdisciplinary work
  • Leadership, mentorship, and collaboration

  HQC offers a diverse learning environment, as we support health / health services research as well as build capacity for translation of knowledge and quality improvement for the development of a learning health system. Successful fellows will have the opportunity to work with established HQC partners and stakeholders, including academic researchers, clinicians and clinician scientists, patients and families, health system leaders, quality improvement specialists, and the provincial government.

  HQC has access to a wide range of health data sets and employs research and analytical staff with extensive experience in provincial and national research using administrative and clinical cohort datasets to understand health care utilization, the impact of health care policy, quality of care, and the economics of health care.  For further details on our research partnerships please visit the HQC website.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Either. HQC is interested in supporting a doctoral trainee or post-doctoral fellow.

  Contact information

  Tanya Verrall, Executive Director
  Measurement and Knowledge Integration
  Health Quality Council
  306-668-8810 (Ext. 142)
  tverrall@hqc.sk.ca

• Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA)

  Location of organization

  Calgary, Alberta

  About us: Mandate and strategic goals

  The Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) has a legislated mandate to promote and improve patient safety and health service quality on a province wide basis. Our mandate spans the spectrum of publicly funded healthcare in Alberta as well as the geography of the entire province. We do this by measuring, monitoring and assessing on the quality and safety of Alberta’s healthcare system; identifying effective practices and assisting in their implementation; and surveying Albertans on their experience and satisfaction with the health system. We achieve our mandate through effective collaboration with health system stakeholders such as the public, patients and their families, Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services, the health professions and academia.

  The HQCA was established in 2006 by the Health Quality Council of Alberta Regulation under the Regional Health Authorities Act. In 2012, the mandate was expanded under the Health Quality Council of Alberta Act [ PDF (352 KB) - external link ], which gave the HQCA a more autonomous role in examining matters related to the quality and safety of the healthcare system, including the ability to appoint a panel to conduct inquiries. The HQCA is governed by a board of directors whose members include healthcare professionals, business leaders, academic representatives, and members of the public.

  VISION: Excellence in health system quality and patient safety for Albertans.

  MISSION: With patients and health system partners, continue to improve the quality of Alberta’s health system through innovative approaches to measuring and monitoring of performance, identifying opportunities for improvement and supporting implementation of improvement initiatives.

  VALUES:

  • Hold patients and the population at the forefront
  • Be informed by evidence
  • Apply an ethical lens
  • Analyze objectively
  • Inform transparently
  • Engage collaboratively

  HSIF impact goal

  As an integral part of the HQCA’s mandate to measure, monitor and report to Albertans about their experience and satisfaction with the quality of health services they receive, the HQCA surveys Albertans about their experience at select emergency departments (EDs) in the province. The HQCA surveys patients from the top 16 busiest urban and regional EDs every two weeks, and has been doing so since 2016.

  The fellow will work on data from this large-scale survey focusing on patient-reported experience and outcome measures (PREMs and PROMs) with HQCA team, and in partnership with the Alberta PROMs and EQ-5D Research and Support Unit (APERSU) team at the University of Alberta.

  Health System Impact Fellowship Priority Areas

  • Consulting with clinicians in EDs to develop analytical plans to answer questions relevant that area of interest
  • Performing data linkage (with administrative databases), data analysis, and reporting (including reports, peer-reviewed publications, and presentations at scientific meetings and conferences)
  • Liaising between HQCA and APERSU teams

  Type of work

  The fellow would be involved in data linkage and managing the data, devising analytical plans, conducting analyses (primarily quantitative data analysis), and reporting the results of these analyses.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The fellow would gain first-hand experience with the following research and analytic skills identified as core competencies:

  • Analysis of data, evidence and critical thinking: The fellow will be responsible for the thorough and thoughtful analysis of the ED survey data to derive evidence to support strategic decisions in EDs in Alberta. The fellow will learn about the factors that impact policy decisions, the opportunities for evidence to inform those decisions, and how to communicate the evidence most effectively.
  • Stakeholder networking and engagement: The fellow will work closely with key stakeholders and partners including APERSU, Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services, as well as health care providers, particularly in EDs across the province.

  Working language

  English only

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Applications for doctoral and post-doctoral fellows will be considered.

  Contact information

  Please contact Markus Lahtinen, Director, Health System Analytics, Health Quality Council of Alberta, for further details at 1.403.355.4342 or markus.lahtinen@hqca.ca.

• Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS)

  Location of organization

  Montréal & Québec city, province of Québec

  About us: Mandate and strategic goals

  INESSS’s mission is to promote clinical excellence and the efficient use of resources in the health care and social services sector. At the heart of its mission is its role in assessing the clinical advantages and the cost of technologies, drugs and intervention methods in health care and personal social services. It makes recommendations regarding their adoption, use or coverage under the public plan, and creates clinical practice guides designed to ensure that they are used most effectively, with integrity and transparency. The Institut is an essential reference for informing decisions and practices, which it does by combining the perspectives of network managers and professionals as well as those of patients and beneficiaries to mobilize knowledge and actors in the health and social services network.

  HSIF impact goal

  INESSS is aware of the importance of enhancing leadership capabilities to support the transformation of the health and social services system. To contribute to the success of INESSS’s mission, the successful applicant must have a methodological background to collaborate, with a senior mentor from the Institut, to support strengthened clinical governance at one or more levels of the business cycle, which is divided into four main functions:

  • Identifying priorities aims to guide the choice of priorities towards sectors where potential gains from optimizing practices are the highest
  • Developing knowledge products is at the heart of INESSS’s mission. It leads to the production of assessments, opinions and guides based on the best available knowledge
  • Implementing recommendations focuses on equipping the Ministère, clinicians and managers so that recommendations can be implemented more quickly and efficiently
  • Measuring and evaluating is designed to equip network stakeholders to follow implemented recommendations and provide food for thought when identifying priorities in the next cycle

  HSIF priority areas

  The health and social services system needs to improve its performance in a context of limited resources. The Institut wishes to acquire a high level of expertise to fully perform its role of supporting the improvement of clinical, professional and organizational practices. Possible themes of application for this experiential learning internship revolve around the current clinically relevant topics included in the three-year plan of activities (2016–2019) in various fields of health (e.g., cardiovascular assessment, traumatology, oncology, chronic diseases in primary care) or social services (e.g., mental health, seniors) and are defined with the fellow.

  Type of work

  INESSS has a central place at the heart of Quebec’s health and social services network, and positions itself as a partner in the Canadian network and abroad. Practical learning opportunities within INESSS are plentiful and can take the form of many kinds of enriching projects, in terms of both career development for the fellow and organizational impact for INESSS. Depending on the profile of the successful applicant, here are some examples of project portfolios that are aligned with the strategic plan:

  • Quantitative methodologies profile: A study on the variation of practices, analysis of trajectories and identification of avenues with strong potential for improvements using the power of big data.
  • Policy and system analysis profile: Implementation of the new drug evaluation framework for registration, in particular using a multi-criteria approach; implementation of accelerated review requirements for innovative health technologies as part of the Processus optimisé d’évaluation des technologies d’intervention en santé [optimized process for assessing health intervention technologies] (POETIS).
  • Management and leadership profile: Study of new forms of partnership with universities and Unités d'évaluation des technologies et des modes d'intervention en santé [health technology and intervention methods evaluation units] (UETMIS) to strengthen collaboration within the network; support and assessment of the implementation of new forms of patient and citizen participation.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  INESSS has been involved from the start in the development of the Impact Fellowship Program and we are currently hosting 3 postdoctoral Fellows. The professional development plan created for and with the successful applicant will be designed to strengthen the various core competencies of CIHR’s Training Modernization in Health Services and Policy Research program, including: analysis and evaluation of health and health-related policies and programs; analysis of data, evidence and critical thinking; interdisciplinary work; knowledge translation, communication and brokerage; leadership, mentorship and collaboration; networking; project management; and understanding health systems and the policy making process.

  Working language

  French (English is an asset)

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Both

  Contact information

  Marie-Hélène Chastenay, marie-helene.chastenay@inesss.qc.ca

• Institute of Health Economics – Office of the CEO

  Location of organization

  Edmonton, Alberta

  About us: Mandate and strategic goals

  • Website
  • About IHE

  HSIF impact goal

  The goal for the experiential learning opportunity is: Real world demonstration of the feasibility and practical value of life cycle health technology assessment, analyses, and implementation plans to support the adoption of innovations in precision health technologies by the Alberta health system. The technical demands of the analyses and the importance of effective communication to decision-makers requires post doctoral level input and participation.

  HSIF priority areas

  The priority areas of experiential learning is personalized precision medicine policy and management of data to support analyses; health technology assessment and appraisal for complex technologies; theory and practical approaches for adaptive pathways for licensing, reimbursement and real world monitoring.

  Type of work

  The nature of the work will involve significant engagement with large amounts of health system data. The fellow would be involved in strategy development, policy briefings, economic evaluation, technology adoption evaluation and development of decision pathways for adaptation of reimbursement or clinical use rules including disinvestment strategies.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The Institute of Health Economics provides a unique intersection between research, health policy and management and commercialization. We have a track record of supporting Masters and Phd students in practicums working on a variety of projects commissioned by health system decision-makers. The candidate would acquire skills in research and analytics with large databases; project management and navigation of multi-stakeholder relationships and governance; communication skills with senior decision-makers. There would be access to external training opportunities and interaction with leading national and international experts.

  Working language

  English or bilingual with high level of competency in English.

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Post-Doctoral fellow only

  Contact information

  Office of the CEO
  Institute of Health Economics
  Kschindel@ihe.ca
  780-448-4881

• Interior Health Authority – Research Department

  Location

  Kelowna and rural locations located in the Interior region of BC

  About us: Mandate and strategic goals

  Our mission is to promote healthy lifestyles and provide needed health services in a timely, caring, and efficient manner, to the highest professional and quality standards. To learn more, visit:

  • About Us
  • Research

  HSIF Impact goal

  The Rural Health Regional Alliance (RHRA) is a network comprised of local: indigenous/patients/community members, governments, educational institutions and health authority members who have come together to offer their knowledge, expertise, resources, and indigenous/patient/community voice. The aim of RHRA is to build capacity for rural and remote communities, to be able to set priorities for research and to be integrated members of the research process to better enable scale and spread of knowledge (i.e., evidence in practice) to improve the health/wellness of their communities.

  HSIF Priority areas

  As part of the overarching strategic direction of Interior Health in serving its rural and remote populations, this priority area supports the IH Research Strategy (2014) to support and build capacity in Rural/Remote Interior to improve patient care. Research at Interior Health: Past, Present and Future [ PDF (559 KB) - external link ].

  Type of work

  In collaboration with the Interior Health Research Department and the RHRA, the goal for the successful candidate is to study the RHRA current state, offer recommendations to further its work and to make Interior Health policy recommendations to support the sustainability of the network. This will require engaging with the RHRA members across the region as well as with leadership within the Interior Health Authority.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  Interior Health has had roles in education, training and research since its inception in 2001; these roles have evolved over time. In addition to the overarching key strategic priorities set in 2015, the senior leadership team approved a Research Strategy in 2014 aimed at furthering research capacity to facilitate evidence-informed policy and practice and the implementation of evidence to improve health care. This research strategy, authored by Dr. Yvonne Lefebvre, Interior Health Scientific Director, cited three foci for research development including: prevention of chronic disease, access to health from rural/remote regions, and e-health. Since the approval of this report and its foci in 2014, and with the assistance from a research capacity building grant from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health research (MSFHR), IH has developed a strong foundation of research capacity by employing staff with excellent research knowledge and navigation skills specific to health systems, community and rural settings.

  The successful candidate will have an opportunity to work with the project leads and teams who have been tasked to develop working plans, including evaluation plans, in order to meet performance expectations set by the BC Ministry of Health and as directed by the Interior Health Senior Executive Team. The fellowship will provide hands-on experience in supporting evidence based decision making, planning and implementation within the health authority.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either?

  Both

  Contact information

  Dee Taylor, PhD
  Corporate Director, Research
  Interior Health
  3rd Floor, 505 Doyle Avenue
  Kelowna, BC, V1Y 0C5
  Email: Deanne.taylor@interiorhealth.ca

• Ministry of Health, Partnerships and Innovation Division

  Location of organization

  Victoria, British Columbia 

  About us - Mandate and strategic goals

  The Ministry of Health (the Ministry) has overall responsibility for ensuring the quality, appropriate, cost-effective and timely health services are available for all British Columbians. The Ministry is responsible for provincial legislation and regulations related to health care, including the Medicare Protection Act and the Health Professions Act. The Ministry also directly manages a number of provincial programs and services, including the Medical Services Plan, which covers most physician services; PharmaCare, which provides prescription drug insurance; and the BC Vital Statistics Agency, which registers and reports on vital events such as birth, death or marriage.

  The province’s health authorities are the organizations primarily responsible for health service delivery. Five regional health authorities deliver a full continuum of health services to meet the needs of the population within their respective geographic regions. A sixth health authority, the Provincial Health Services Authority, is responsible for managing the quality, coordination and accessibility of specialized services and province-wide health programs. The BC Clinical and Support Services Society provides the governance structure for both clinical (laboratory) and non-clinical (shared business) services in the health system. The Ministry also works in partnership with the First Nations Health Authority to improve the health status of First Nations in British Columbia.

  • Mandate letter [ PDF (243 KB) - external link ]
  • Service Plan [ PDF (223 KB) - external link ]

  HSIF impact goal

  The Ministry of Health’s goals are to help government achieve the following three commitments to British Columbians:

  1. The first commitment is to make life more affordable. British Columbians are counting on government to make their lives easier by containing costs and services fees.
  2. The second commitment is to deliver the services that people count on. Government services touch the lives of British Columbians every day, and there is so much more that we can – and must – do to provide these services where and when people need them.
  3. The third commitment is to build a strong, sustainable, innovative economy that works for everyone.

  Integrating with these priorities is government’s commitment to true, lasting reconciliation with First Nations in British Columbia.

  The successful candidate will have the opportunity to undertake projects related to these goal areas over the fellowship period.

  HSIF priority areas

  In alignment with the overarching mission and impact goals, the following priority areas have been designated as options for this fellowship competition:

  • Primary and Community Care (Primary Care and Specialized Community Services)
  • Wait times
  • Rural Health
  • Pharmaceutical Services
  • Genomics
  • Women’s Health
  • Mental Health

  Type of work

  The successful fellow will have a range of opportunities to focus on health system innovations within one of the priority areas listed above and on-going Ministry initiatives that require planning, strategy development, policy analysis, stakeholder consultations, jurisdictional reviews/environmental scanning, program/service evaluation and data analysis (qualitative and quantitative).

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The Ministry will provide a unique opportunity to the fellow through professional development and practical experience in the areas of program/service planning and evaluation, communication, interdisciplinary work, project management, change management, data analysis, leadership and policy development and analysis. The fellow will be a part of the Research and Innovation Branch, a highly skilled team that provides corporate research support to the Ministry, but will be assigned as needed throughout the Ministry and engage with a variety of program areas. Through this work, the fellow will gain exposure to different facets of the health care system and will have opportunities to collaborate with different groups and program areas. Senior leaders within the Ministry will also offer the expertise and insights to the fellow as required. The fellow will also have access to professional development opportunities offered to Ministry staff.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  The Ministry is interested in hosting a doctoral trainee and/or a post-doctoral fellow.

  Based on CHSPRA's enriched core competencies, the Ministry is seeking fellows with experience in the analysis and evaluation of health and health-related policies and programs; analysis of data, evidence and critical thinking; and knowledge translation. Advanced writing skills, curiosity and the desire to learn, experiment and innovate are important in this role.

  Contact information

  Nicolette McGuire, PhD
  Director, Research and Innovation
  BC Ministry of Health
  Office: 250-952-1627/ Cell: 250-507-1404
  Nicolette.McGuire@gov.bc.ca

• Nourish: The Future of Food in Health Care

  Location of organization

  Nourish is based in Montreal, Quebec so that is ideally where the experiential learning opportunity would take place. However as the project has a national scope, we are open to having the candidate potentially being embedded with one of our partners.

  Mandate and strategic goals

  Nourish: The Future of Food in Health Care is a collaborative project led by the McConnell Foundation in partnership with Food Secure Canada (FSC), HealthCareCAN, Health Care Without Harm, Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care and other emerging partners.

  Nourish aims to build a future where the impact of food on health is understood and valued. We facilitate a national community of practice of changemakers in healthcare who influence the culture and practice of food in their organizations and communities through menu-setting, purchasing decisions and innovative projects. These 25 Innovators are working in hospitals, health centres and long-term care facilities across Canada to change the role of food in health care, bringing more local, sustainable, healthy and delicious foods into facilities and their communities, while influencing the internal culture of food.

  We are also undertaking strategic communications to build understanding of the connection between food and health, and convening across sectors to incite policy change and build more sustainable value chains for food in health care.

  HSIF impact goal

  Food is fundamental to health and healing, but is currently undervalued in the healthcare system. Nourish’s key impact goal is to build health - for patients, staff, and communities - through better food in health care facilities. We seek to develop a strong evidence base for the development, implementation and scaling of innovative strategies, practices and policies that improve food in health care facilities.

  HSIF priority areas

  Depending on the fellow’s interests and expertise, Nourish’s priority areas for the fellowship include:

  • Sustainable menus
  • Leveraging procurement to address the social determinants of health
  • Traditional food programs as a pathway towards reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
  • Business case for improving food in health care
  • Transformative policies at many levels - facility, provincial and federal
  • Patient and resident engagement
  • Ethnographic research (e.g. perceptions of stakeholders on role of food in health and healing)

  Type of work

  Depending on the interests and skill set of the fellow, the nature of the work may relate to:

  • participating and/or leading stakeholder dialogue and consultations with diverse groups (e.g. implementing revised Canada’s Food Guide)
  • environmental scanning (e.g. examples of food included in Key Performance Indicators)
  • quantitative or qualitative data analysis  (e.g. for collaborative projects led by Nourish innovators, advisors and team)
  • policy analysis and preparing policy briefs
  • impact assessment
  • stakeholder analysis

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  Fellows will work with the Nourish program team, advisory group, and at the heart of the initiative, the 25 leaders in a national community of practice. These 25 innovators are working in a range of health care settings including hospitals, long term care, and public health across Canada. Nourish will provide a valuable learning environment with many opportunities for advancing professional growth and development skills including:

  • leadership, mentorship, and collaboration
  • networking
  • interdisciplinary work
  • dialogue and negotiation

  Working language

  Bilingual (English & French)

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Preference for Post-Doctoral fellow but open to Doctoral trainee.

  Contact information

  Jennifer Reynolds, Institutional Food Program Manager, Food Secure Canada
  institutions@foodsecurecanada.org
  514-271-7352

• Nova Scotia Health Authority

  Location of organization

  Halifax, Nova Scotia

  About us: Mandate and strategic goals

  The Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) provides health care services to all adult Nova Scotians and some specialist services to Atlantic Canadians. It operates hospitals, health centres, and community-based programs across Nova Scotia. NSHA has three strategic directions (2016-2019): 1) person-centred, high-quality, safe and sustainable heath and wellness for Nova Scotians; 2) a healthy, high-performing workplace; and 3) engagement with Nova Scotians to create a healthier future. Additional information about these key priority areas [ PDF 651 KB) - external link ], including specific goals and measures, is available online.

  HSIF impact goal

  Working with the Cancer Care Program of NSHA, the doctoral student will use the best available information, including research evidence and data from the local context, to inform / guide program planning and service delivery in cancer care with the ultimate goal of improving patients’ experiences and outcomes after receiving a cancer diagnosis.

  HSIF priority areas

  Priority areas that a doctoral student may consider within the learning opportunity include:

  • Delivery of community-based cancer care, including optimizing the roles of family physicians, nurse practitioners, and general practitioners within a structured approach to community-based care
  • Improving equitable access to care closer to home and as safely as possible (including through technology)
  • Coordination and integration between primary care, specialist care, and community-based support services
  • Enabling smooth transitions in care

  Type of work

  Depending on the interests and skillset of the fellow, the nature of the work may relate to: strategy development, environmental scanning, quantitative or qualitative data analysis, participating in or leading stakeholder dialogue and consultation, program planning, implementation planning, and/or monitoring and evaluation (e.g., program evaluation, indicator development to monitor community-based cancer care).

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The doctoral fellow will have the opportunity to work with project teams/leads, senior managers/executives, and patient advisors within the Cancer Care Program who are working to strengthen access to and delivery of cancer care across the province, including community-based care, in ways that enable improved patient experience and outcomes. The supervisors will ensure the student has exposure to and guidance from an array of leaders in the cancer care system. The fellowship will provide hands-on experience in supporting evidence-based decision-making, planning, and implementation within a province-wide program of care. The core competencies that this fellowship will foster include: analysis of data, evidence, and critical thinking; knowledge translation, communication, and brokerage; and change management and implementation.

  Working language

  English only

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Doctoral trainee

  Contact information

  Dr. Robin Urquhart
  robin.urquhart@nshealth.ca
  902-473-8245

• Ottawa Public Health

  Location of organization

  100 Constellation Dr., Ottawa, ON K2G 6J8

  About Us: Mandate and Strategic Goals

  In partnership with the people and communities of Ottawa, OPH improves and advocates for health and well-being through prevention, promotion and protection. To learn more, visit our website.

  The five strategic directions from OPH’s 2015-2018 Strategic Plan [ PDF (3.09 MB) - external link ] are:

  1. Inspire and Support Healthy Eating and Active Living
  2. Foster Mental Health in Our Community
  3. Enhance Collective Capacity to Reduce Preventable Infectious Diseases
  4. Develop an Adaptive Workforce for the Future
  5. Advance Healthy Public Policy

  HSIF Impact goal

  Fellows who work with OPH will have the unique opportunity to:

  • Champion a dynamic culture of continuous improvement,
  • Use the best available information, including research evidence and local context, to guide the service delivery,
  • Help OPH in its mission to deliver bilingual programs and services in rural, suburban and urban communities, and
  • Make informed choices about how human and financial resources allocation while meeting provincial and local obligations.

  HSIF Priority Areas

  OPH endeavors to tailor its programs and services to address the unique needs of the local community and meet expectations in the Ontario Public Health Standards.

  The five strategic directions from OPH’s 2015-2018 Strategic Plan [ PDF (3.09 MB) - external link ] are:

  1. Inspire and Support Healthy Eating and Active Living
  2. Foster Mental Health in Our Community
  3. Enhance Collective Capacity to Reduce Preventable Infectious Diseases
  4. Develop an Adaptive Workforce for the Future
  5. Advance Healthy Public Policy

  Type of work

  The fellow will play a leading role in an evaluation of a new vision screening program among children attending kindergarten in Ottawa. The successful fellow will also have opportunities to lead and/or contribute to various areas of public health including, but not limited to:

  • program evaluation,
  • economic evaluation,
  • impact assessment,
  • stakeholder consultation,
  • quantitative and/or qualitative data analysis,
  • environmental scanning,
  • literature reviews,
  • submissions to local, provincial and federal government, and
  • providing internal and external presentations.

  Professional growth and development

  Fellows will have opportunities to forge partnerships with individuals from public and private sectors, educational institutions, researchers, local stakeholders and various government agencies. OPH will provide fellows with an orientation to its various programs and services and the wider provincial and municipal context. Fellows will have the opportunity to develop skills in the areas of program evaluation, project management, knowledge translation, communication and brokerage. Fellows will also have access to professional development, formal and informal, as well as opportunities to expand their network in health services and policy research.

  Working language

  English required; French optional

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Post-Doctoral fellow

  Contact information

  Geneviève Cadieux, PhD, MD, CCFP, FRCPC
  genevieve.cadieux1@ottawa.ca

• Pallium Canada

  Location of organization

  Ottawa, Ontario. Pallium Canada is a not-for-profit, pan-Canadian organization that is funded mainly by Health Canada and through revenues related to registration fees for its courses.

  About Us: Mandate and Strategic Goals

  Pallium Canada’s vision is that Every Canadian who requires palliative care will receive it early, effectively and compassionately. It is estimated that only about 15% to 30% of Canadians have access to palliative care services when they need it. Pallium Canada believes that by equipping every health care professional with good, basic palliative care skills, we will be able to increase this number significantly. We envisage a future in which every physician, nurse, pharmacist or social worker who works with patients with advanced progressive illnesses is equipped with these basic skills.  They can call upon palliative care specialist physicians and nurses when they need further assistance. Pallium’s mission is to educate healthcare professionals and carers about palliative care and to accelerate the integration of palliative care in Canadian communities and healthcare systems. Pallium Canada’s strategic goals include:

  • Education: Equip Canadian healthcare professionals across home care, community, hospitals and institutional care settings with the skills and tools to provide a palliative care approach. It does this mainly through its Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (LEAP) standardized interprofessional courses with different versions for different settings and disease groups.
  • Health and Social Systems: Accelerate the integration of palliative care in Canadian health and social care systems. Amongst others, Pallium Canada uses the LEAP courses as a Quality Improvement vehicle where learners are encouraged to undertake improvements in their respective workplaces to improve the delivery of palliative care.
  • Compassionate Communities: Empower Canadian communities to care for persons requiring palliative care and to support their families.

  HSIF impact goal

  Pallium Canada offers tested and viable solutions to significantly increase the level of access to a palliative care approach by educating health care professionals about palliative care across all the settings of care; accelerating change at the frontlines of care by leveraging its Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative care (LEAP) courses to be quality improvement catalysts (learners who come to the courses go back to implement and spread what they have learned); and, increasing community capacity by accelerating the development of compassionate communities and getting Canadians ready to help their loved ones and neighbours.

  HSIF Priority Area 1

  Pallium Canada delivers hundreds of LEAP courses every year; 488 courses (7000 learners) were presented from 2015 to 2017. In the past, it assessed the impact of courses on learners’ knowledge, attitudes and comfort. It now wishes to assess the impact of the courses on the healthcare system as a whole, particularly when education is done region wide. Our hypothesis is that when a systems approach is used in which health care professionals in different settings are educated on palliative care, there are benefits not only for patients but also for the health care system.  This includes the impact on parameters such as hospitalizations, home visits, emergency room utilization, and hospital versus home deaths.

  Type of work

  The fellowship work will involve a mixed methods approach, working with the Scientific Officer and other academic partners of Pallium Canada. Baseline and post-intervention population-level data will be collected looking at these outcome measures in a particular region (e.g. Lakeridge Health in Central East LHIN of Ontario). This work will include partnerships with local researchers and partners such as the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Ontario. The qualitative data will involve focus groups and interviews with key stakeholders in that region.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  Pallium Canada has a large network of partners, stakeholders and individuals across Canada. Its partners include provincially funded entities such as the British Columbia Centre for Palliative Care funded by the BC Health Ministry, Cancer Care Ontario, The Ontario Renal Network and the Nova Scotia Palliative Care Program. It also includes hundreds of individuals who are clinician educators and leaders (it has 600 facilitators across the country). Many of these individuals have academic appointments and leadership positions in universities and provincial and regional services. Pallium Canada will connect the candidate with this network, particularly in the regions it wishes to study. The Scientific Officer (Dr. Jose Pereira), for example, has academic appointments at Queen’s University, McMaster University and the University of Ottawa.

  This work would offer the opportunity to strengthen core competencies in the following areas:

  • Analysis of data, evidence & critical thinking
  • Understanding & comparing health systems & the policy making process
  • Interdisciplinary work

  HSIF Priority Area 2

  Pallium Canada recognizes that in order to increase palliative care across Canada, community members in addition to medical professionals also need to be included in the spectrum of care. The addition of community members helps to create a wrap-around effect to better support the patient and family dealing with a diagnosis pertaining to a life-limiting and/or life-threatening illness. Pallium Canada hosted a Symposium themed “Mobilizing YOUR Compassionate Community (CC)” in October 2015.  Moving forward from this exciting day, Pallium Canada took the direction provided by the participants at the Symposium and continued to offer leadership to Compassionate Community initiatives developing across Canada.  Pallium uses the Compassionate City Charter, a best practice framework that can be built upon to create a compassionate community.

  Type of work

  The fellowship work will involve leading the evaluation work for Pallium’s Compassionate Community toolkits; supporting the development of programme evaluation tools for Compassionate Communities to better understand the results of their work; working with the National Compassionate Communities Lead on Knowledge Transfer strategies and tools to share findings; and potentially supporting Compassionate Community partners in their use of Pallium’s evaluation tools.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  Pallium Canada recognizes the significance of bringing Compassionate Communities from across Canada together to encourage and support one another. Collaboration on methods of implementing and improving initiatives will strengthen the creation of social change towards death and the promotion of a public health approach to palliative care at a broader national level. Pallium Canada has a large network of partners, stakeholders and individuals across Canada.  Many of these individuals have academic appointments and leadership positions in universities and provincial and regional services.

  This work would offer the opportunity to strengthen core competencies in the following areas:

  • Analysis of data, evidence & critical thinking
  • Knowledge Translation, Communication and Brokerage
  • Interdisciplinary work
  • Networking

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Both

  Contact person for learning more about the details of the opportunity and for submitting your expression of interest

  Dr. Jose Pereira (jpereira@pallium.ca or JPereira@cfpc.ca), Scientific Officer, Pallium Canada. Dr. Pereira is also Director, Research, College of Family Physicians of Canada and Gilchrist Chair and Professor of Palliative Medicine, Queen’s University and Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa. And Jonathan Faulkner (jfaulkner@pallium.ca), VP of Operations.

• PROCURE Alliance, The PROCURE Biobank, Quebec Prostate Cancer, not-for-profit organization

  Location of organization

  Montréal, Québec

  About Us: Mandate and strategic goals

  Procure.ca

  HSIF Impact Goals

  The impact goal which the PROCURE Biobank would benefit from a Health System Impact Fellow is in part to improve the operation model to contribute significantly and optimally to the advancement of prostate cancer research. PROCURE Biobank wants to meet the clinicians need to go forwards improving precision medicine using biospecimens and clinico-pathological data. Also, the fellow will have to initiate some epidemiological studies with social-demographical data that we already have (from 2000 patients underwent a prostatectomy) and will have (follow-up questionnaire) by the end of 2018.  The fellow will have to organize and analyze the database to respond to critical epidemiological questions which aren’t yet defined but that could be defined by the fellow. Those epidemiological studies may lead to publications.

  HSIF Priority Areas

  The priority areas would be to implement a Quality Assurance/Quality Control Management System in the four collection sites (biospecimens and clinico-pathological data) and to administer a life style questionnaire which would improve the socio-demographical value of our patient cohort (2000 patients) in order to initiate a database allowing epidemiological project research which would be managed by the fellow.

  Type of work

  The type of work will imply Standards Operating Procedures (SOP) review, clinico-pathological data validation, set up of a database based on the questionnaire patient’s answers- The main project would be to analyze the data base to respond to critical epidemiological questions which aren’t yet defined but that could be defined by the fellow.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  • Analysis of Data, Evidence and Critical Thinking: The ability to collect, analyze and use a wide range of epidemiological data and to reflect critically on and incorporate theory and research evidence iteratively to clarify problems.
  • The fellow will have the possibility to meet senior leaders (physicians, researchers, technicians, nurses and biobank director) from the MUHC, CHUM, CHUS and CHU de Québec to help develop research questions and analyze data.
  • Interdisciplinary Work: The ability to use effectively and to combine when appropriate methods and insights from multiple academic disciplines (e.g., humanities, social sciences, management, epidemiology and medicine).
  • The fellow will develop autonomy, organization, analytic, writing skills. He (she) will have the possibility to develop leadership skills.

  Working language

  Bilingual (more French)

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both

  Doctoral trainees

  Contact information

  Valérie Thibodeau, Operations Director Valerie.thibodeau@procure.ca, 514-462-2509.

• Public Health Agency of Canada: National Microbiology Laboratory

  Location

  Winnipeg, MB, Guelph ON, or St-Hyacinthe QC

  About us – Mission/Mandate

  To promote and protect the health of Canadians through leadership, partnership, innovation and action in public health. As Canada's leading public health infectious disease laboratory, the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) is responsible for the identification, control and prevention of infectious diseases. The NML is Canada's main infectious disease public health laboratory with responsibility for reference microbiology and quality assurance, laboratory surveillance for infectious diseases, emergency outbreak preparedness and response, training, and research and development. To learn more, visit our website.

  HSIF impact goal

  Our overarching impact goal is highly skilled support for key NML and PHAC activities that bring science to public health policy and program, which include:

  • Assessing risks, and efficacy and impacts of interventions, to inform the development of national public health programs and policies.
  • Undertaking Federal leadership research that underpins development of diagnostic methods, and prevention and control interventions.
  • Undertaking Federal leadership in development, implementation and evaluation of public health methods, practices and programs via engagement of national partners and stakeholders.

  Priority areas for HSIF experiential learning

  The priority areas of interest to NML and PHAC include:

  1. Predictive modelling of:
     • Occurrence and current and future public health impact of emerging diseases (including impacts of climatic, other environmental and socioeconomic changes and vulnerabilities);
     • Effects and effectiveness of public health interventions to prevent and control disease; to drive development and design of public health policies and programs.
     • Economic impacts of disease emergence and public health policies and programs.

     These activities include the use of statistical and mathematical modelling methods, obtaining parameter estimates using knowledge synthesis methods of scoping and systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Focus areas include (but are not limited to) endemic (Lyme, West Nile Virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, California serogroup) and exotic (Zika, chikungunya, dengue) vector-borne diseases, zoonoses including hantavirus and Arctic Fox rabies, as well as directly-transmitted blood-borne pathogens including HIV, HCV, HBV in northern communities, and antimicrobial resistance.

  2. Implementation of novel diagnostic, surveillance, and prevention and control methods and platforms into national programs. This involves consideration of technical, human and financial resource consideration, ethical considerations, as well as the use of methods such as multicriteria modelling that allows assessment and selection of appropriate stakeholders and partners. Focus areas include (but are not limited to):
     • Testing for blood borne infections in Northern Communities, and
     • Application of Whole Genome Sequencing methods in surveillance.

  Type of work

  The type of work will be determined based on candidates' expertise and interest in the above priority areas. It may involve one or more of the priority areas.

  The first priority area will entail work in modeling (mathematical, economic) and systematic reviews, and for some projects there be opportunities for stakeholder engagement, writing reports for, giving presentations to, key stakeholders. Fellows will work with NML technical staff but also have the opportunity to have contact with policy and program staff involved in the implementation of public health programs within the Agency. Expected deliverables for modelling projects would be scientific publications but for all projects reports for senior managers and policy makers would be also be expected.

  The second priority area would include determining the current state of health delivery and policy systems in remote and indigenous populations and evaluating current novel methods and interventions being implemented to improve diagnosis and linkage to care for blood borne infections in these communities. The goal and deliverable would be a critical evaluation of the impact of these new testing interventions (both health-wise and economic) to advise and improve on existing policy.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  For the first priority area the fellow will benefit from hands-on experience with advanced modeling, and gain experience in the practical application of their skills to real public health problems and programs on assessing the risks and impact of emerging infectious diseases. Similarly, for the second priority the fellow would engage with provincial lab stakeholders, community health organizations and indigenous councils to ensure community engagement and development from the 'ground up'. All fellows will be expected to develop their capacity to coordinate and organize their project, learn to work and undertake research in an interdisciplinary environment, communicate appropriately with different kinds of audiences, and develop and maintain productive relationships within and outside of academia. To support these aims the fellow will have opportunities for engagement with and mentorship by senior managers at PHAC.

  Working language

  English (or French with strong working knowledge of English)

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either?

  Either/both

  Contact information

  Dr. Nick Ogden
  Nicholas.Ogden@phac-aspc.gc.ca

• Public Health Ontario

  Location of organization

  Toronto, Ontario (other Ontario locations may be possible)

  About Us: Mandate and Strategic Goals

  Public Health Ontario (PHO) is a Crown corporation dedicated to protecting and promoting the health of all Ontarians and reducing inequities in health. PHO links public health practitioners, front-line health workers, policy makers and researchers to the best scientific intelligence and knowledge from around the world.

  PHO provides scientific and technical advice and support to clients working in government, public health, health care, and related sectors regarding: health promotion, chronic disease and injury prevention; environmental and occupational health; communicable and infectious diseases; infection prevention and control; emergency preparedness; and public health laboratory services. PHO's work also includes surveillance, epidemiology, knowledge services, professional development and research. In addition, PHO is called upon by the Ontario Government to respond to emergent public health threats and conditions.

  HSIF Impact Goal

  PHO is the operational name for the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, which was established as a Crown corporation with impacts on public health services, population health, and the health care system being central to its mandate, mission and operations. The PHO Strategic Plan for 2014-2019 has strategic directions that include: providing scientific and technical expertise to strengthen Ontario’s public health sector; enhancing population health monitoring; advancing public health knowledge through research; and applying evidence to enhance public health policies and programs. For all strategic priorities and across the full breadth of the public health system, there are many opportunities for HSIF Fellows to gain valuable experience and to contribute to the delivery of significant public health impacts.

  HSIF Priority Areas

  All PHO program areas provide excellent opportunities for HSIF Fellows. As demonstrated by Fellows supported through CIHR’s inaugural competition, there are continuing opportunities in health promotion, chronic disease and injury prevention. Conditional on supervisory capacity and funding, Fellow placements are also possible in additional PHO programs, including: applied immunization research and evaluation; communicable diseases, emergency preparedness and response; infection prevention and control; environmental and occupational health; and public health laboratory services.

  Type of work

  PHO provides a wide range of training opportunities that can be tailored to a Fellow’s expertise and learning goals. PHO operates at the nexus where scholarly research advances evidence, knowledge is translated to inform policy and practice, public health programs are enhanced through evaluation and surveillance, and capacity is built through training and education. Fellows may be involved in diverse activities, such as strategy development, stakeholder consultation, quantitative or qualitative data analysis, knowledge synthesis, modeling and forecasting, evaluation, risk assessment, etc., while they work with teams to foster solutions to critical challenges in public health.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The HSIF competition is closely aligned with PHO’s role and commitment to building capacity that enables improvement in public health and health systems and services. PHO is affiliated with several universities across Ontario and has more than 40 staff with faculty appointments who are involved in education, practica and graduate student supervision. Although a relatively new organization, PHO has demonstrated success in grant competitions, advancement of early-career investigators, building data resources used by many research teams and graduate students, and delivering high quality publications and other research outputs. PHO’s close integration of applied research and public health programs provides a bridge from evidence and knowledge to effective health policy and services, thereby providing an excellent environment for Fellows to enhance their knowledge translation skills.

  Working language

  English only

  Type of Trainee

  Both Doctoral Student Trainees and Post-Doctoral Fellows who have demonstrated high scholastic achievement and a commitment to public health are encouraged to apply.

  Contact information

  Complete expressions of interest are encouraged at any time, but at the latest are due at PHO six weeks before the CIHR deadline for final applications. Expressions of interest can be submitted to: Dr. John McLaughlin, Chief Science Officer, at cso@oahpp.ca.

• Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, Department of Research and Performance Support

  Location

  Regina, Saskatchewan

  About us - Mission/Mandate

  The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR) is the major health care referral centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is a provincial and community provider of a full range of quality health services, education and research that inspires public confidence. We achieve success in meeting the diverse health needs of our communities through the strength of our people, partnerships and personal responsibility for health.

  To support the goals of the Health System Plan, the RQHR has developed a Strategic Plan that aligns with provincial strategies (Better Health, Better Care, Better Value and Better Teams), outcomes and improvement targets. Progress on the Strategic Plan is monitored quarterly.

  The RQHR will soon transition to a single Provincial Health Authority, but it’s strategic priorities will remain aligned  with those of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health (Ministry of Health Plan for 2017-18 [ PDF (317 KB) - external link ]).

  HSIF impact goals

  The RQHR is committed to creating a system that focuses our services from the perspective of the patient, resident, client and family journey. Collective efforts are focused on improving the quality and safety of the services we provide, improving access to patients, and using our resources wisely to build for the future. The Region realizes that by getting these foundational elements right, the quality of our care will continue to improve while helping to ensure the sustainability of our health system. The Fellow will contribute to this aim by developing and expanding his/her research skills to design, implement, and/or evaluate one or more projects in a priority area.

  Priority areas for HSIF experiential learning

  Depending on the candidate’s interest and expertise, the following priority areas are possible focuses for the fellowship:

  • Mental Health & Addictions
  • Opioid Stewardship Program (currently in development)
  • Antimicrobial Stewardship
  • HIV/Hepatitis C prevention and treatment in Saskatchewan First Nations [ PDF (1.02 MB) - external link ]
  • Modelling of ED waits including economic analyses of various scenarios
  • Choosing Wisely/Appropriateness of Care Strategy
    • Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region
    • Saskatchewan Health Quality Council
  • Seniors’ House Call Program; and the,
  • Connected Care Strategy.

  Type of work

  The nature of the work will vary with the priority area targeted. The objective of the placement, however, will be focused on drawing upon the strengths and interests of the candidate, and exposing them to a variety of embedded research experiences as part of a front-line patient care team. Potential areas of development will include:

  • Rapid review literature syntheses
  • Quantitative data analysis (large and small sample)
  • Qualitative data analysis
  • Quality improvement research
  • Program evaluation/implementation research
  • Cost effectiveness research
  • Projections/Modelling to improve system flow
  • Survey design
  • Participatory research
  • Experience working with multidisciplinary teams that include decisions makers and patient or family advisors
  • Strategy development
  • Implementation research
  • Organizational change management

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The RQHR Department of Research and Performance Support (RPS) works in collaboration with the Region’s policy makers, clinicians and other stakeholders to lead and support a diverse array of health-related research projects. The vast majority of research underway in the RQHR is driven by the real-time clinical and/or health system issues experienced by our front line clinicians, and thus provides an excellent opportunity for a fellow to develop/enhance the skill of posing relevant, meaningful, and solution-oriented research questions. As well, the RQHR provides fellows the opportunity to develop experience working embedded within the clinical service delivery lines and with teams that involve clinical staff, health system administrators, patient or family advisors and other staff researchers.

  The RQHR is committed to training, education and professional development of trainees, researcher and medical students and has a long history of providing experiential learning opportunities.  The infrastructure currently in place to support the vast number of research and improvement efforts that are underway make the RQHR well positioned to foster the following CHSPRA Competencies:

  • Research and analytic skills: Analysis and evaluation of health programs; Analysis of data, evidence and critical thinking; Understanding health systems and the policy making process; Knowledge translation, communication and brokerage
  • Professional Skills: Leadership and Collaboration; Project management; Interdisciplinary work; Networking; Change management and implementation

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  We are interested in hosting a doctoral trainee.

  Contact information

  Please provide a name and email address or telephone number for interested applicants to contact your organization to learn more about the details of the opportunity and to submit their expression of interest:

  Dr. Elan Paluck
  Director of Research & Performance Support
  Elan.paluck@rqhealth.ca
  Tel.: 306-766-5209

• Saint Elizabeth Research Centre

  Location of organization

  Markham, Ontario

  About Us: Mandate and Strategic Goals

  Saint Elizabeth is a not-for-profit charitable organization with origins in home and community care. It is powered by people who are dedicated to changing lives, health care and society for the better. As Canada’s largest social enterprise, Saint Elizabeth has over 9,000 staff and provides 19,000 client visits every day. Saint Elizabeth’s “why?” is to spread hope and happiness, and our vision is to honour the human face of health care. We see possibility everywhere, we are collaborators, and we believe in the power of people and communities. To learn more, visit the Saint Elizabeth website.

  The fellowship position will be positioned within the research arm of Saint Elizabeth, the Saint Elizabeth Research Centre. Saint Elizabeth has made a strategic investment of 13 million dollars over 13 years for research to improve people’s health and care. The Research Centre conducts impact-oriented health services research to synthesize, generate, translate, adapt and directly apply scientific evidence in the design, delivery and evaluation of person and family-centred health and social care services. The Research Centre’s team of diverse and passionate researchers work together and with a wide range of partners and collaborators to create positive system change. The Research Centre has four fields of research that address high priority issues faced by individuals, their families, health care providers, the broader health care system, organizations, communities, and populations:

  • Aging in Society, focused on aging, the impacts of social and economic factors, and how the health and social care system can support health and wellness across the entire life course
  • Death, Dying and Grief, focused on the unique needs and desires of people at the end of their lives and how the health and social care system can support end of life journeys in a holistic, person- and family-centred way
  • Health and Care Experiences, focused on the health and care experiences of all involved in the delivery and receipt of services and supports including patients, families and health care providers and how the health and social care system can improve these experiences through person- and family-centred practices
  • Models of Care Delivery, focused on innovative solutions to support the health and social care system in more effectively and efficiently responding to the needs of challenging and high priority disease groups and patient populations

  HSIF impact goal

  The fellow will develop and execute protocols to create and test one or more innovations in social care to address tough problems people with illness, disability, old age and poverty, are facing. It is expected that these innovations will cross most if not all of the Research Centre’s areas of focus. The fellow will also collaborate in the development of plans for scaling and spreading the most promising innovations. Policy changes necessary to support widespread implementation of the successful innovations will also be identified.

  HSIF Priority Areas

  Saint Elizabeth has six impact goals:

  1. Empowering patients and caregivers - We bring person and family centered care to life throughout the health care ecosystem
  2. Mobilizing communities - We nurture partnerships and community-led development
  3. Transforming care systems - We collaborate to improve the patient experience, health outcomes and system performance
  4. Educating for excellence - We leverage a century of wisdom to educate, inspire and empower health care providers
  5. Honouring life journeys - We work to bring greater comfort, dignity and peace to the end of life
  6. Inspiring possibilities - We scout and ignite new ways to deliver care and impact

  For more information, view the 2017 Impact Report.

  In addition, Saint Elizabeth is a ‘learning healthcare system’ and there is a close working relationship with the organization’s Operations and Innovations Divisions, providing a perspective on problems and issues, an opportunity to develop solutions in partnership with system actors, and an opportunity to develop ways to spread research results.

  Type of work

  The fellow’s program of work will include environmental scanning; deep patient engagement; applied qualitative and quantitative research and design research; evidence briefs (based on literature reviews); stakeholder dialogue/consultation; technical and web-ready reports; internal and external presentations. The fellow’s work will contribute to the Centre’s ongoing research program, as well as supporting innovative approaches in Saint Elizabeth’s Operations and Innovations groups.

  The research environment in the Research Centre is decidedly different from the traditional academic environment. The applied nature of the research tends to drive our research efforts away from description of problems, and more to solution-finding and testing. The interaction with decision makers and practitioners within Saint Elizabeth and in other organizations is constant, the opportunities for contribution to evolving business and clinical models and practices are extensive, and the timelines for research are generally shorter. There is also extensive collaboration with researchers across the country.

  Since Saint Elizabeth is committed to supporting an ambitious program of research, funding for specific projects is available outside traditional research granting agencies’ timelines, criteria and processes, although external funding opportunities are also pursued.  This provides more flexibility to respond to health services issues quicker and more directly. The fellow will be involved in identifying tough problems that are amenable to research, and initiating studies to address those problems.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  Saint Elizabeth will provide the fellow with an orientation and exposure to Saint Elizabeth and the health and social care system through the lens of home and community care. The fellow will also gain concrete experience and professional development in the areas of project management, leadership, networking, negotiation, and advocacy, and deep patient and family engagement. In addition to having a dedicated supervisor/mentor, access to senior managers and decision-makers will be arranged. The Research Centre has a deep commitment to engaging citizens, patients, caregivers and direct care providers in research, and therefore the fellow will have the opportunity to engage with people in each of these groups, and observe and work collaboratively to inform or improve direct care delivery.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  We are interested in both.

  Contact information

  For questions about this opportunity please email the Director of the Saint Elizabeth Research Centre at paulholyoke@saintelizabeth.com.

  To submit an expression of interest, send your CV and cover letter in a PDF to paulholyoke@saintelizabeth.com. Please put your name and CIHR Health Systems Impact Fellowship in the subject line.

• Saskatchewan Cancer Agency

  Saskatchewan Cancer Agency (SCA), with the focus of the work involving interaction within the Medical Services Division and Care Services Division.

  Location of organization

  Our organization is responsible for cancer services and is located within the province of Saskatchewan. Therefore, there would be an option for the learning opportunity to be in either Regina or Saskatoon, however the preference is likely Saskatoon.

  About us - Mandate and strategic goals

  • Mission, vision and values
  • Saskatchewan Cancer Agency Strategic Plan

  HSIF impact goal

  The Saskatchewan Agency’s key impact goal for the experiential learning opportunity is development and implementation of analytics in disease site group functions to inform evidence based innovations that lead to high performing Multidisciplinary Disease Site Groups (DSGs). Currently DSGs at the SCA function to participate in patient case rounds and guideline development only. The organization is ready electronically and has a medical director leading DSG development. There is now a desire for a disease site group model that consistently uses analytics to set group priorities and innovate care.

  HSIF priority areas

  The anticipated priority areas for the experiential learning opportunity are as follows:

  • This project aligns with the 2015-2020 SCA strategic plan where access and effective treatment programs were identified as SCA priorities. Core values embedded within this strategic plan include innovation and collaboration.
  • Key performance indicators in these areas include evidence based access measures, standards and effectiveness measure for treatment programs.
  • Initiatives identified to achieve these strategic priorities include development of an information management systems, measurement systems and benchmarks, service delivery plans, and disease site groups.

  Type of work

  The type of work that the fellow will be engaging in will be using electronic data to evaluate clinical program effectiveness in a DSG model, care team stakeholder engagement on the use of analytics for evidence based informed decision making within DSGs and development of innovative care delivery models based on the data. As well, refinement of key performance indicators and testing for clinical impact, designing an assessment of the analytics development and implementation project in DSG and impact on staff engagement and patient outcomes.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The SCA is a provincial cancer organization that will provide the fellow with an excellent opportunity to engage stakeholders at multiple organizational levels including the senior and executive leadership teams. The current care team’s willingness for change within disease site groups is high, especially if leadership with regard to analytics and innovation. There is tremendous potential for developing project management, knowledge translation and leadership skills across a variety of aspects related to patient care. Additional specific core competencies include:

  • Analysis of data, evidence and critical thinking
  • Leadership, mentorship and collaboration
  • Communication

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Post-doctoral fellow for two years. This aligns very well with the work required to develop and implement approximately twelve disease sight clinics which will be phased in over this time period, 2018- 2020.

  Contact information

  To learn more about this opportunity and submit your expression of interest, please contact the following:

  Dr Jon Tonita (primary contact)
  President and CEO
  Saskatchewan Cancer Agency
  200-4545 Parliament Avenue
  Regina, SK S4W 0G3
  Email: Jon.Tonita@saskcancer.ca
  Phone: 639-625-2003

  Dr Monica Behl
  Vice-President Medical Services and Senior Medical Officer
  Allan Blair Cancer Centre
  4101 Dewdney Avenue
  Regina, SK  S4T 7T1
  Phone: 306-766-2203

  Dr. Julie Stakiw
  Medical Director, Patient Research, Innovation and Analytics
  Saskatoon Cancer Centre
  20 Campus Drive
  Saskatoon, SK  S7N 4H4
  Phone: 306-655-2980

• Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (Toronto Central LHIN)

  Location of organization

  Toronto, Ontario

  About us - Mandate and strategic goals

  The mission of the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) is to transform the system to achieve better health outcomes for people now and in the future. The Toronto Central LHIN is one of fourteen (14) local health-planning organizations that serve Ontario. LHINs work with local health providers and community members to determine the health service priorities of the regions. LHINs plan, integrate and fund local health services, including:

  • Hospitals
  • Community Support Services
  • Long-term Care
  • Mental Health and Addictions Services
  • Community Health Centres

  In 2017, the mandate of the LHINs was expanded to include responsibility for direct delivery and coordination of home and community care services. Using a population health approach the Toronto Central LHIN is responsible for providing excellent healthcare for the 1.2 million citizens of our region as well as care and support for thousands of people who live outside of our catchment area but access services within the City of Toronto. Toronto Central LHIN is the only LHIN which serves a wholly urban population and it is diverse in every respect – socially, culturally and economically. It is also unique in that it has relatively high population density, with neighbourhoods and demographics that are constantly changing.

  To learn more visit the Toronto Central LHIN website.

  HSIF impact goal

  Given that Toronto offers the largest concentration of health sciences research and funding in Canada, the Toronto Central LHIN is exploring the opportunity to play a more significant academic role, including as a catalyst for implementing and scaling evidence-based improvements in care delivery across our multiple partners. Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in the development of the LHIN’s academic role, including working with academic partners such as teaching hospitals and post-secondary institutions across Toronto to advance the LHIN’s strategic priorities.

  Specifically, given our changing demographic profile, the Toronto Central LHIN seeks to undertake research with a specific focus on integrated models for seniors’ care including campuses of care and other broad spectrum long-term care options. Such options will include a focus on health and social supports from affordable housing, supportive housing and intergenerational housing with supports, community support services, and community-based primary health care, and programs to support naturally occurring retirement communities. 

  HSIF priority areas

  The Toronto Central LHIN is interested in advancing our knowledge and evidence to help drive policy, strategy and better care delivery in one or more of the following inter-related areas:

  • Population Health and health equity, including innovative models of community-based primary health care within diverse neighbourhoods and across high-needs senior populations, including issues related to marginalization, poverty, frailty, and social isolation;
  • Integrated senior care, including innovative models that optimize linkages across health and social care to support healthy aging and manage and accommodate chronic healthcare needs;
  • Innovative models of dementia care and design across all care settings.  

  Type of work

  The HSI fellow will have the opportunity to lead and/or contribute a research lens to any or all of the following: proposal development; partnering across a range of academic, health service and community-based partners; research design and testing; analytics and evaluation; conducting literature and evidence reviews; qualitative and quantitative data analysis; project management; developing briefs and presentations to internal and external audiences; stakeholder consultations; and coordination of research projects with the LHIN leadership and partners.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The Toronto Central LHIN will provide fellows with an opportunity for a system-level vantage point for health care policy, planning, funding, and delivery, as well as applied experience and professional development in the areas of policy development, health analytics, program evaluation, stakeholder relations, and project management. The fellow will receive direct supervision and mentorship from senior-level staff in the LHIN, as well as the opportunity to work with other academic colleagues across our partners.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Either/both

  Contact information

  Interested applicants wishing to explore a Health System Impact Fellowship opportunity with the Toronto Central LHIN are asked to contact Dr. Anne Wojtak at anne.wojtak@tc.lhins.on.ca

• Vancouver Coastal Health

  Location of organization

  Vancouver, British Columbia; with possible travel across the Vancouver Coastal Health region

  About us - Mandate and strategic goals

  VCH’s ’People First’ strategy shapes how we approach our vision, mission, values and goals. Our Vision is to be leaders in promoting wellness and ensuring care by focusing on quality and innovation. We deliver our services to more than one million BC residents living in communities including Richmond, Vancouver, the North Shore, Sunshine Coast, Sea to Sky corridor, Powell River, Bella Bella and Bella Coola. Learn more

  HSIF impact goal

  VCH’s 3 key priorities for 2016-2018 are:

  • Primary & community care:  Expand, enhance, and improve access
  • Rural health services: Expand access & better support staff and clients
  • Surgical services: Reduce waitlists & expand capacity for essential surgeries

  Key strategies [ PDF (300 KB) - external link ] to support the priorities are:

  • Information management: Implement modern technology & clinical best practices
  • Health human resources: Recruit, train & take care of our people

  HSIF priority areas

  Priority areas for this fellowship competition should address at least two of VCH’s priorities or strategies. We are interested in evaluating opportunities and barriers to implementation and spread of strategic initiatives. This would include evaluating clinical outcomes of those initiatives, including patient and provider experience. Priority topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Pain management
    • Acute and chronic pain, with attention to mitigating the impact of the current opioid crisis on patients living with chronic pain
    • Management of transitions between primary and acute care
    • Application of telehealth options
  • Support and analyze the implementation of telehealth solutions
    • Pain management
    • Home health monitoring for heart failure or COPD
    • Support the development and spread of the fledgling Dermatology video consultative service
  • Physician engagement
    • Create the environment to facilitate the adoption of clinical decision making tools into physician practice
    • Engage physicians and care teams to incorporate Patient Reported Outcome Measures into quality assessments for programs, service lines, and physicians and teams
  • Primary care delivery
    • Support the development of a new primary care delivery model for VCH that will align with and support the transition of the Province of BC Provincial to an innovative and ambitious new model of primary care based on networks of interdisciplinary primary care teams.

  Type of work

  The fellow will potentially engage in: program evaluation including clinical outcomes of patients and providers, impact assessment, environmental scanning, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, literature reviews, economic evaluation, preparing project reports, engaging with physicians, initiative leaders, and health authority decision-makers to understand needs.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The fellow will have the opportunity to learn how the health care delivery system operates at various levels form micro to macro, including how health care policy and evidence-based practice are integrated into the health system. The work will provide the fellow with opportunities to develop skills in change management, implementation support and analysis, networking, project management, and evaluation of health & health-related programs. The fellow will have the opportunity to engage with senior executive and clinical leaders as well as researchers across VCH. The fellow will have informal mentorship opportunities, in addition to a formalized mentorship opportunity.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  Either/both

  Contact information

  Joy, Janet
  Director of Innovation and Evaluation
  601 West Broadway
  Vancouver, BC
  Canada V5Z4C2
  janet.joy@vch.ca
  Tel.: 604-875-4054

• Vancouver Island Health Authority (Island Health)

  Location

  Victoria, British Columbia

  About Us: Mandate and strategic goal

  Island Health’s purpose is to provide superior health care through innovation, teaching and research and a commitment to quality and safety – creating healthier, stronger communities and a better quality of life for those we touch. In collaboration with our many valued partners and in alignment with government’s strategic direction, Island Health is transforming the health system to better meet the needs of the people we serve and support our vision of “Excellent health and care for everyone, everywhere, every time.” Our long term strategic direction is reflected in our four strategic pillars: 1) Exemplary patient experience, 2) Excellence in quality and safety, 3), Community-focused health and care, and 4) Great place to learn and work.

  The Vancouver Island Health Authority (Island Health) is one of five regional health authorities in British Columbia, Canada. Through a network of hospitals, clinics, centres, health units, and residential facilities, Island Health provides care to 767,000 people on Vancouver Island, on the islands of the Georgia Strait, and in mainland communities north of Powell River and south of Rivers Inlet. Our health care services include hospital, community, and home care. Island Health also provides environmental and public health services, including education and prevention. Island Health, in collaboration with the Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health and other research units at the University of Victoria, is home to the Vancouver Island Regional SPOR (Strategies for Patient Oriented Research) Unit under the governance of the B.C. Academic Health Sciences Network. As well, the organization hosts an established and growing Research & Capacity program and an Applied Clinical Research Analytics Units that uses state of the art statistical methodologies and reproducible analytics to guide clinical and health service decision making electronic health record data.

  HSIF Impact Goals

  The successful candidate(s) will work with Island Health leaders and interdisciplinary teams to realize its commitments and stated deliverables/milestones in priority areas.  Excellence in quality and safety, exemplary patient experience, community-focused health and care and being a great place to work and learn underpin our work. The fellow(s) will be embedded in project(s) depending on the specific needs of the program at the time of application. Island Health is an evolving research hospital and a member of the provincial academic health sciences network, and integrates education and research into the continuum of health service delivery.

  HSIF Priority Areas

  Island Health’s cross-sector priorities and the directions set out in our planning documents are aligned with the Ministry of Health’s Setting Priorities for the B.C. Health System and currently include cross-sector priorities of developing primary care homes to improve access and continuity of care related to:

  • Improving health outcomes and reducing hospitalizations for older adults with moderate to complex medical conditions and/or frailty including dementia
  • Improving health outcomes and reducing hospitalizations for people with moderate to complex mental health and/or substance use issues
  • Improving health outcomes for cancer patients
  • Improving access to timely and appropriate surgical treatments and procedures
  • Ensuring sustainable and effective health services are available in rural and remote areas

  Type of work

  The work the fellow(s) can anticipate engaging inwill match to the project needs, academic skills and interest of the successful candidate, and may include a range of activities and learning opportunities: strategy development, stakeholder consultation, environmental scanning, health informatics, quantitative analysis (R + tidyverse, MPlus, SPSS), qualitative analysis (nVIVO10 software access), design and/or implementation of patient-oriented research, literature reviews, policy briefings, economic evaluation, modeling and forecasting, program evaluation, and/or impact assessment.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  Island Health is dedicated to mentorship and professional and academic development at all levels. We have strong research and academic affiliations with the University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, and numerous other post-secondary institutions on Vancouver Island. Island Health has adopted the LEADS Leadership Capabilities Framework (leading in a caring environment) as endorsed by the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL). Mentorship and learning opportunities would be provided to support development of behaviors aligned with these competences (leading self, engaging others, developing coalitions, and attaining results). Island Health will provide opportunities to develop and advance the successful candidates’ core Canadian Health Services and Policy Research Alliance (CHSPRA) competencies including research and analytic skills, and professional skills as outlined. Island Health will provide Post-Doctoral Fellows with the opportunity to work with a large, diverse and representative body of longitudinal health service data. Specific competency development will be designed to match the skill level of the student and specific Island Health project.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either?

  Either/both.

  Contact information

  Dr. Diane Sawchuck, RN, PhD
  Research Liaison Officer, Island Health
  Diane.Sawchuck@viha.ca
  Tel: 250-370-8046

• Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (LHIN)

  Location of organization

  The Waterloo Wellington LHIN’s main office is in Waterloo, Ontario, with potential to work out of locations in Cambridge and Guelph, Ontario.

  Mandate and strategic goals

  • Read the Waterloo Wellington LHIN’s mission, vision and core value.
  • Learn more about the Waterloo Wellington LHIN’s five strategic directions, and related corporate objectives.

  HSIF Impact goal

  The Waterloo Wellington LIHIN is recruiting applicants for three different positions with specific impact goals. Please specific which role you are applying to when expressing interest.

  1. An applicant is being sought to support a better understanding of system level information. Specific areas of focus will include benefits realization evaluation and system level analytics. This includes offering a comprehensive understanding of broad range system performance necessary for developing and tracking achievement of the Waterloo Wellington LHIN’s Integrated Health Service Plan (IHSP). The IHSP is a three year strategic planning document the will be updated in 2018/19 for 2020-2023.
  2. An applicant from the Indigenous community is being sought to lead the implementation of the Ministry directive(s) regarding Indigenous health for the Waterloo Wellington LHIN. The specific nature of the work will depend upon the directive(s) that will be forthcoming, and the needs of the local Waterloo Wellington Indigenous community. Partnership with the Indigenous community is required. This position will work in coordination with the Indigenous Health Lead to provide leadership during the portfolio’s transition.
  3. A candidate is being sought to support health system transformation activities across the organization. Year one will support the development of sub-region transformation tables through the lens of health equity with a focus on driving population health improvements for all LHIN residents, including Indigenous, Francophone and vulnerable populations. This work will provide the base for health system transformation at the sub-region level for the launch of a health system transformation table at the regional level.

  HSIF Priority areas

  The LHIN’s priorities align to Patients First: Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care:

  • Access: Providing faster access to the right care.
  • Connect: Delivering better coordinated and integrated care in the community, closer to home.
  • Inform: Support people and patients – providing the education, information and transparency Ontarians need to make the right decisions about their health.
  • Protect: Protect our universal public health care system – making evidence based decisions on value and quality, to sustain the system.

  Type of work

  The work will require flexibility and an ability to respond to changing demands. Specific work may include:

  • Strategy development aligned to the update of the three year strategic plan.
  • Stakeholder consultation across Waterloo Wellington, including leading work with health service providers and non-health system partners.
  • Evaluation and impact assessment of health system funding for programs and services.
  • Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data to support evidence-based decision making for system priorities, programs and service delivery.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The Waterloo Wellington LHIN plans, funds and integrates the local health system in Waterloo Wellington, and delivers home and community care. Placement at the LHIN will build core competencies from a systems level perspective.

  Research skills:

  • Analysis and evaluation of policies/programs implemented by health service providers.
  • Opportunity to understand policy making processes in a LHIN.
  • Application of evidence-based research for decision making in a local health system.

  Professional skills:

  • Project management skills developed through organizing a project in a non-academic environment.
  • Leadership, networking and collaboration with health system partners.
  • Change management and implementation of programs in a recently merged organization.

  Working language

  English is required, with Bilingualism being considered an asset.

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either/both?

  The Waterloo Wellington LHIN is interested in hosting either a doctoral trainee or a post-doctoral fellow for this opportunity.

  Contact information

  Interested applicants are asked to contact Jenny Flagler-George, Manager, Planning at Jenny.FlaglerGeorge@lhins.on.ca or 519-748-2222 ext. 3221 to submit their expression of interest.

• Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, Waypoint Research Institute

  Location

  Penetanguishene, ON (~2 hours north of Toronto)

  About us – Mission/Mandate

  We also have a Research Strategic Plan, which is not available on the external website, but we would be happy to share with those interested.

  HSIF impact goal

  Waypoint is undertaking two important projects:

  1. Recovery Plan of Care:
     Aligned with our core values of caring, respect, accountability and innovation, Waypoint is revising its care plan to a comprehensive Recovery Plan of Care for patients, focussed on Recovery, Clinical Assessment Protocols, and Health Quality Ontario interventions. Research, staff training and implementation are essential to ensure the changes are successful and lead to improving patient outcomes. The candidate will work closely with the Vice-President, Quality-&-Professional Practice on these goals.
  2. Patient Privacy and Staff Security
     Waypoint is exploring tensions created when patient privacy policies are perceived to compromise safety and security of staff within a psychiatric hospital. Our goal is to resolve this juxtaposition of privacy/safety concerns through improved communications, IT solutions, and new and revised operational procedures supported through Privacy Law expertise and informed by recent Ontario Ministry of Labour recommendations on Workplace Violence. The candidate would work closely with the Vice-President, Research-&-Academics.

  HSIF Priority Areas

  Waypoint’s priorities fall into the following five strategic areas;

  1. People We Serve
  2. People Who Serve
  3. Corporate Performance
  4. Partnerships
  5. Research & Academics

  The two proposed projects would involve work in all five strategic areas, first and foremost to better improve the care and outcomes our patients and clients experience. The candidate would be instrumental in networking and fostering collaborations across the service areas and with external partners.

  Type of work

  With both the two proposed projects (Recovery Plan of Care, and Patient Privacy & Staff Security), each of the candidates would be an integral member of the project team and directly interact and work with senior leadership and researchers. This includes iteratively working on all project aspects (literature reviews, data collection, analysis, evaluation, interpretation, publications, etc.), and providing value-add through the candidate’s own expertise and education for solutions and improvements in a specialty psychiatric facility.

  Professional growth and development

  Waypoint is fully supportive of the opportunities students may have to accelerate their professional growth and development. We offer students a rich learning experience such as through monthly talks hosted by Research & Academics, an annual conference where student submissions are encouraged and supported, training in leadership development and clinical skills, job shadowing, coaching, mentorship, and tuition support. Candidates would be supported by the Waypoint Research Institute to foster a range of research and analytic skills unique to a forensic psychiatric hospital. Being an inclusive environment, candidates would have the opportunity to work closely with Waypoint senior leadership. PhDs and PDFs will ‎be provided with mentoring by the VP leads of the projects, which involves both the disciplines of research and clinical practice and may qualify for tuition support according to hospital policy

  Working language

  English required, bilingual is an asset. Penetanguishene is a designated bilingual community and Waypoint provides healthcare services in both official languages.

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either?

  We are interested in hosting both doctoral trainees and post-doctoral fellows.

  Contact information

  Katherine McCleary, MPH, HBSc, PMP
  Manager, Research & Academics
  kmccleary@waypointcentre.ca
  705-549-3181 x 2263

• Wellesley Institute

  Location of organization

  Toronto, Ontario

  About us – Mission/Mandate

  About

  HSIF impact goal

  The impact goal for this fellowship will be to innovate, design and lead projects and initiatives that identify, influence and inform emerging policy issues affecting health and health equity in the greater Toronto area (GTA). In alignment with Wellesley Institute’s mission, the CIHR fellow’s projects will aim to advance population health and reduce health inequities by driving change on the social determinants of health (SDOH) through applied research, policy development, knowledge mobilization, and innovation.

  Priority areas for HSIF experiential learning

  Wellesley Institute’s 2018 - 2022 strategic plan will be unveiled and implemented in the spring of 2018. Our focus will be on health equity, housing and other SDOH depending on the political context.

  Wellesley institute currently works through a broad range of social determinants and has been very successful in improving health policy in Toronto. Examples of our work can be accessed at the links below:

  • Housing
  • Building Healthy Communities
  • Economic Inequality
  • Health Equity

  Type of work

  Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of research, policy and knowledge translation activities, and will learn to strategically combine these activities to drive change on SDOH. Examples of fellowship activities include: idea generation, project planning, research design, literature review, qualitative and quantitative research and policy briefs. Fellows will engage with local and provincial policy makers to help bridge research evidence into policy discussions, policy development and action on SDOH.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  At Wellesley Institute, fellows will learn to strategically integrate research, policy and communications activities to drive change on SDOH in our city. Fellows will develop their research, analytical and critical thinking skills to define and frame policy problems, and to inform creative solutions. Core to this work is understanding the policy making process and designing smart knowledge translation strategies targeted to key stakeholders. Wellesley Institute’s culture of team work and mentorship will help support fellows in learning how to anticipate pressing issues impacting health and health equity, and to lead and effectively manage a targeted response.

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-doctoral fellow, either/both?

  We are interested in post-doctoral fellowship candidates only.

  Contact information

  To submit an expression of interest, send your resume and cover letter in a PDF to contact@wellesleyinstitute.com, with Wellesley Institute CIHR Health Systems Impact Fellowship in the subject line. 

  For questions about this opportunity please email our Director of Fellowships and Integration at emma@wellesleyinsitute.com.

• Women’s College Hospital institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV)

  Location

  Toronto, Ontario

  About Us - Mandate and strategic goals

  The Women’s College Hospital institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV) is a real world solutions engine dedicated to solving the current and future problems of our healthcare system. Uniquely situated at Women’s College Hospital (WCH) – the hospital designed to keep people out of hospital – WIHV is identifying the groundbreaking approaches that address gaps in the system. Learn more about WIHV.

  HSIF Impact goal

  A Health System Impact Fellow’s leadership and attention would help WIHV fulfill its mandate to design, implement and evaluate new models of care and new policy approaches. A fellow would evaluate health system innovations using the Triple Aim criteria of (1) improved population health, (2) improved patient experience of care and (3) reduced or held steady per capita cost of care. Ultimately, WIHV works to positively impact patient care outside the walls of our hospital, across Ontario and beyond.

  HSIF Priority Areas

  WIHV’s interventions generally target high needs, high cost users of the health care system whose health care needs are better met outside the wards of inpatient hospitals or emergency departments. Through six distinct programs of work, WIHV leverages everyday technology to improve care for those who need it most. Our priority program areas are:

  • Innovations in Quality System
  • Evaluation and Trials
  • Policy Advising
  • Surgical Innovation
  • Virtual Care
  • Appropriate Use

  Type of work

  Due to the variety of activities taking place at WIHV, there are many opportunities for a fellow who is interested in applied health services research and health system improvement. The fellow(s) can anticipate engaging in stakeholder engagement, methodological design of evaluation projects and quantitative and qualitative analysis. A large proportion of WIHV’s work focuses on evaluating virtual care programs.

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  The fellow will be supervised by at least one of WIHV’s senior scientists and will have the opportunity to work with other senior leaders within the institute, hospital and across the health care system. Opportunities for professional development include publications, presentations at scientific conferences, involvement in grant writing, participation in methodological design of evaluation projects, exposure to new methodological approaches, leadership and networking, and interaction with health system stakeholders (e.g. Health Quality Ontario, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Ontario Telemedicine Network). A few skills that fellows will develop are:

  • Understanding and comparing health systems and the policy making process
  • Pragmatic trials and process evaluation of health services interventions
  • Development of effective, patient-centred virtual care interventions to improve quality of care while reducing or holding steady the per capita cost of care

  Working language

  English only

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either?

  Either/Both.

  Contact information

  Hayley Baranek (Hayley.baranek@wchospital.ca)
  416-323-6400 ext.7509

• York Care Centre, Research Department

  Location

  New Brunswick, Fredericton

  About us: Mandate and strategic goals

  York Care Centre (YCC) is the largest long-term care (LTC) facility in New Brunswick providing a community of care to our aging population. Our community of care is fostered by a number of care professionals whereby quality of life, quality of care and service to our residents is of utmost importance. YCC is not just a nursing home, but a continuum of care that spans a wide array of services onsite: independent living subsidized seniors’ apartments, supportive housing apartments, adult day programming and a 214 bed long term care nursing home.

  YCC is a thriving community of professionals dedicated to creating an environment of care and nurturing. Establishing standards of evidence-based best practices, we strive to provide the highest level of quality care and service for our residents and families, respecting their individual needs, independence and dignity by:

  • Providing excellent services in the operation of independent and supportive living units to qualifying individuals;
  • Increasing the availability of a range of services to a segment of the aging population to enable them to remain independent and at home;
  • Providing a working environment based on positive Character Qualities, leading to an organization that is truly magnetic in its ability to recruit and retain the best possible staff and volunteers; and
  • Providing an academic/research environment that promotes professional development and personal growth and stimulates research activity combined with and applied to a full suite of long term care services.

  HSIF Impact goal

  Fellows will have the opportunity to work within York Care Centre to further enrich our mission of providing excellent research-based services thus improving health and strengthening quality of life and quality of care. To enrich our mission, YCC is striving to develop innovative solutions that address health challenges facing seniors and care organizations such as polypharmacy and quality improvement through e-assessment data use. With these developments, the fellow will contribute to the promotion and improvement of healthcare for our aging population.

  HSIF Priority Areas

  York Care Centre’s organization’s anticipated priority area(s) for the experiential learning opportunity include:

  • Working with a funded polypharmacy app project involving development and deployment
  • Helping strengthen YCC’s growing research department and capacity, building upon existing policies and procedures.
  • Increasing engagement with LTC community to develop a consortium on quality improvement

  Type of work

  The type of work the fellow can anticipate engaging in includes, but is not limited to:

  • Quantitative and qualitative data analysis involved in the Polypharmacy app project and potentially other projects that are housed at YCC
  • Project coordination with the funded polypharmacy project
  • Strategy development to strengthen the existing research department to enrich and build the program to new heights.
  •  Stakeholder consultation for research development in aging care in New Brunswick
  • Policy enhancement in the existing research department
  • Review of health informatics existing at YCC

  Commitment to professional growth and development

  YCC will provide comprehensive training and mentorship from a team of YCC senior professionals including expertise in research, clinical care delivery and management. With the new addition of the AGEWELL National Innovation Hub at YCC, the fellow will have exposure to national programs that will allow for professional growth. Professional development will include: exposure and knowledge of our facility and over 60 similar facilities in New Brunswick; understanding and implementing person-centred care; policy analysis; project coordination; senior engagement to understand the needs of the population; data analysis; networking; presenting findings and effective communication with various stakeholders (residents, families, community partners, health care professionals).

  Working language

  English

  Doctoral trainee, post-Doctoral fellow, either?

  Both Doctoral trainee and post-Doctoral fellow

  Contact information

  Applicants interested in exploring a Health System Impact Fellowship opportunity with YCC must contact Jennifer Donovan, Clinical Research Coordinator, via phone at (506) 444-8293 or via email at jdonovan@yorkcarecentre.ca.

Date modified:

2018-03-29