As the inaugural Quality and Patient Safety Research Chair in Nova Scotia, Dr. Janet Curran is focused on integrating research into the delivery of patient safety to ensure the highest quality of care for Nova Scotians while also building capacity for health system improvement. The overall aim is to design effective interventions and optimize uptake to support sustainable change through the health system, all aimed at improving care for Nova Scotians.
Strategic Directions of the Research Chair:
- Improved transitions in care
- Evidence-informed decision-making
- Building capacity within quality and patient safety research
Recent Projects:
Understanding Children with Medical Complexity in the Maritime Provinces
What’s new: Study how the COVID-19 public health restrictions and service changes impacted the health and well-being of children with complex care needs and their families in the Maritimes.
Why it Matters: Children and youth with complex care needs are one of the most vulnerable populations served by our pediatric health and social care systems. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, caregivers of children with complex care needs reported numerous gaps in programs and services including a lack of care coordination and communication between service providers.
Evaluation of a Patient Managed Tool to Improve Discharge Communication in Emergency Practice Settings
What’s new: A patient managed communication tool being tested to improve patient and family recall and comprehension of important discharge information shared during an emergency department visit.
Why it Matters: More than 90% of people who visit an emergency department (ED) are discharged home and given information for their continued care at home. Good communication between healthcare providers and patients/caregivers is essential to ensure that this information is understood. However, that is often not the case.
ED-UCATE: Partnering with Parents and Youth to Co-design Discharge Communication Interventions for Pediatric Emergency Care
What’s new: Evaluated a strategy for partnering with parents, youth, and ED clinicians to co-design discharge communication interventions for asthma and minor head injury.
Why it Matters: Discharge communication in a pediatric emergency department (ED) can be a challenging time for parents, youth, and clinicians. Most discharge communication interventions that have been evaluated in the literature target parents but few consider how the chaotic nature of an ED might impact communication.
The Chair is supported by the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, IWK Foundation, IWK Health, Nova Scotia Health, and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Health.