The Research Exchange Group on Chronic Disease was founded in January 2013. The group connects educators, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to discuss applied health research and policy directions on issues related to chronic disease in Newfoundland and Labrador. The presentations made by the group cover a broad range of research interests, from disease prevention to policy frameworks to models of care for patients with chronic disease. To date, the group has worked on projects related to diabetes, COPD, and kidney disease, but all relevant topics are welcomed.

Group Conveners

• Anne Wareham, Clinical Psychologist, Janeway Lifestyle Program, NL Health Services Eastern Urban Zone
• Dr. Jennifer Collins, BScN, PhD Western, CCNE, RN, Assistant Professor and Researcher, Faculty of Nursing, Memorial University

Goals & Objectives

The Research and Knowledge Exchange on Chronic Disease aims to:

• Promote public engagement that will help build capacity for research on chronic disease
• Create research links and build collaborative research teams
• Identify funding opportunities and knowledge/research gaps
• Create a forum for knowledge exchange on health research and programming relative to chronic disease
• Promote evidence that can be used to inform decisions about chronic disease in Newfoundland and Labrador

Past Activities & Presentations

April 4, 2023  at 12:30pm NT| Lived Experiences of Older Adults Living with Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM): An Exploration Using Digital Storytelling | Abdullah Saif's Ph.D. project project will use arts based digital storytelling to explore the lived experiences of patients in contexts of social, political and cultural discourses. The project is supported by SPOR (Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research) oriented research that prioritizes the patient voice.

March 3, 2023 10:30am - 12:00pm | Canada Health Measures Survey Presentation | Lisette Dufour RDH/HD, is the Oral Health Advisor at the Office of the Chief Dental Officer of Canada Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention Branch (HPCDPB) /Public Health Agency of Canada. At this presentation, Lisette: provided a national landscape on dental expenditures and on oral health human resources across our country; provided some background on Canadian oral health surveillance; outlined the drivers and the recommendations regarding oral health data required for the next decade; defined the roles and responsibilities of each party involved in the Canadian oral health data collection in Cycle 7 of the CHMS; provided information about the household, clinical and bio-sample oral health measurements to be collected during cycle 7 of the CHMS; and provided information on the newly created National Oral Health Assessment Tools for children and Seniors.

January 25, 2023 at 12:30pm  |Chronic Pain Management|  Dr. Lydia Hatcher, President of the Canadian Academy of Pain Management and a member of the Canadian Pain Society and the International Association for the Study of Pain, spoke about chronic pain management.  Her presentation included: defining chronic pain and how it is experienced; chronic pain in aging and in diverse populations; her work with veterans and law enforcement personnel; her work in opioid guideline development and pain education. After her presentation, Dr. Hatcher spoke generally to address pain management questions from the audience.

Dr. Zhiwei Gao, Division of Community Health & Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University on COPD in NL using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Project Summary: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease in middle aged and older adults. Asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) was recently defined and it is known to have more frequent and severe airflow obstruction, frequent hospitalization and medication usage. Population studies showed the prevalence of COPD and ACO is greater in females than in males. The underlying causes and sex differences of COPD and ACO are not fully understood. It is believed that both environmental and genetic factors play an important role. This study investigated the similarities and differences between males and females regarding the complex interplay between environmental and genetic risk factors for COPD and ACO, respectively.

November 24, 2021 at 3:00pm NST | Research on Chronic Disease in Newfoundland & Labrador with Dr. Richard Buote |Dr. Richard Buote will discuss three related research projects that looked at chronic disease in Newfoundland & Labrador. Dr. Buote's doctoral research examined factors associated with glycemic control, hospitalization, and mortality among NL residents with diabetes mellitus. Within this project, he examined the effect of family physician turnover on patients with diabetes in NL. Related to this project, he worked on a population-based, cross-sectional analysis of NL adults with diabetes mellitus. This descriptive analysis showed that diabetes is more prevalent in rural parts of the province and that rural residents have worse clinical outcomes than their urban counterparts. For many in this province, recommended targets for diabetes management were not being met. To inform the development of provincial strategies to meet these clear challenges for chronic disease management, Dr. Buote and a team from Memorial University also looked at how disease outcomes relate to the availability of primary healthcare services. They examined the availability of publicly funded primary healthcare programs/services delivered by our four provincial regional health authorities and found considerable variability in the range of services available to patients, with limited delivery of some programs and services.  Richard Buote recently completed his Ph.D. in Memorial University's Division of Community Health and Humanities and holds a Master's of Science in Kinesiology, also from Memorial University.

November 3, 2021 at 3:00pm NST | Women and Cardiac Rehabilitaiton | Carolyn Baer MD, FRCPC, Assistant professor Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine at Dalhousie University | Dr. Baer shared her expertise on cardiac health and discussed challenges that many women face when undergoing cardiac rehabilitation. LINK TO SLIDES

January 14, 2021 | COVID-19 and Chronic Disease | Dr. Proton Rahman | The presenter discussed his COVID-19 modelling work as it relates to susceptibility, hospitalization, and vaccinations of COVID-19 positive patients with chronic disease. |

February 8, 2021 | Cardiac surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic | Dr. Corey Adams, cardiac sugeon and Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery (Cardiac Surgery) at Memorial University | Dr. Adams discussed topics related to cardiac surgery in the time of a global pandemic. |

March 15, 2021 | Women's Heart Health | Dr. Beth Abramson is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and the Paul Albrechtsen Professor in Cardiac Prevention and Women’s Health in the Division of Cardiology at St. Michael’s Hospital. As outgoing chair of the Canadian Women's Heart Health Alliance Education working group, Dr. Abramson discussed efforts to educate healthcare providers and to close knowledge gaps. |

March 18 2020 | Chronic Pain Management and a Stepped Care Approach | Louise Bell | Link to Presentation | 

January 24, 2018 | Infant Feeding Research in NL: A Good News Story | Dr. Leigh Anne Newhook and Dr. Laurie Twells |

October 30, 2017 | Re-thinking Mammography Screening | Dr. Anne Kearney | Link to Presentation |

November 29, 2017 | Shifting Paradigms: Adopting a Health not Weight Approach | Dr. Pamela Ward |  Link to Presentation | 

January 11, 2017 | Choosing Wisely NL | Dr. Brendan Barrett| Link to Presentation | 

2015

April 9, 2015 | Physical Activity & Its Impact on Cancer | Dr. Erin McGowan | 

2014

June 25, 2014 | Emerging Opportunities to Enhance Patient-Oriented Research in NL | Dr. Brendan Barrett | Link to Presentation | 

April 9, 2014 | Chronic Disease Prevention and Management at Western Health | Darla King, Regional Manager, Western Health | Link to Presentation |

2013

April 17, 2013 |  NLCHI Data for Chrionic Disease Research | Kayla Collins | Link to Presentation |

March 20, 2013 |  Current Studies Being Undertaken at Memorial's Primary Healthcare Research Unit on Chronic Disease and Chronic Disease Prevention | Dr. Kris Aubrey-Bassler | Link to Presentation |

February 20, 2013 |  Results of the CAN-PREVENT Trial: A Randomized Trial of a Nurse-Centred Model of Care for Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease | Dr. Brendan Barrett, Divisional Chief of Nephrology, Eastern Health | Link to Presentation |

January 30, 2013 | "Improving Health Together" A Policy Framework for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management in Newfoundland and Labrador | Linda Carter, Department of Health & Community Services | Link to Presentation |