In the second video from our Knowledge Mobilization Basics Series, we look at WHO is involved in Knowledge Mobilization and WHY it is important to include all individuals who will use or be affected by the research results in the real world. We’ll explore how involving these individuals will ensure the best chances of successful knowledge mobilization.
O’Neill B, Yusuf A, Kurdyak P, Kiran T, Sullivan F, Chen T, Kalia S, Eisen D, Anderson E, Selby P, Campbell D.Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2023 May-Jun;82:19-25. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2023.02.007. Epub 2023 Mar 5.
This study explores the mental health challenges faced by individuals with schizophrenia and the impact of diabetes management in this population, particularly focusing on how mental illness affects glycemic control. It highlights the need for integrated care approaches that address both mental health and diabetes. Diabetes Action Canada supported this research by encouraging collaborations between mental health professionals and diabetes care teams to improve holistic treatment strategies and by funding this study, through a grant competition.
To save the vision of persons with diabetes Canada needs data-informed timely screening.
Rac VE, Whiteside C, Bowen JM, Maberley D, Brent MH.Can J Ophthalmol. 2023 Oct;58(5):e228-e229. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjo.2023.04.001. Epub 2023 May 2.PMID: 37141921
This article examines the accessibility and utilization of vision care services, particularly for marginalized and vulnerable communities living with diabetes, highlighting disparities in screening for diabetic retinopathy. The study emphasizes the need for targeted interventions to improve access and reduce vision loss in these populations. Diabetes Action Canada supported this research by facilitating data partnerships with ICES, novel governance for a cohort disclosure and partnerships with community health centers to ensure the inclusion of at-risk groups in vision care programs.
Our Knowledge Mobilization (KM) team is pleased to launch two new resources for Diabetes Action Canada’s community as part of our DAC 2.0 KM Plan.
“WHAT is Knowledge Mobilization and WHY it matters”, is the first in a series of 5 short videos that describe the basics of knowledge mobilization in simple, straightforward language.
Watch the video now!
The Knowledge Mobilization (KM) Consultation Service is a program to support DAC research teams with their KM needs at any stage of the research process.
DAC researchers who would like to use this service can fill in a needs assessment survey by clicking the link or scanning the QR code below.
Julie Makarski (Research Manager and Implementation Support Practitioner, DAC KM Program)will follow-up to schedule a meeting to co-create your KM plan.
Through the DAC 2.0 KM Program, we aim to increase knowledge and capacity in knowledge mobilization across the DAC Network and to support DAC members in their knowledge mobilization goals and activities.
Rebecca Bodoarca, MD ∙ Roseanne O. Yeung, MD, MPH ∙ Darren Lau, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Volume 46, Issue 7 p691-698October 2022
This article reviews the impact of new diabetes treatment guidelines on the eligibility for sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists in Canada, assessing how the revised criteria affect patient access to these medications. The findings highlight the potential benefits and challenges of the updated guidelines in managing type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Action Canada supported this research by providing access to the NDR and advocating for the inclusion of patient voices and collaborating with stakeholders to improve access to these innovative therapies.
As we move into phase two of Diabetes Action Canada, the Network has a clear goal of translating the research and learnings from our first phase into understandable and implementable deliverables that aim to better support those living with diabetes in Canada. To further this, we are pleased to announce funding support from Diabetes Canada for our Mobilizing Knowledge and Implementing Equitable and Cost-Effective Health and Social Care Services for Persons Living with Diabetes in Canada project.
“In order for all of the work done over the past six years to really have an impact on the health of people living with diabetes, it must be shared effectively,” says Diabetes Action Canada Executive Director, Tracy McQuire. “Our Knowledge Mobilization team, led by Dr. Monika Kastner, has developed tools to optimize the sustainability and scalability of our research learnings. This crucial funding from Diabetes Canada will ensure outcomes are easily accessible to the community and adopted more readily into practice and policy.”
This funding will support Diabetes Action Canada in having a Knowledge Mobilization team member embedded with each research program. This means that throughout the project, there will be an emphasis on how these findings will be explained, shared and used by those who could benefit. This is a much more effective process, as too often Knowledge Mobilization is left to the end, when needed changes cannot be made and valuable opportunities for successful implementation are lost. This new process also allows the planning for how to spread and scale research findings to happen simultaneously with the research itself.
“Diabetes Canada is excited about our continued partnership and funding support for the ongoing work of Diabetes Action Canada,” says Laura Syron, President & CEO, Diabetes Canada. “The Knowledge Mobilization Program will help bridge the gap between science and practice through engagement with the diabetes community. This is essential to shaping research projects and innovations in care to help improve the quality of life for those living with diabetes.”
For the Diabetes Action Canada research community and in particular our Patient Partners, making sure the organization’s work moves beyond the lab is a critical step to improving the lives of people living with diabetes. This new Diabetes Canada funding will help ensure that happens.
By Krista Lamb
New research led by Dr. Darren Lau at the University of Alberta uses data from Diabetes Action Canada’s National Diabetes Repository to look at whether people with type 2 diabetes should have access to newer drug therapies. The results of this study have been published in the Canadian Journal of Diabetes.
“There are two newer classes of diabetes drugs—SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists—that not only lower blood sugars, but can actually prevent heart attacks and kidney failure. The new way of thinking about these drugs is to get people on them, no matter what their blood sugars are, and that’s because you want to get that heart and kidney benefit,” says Lau. “Applying this thinking, we found that anywhere from 17% to 60% of adults with diabetes should be on one or more of these drugs. That’s a large number of people. We also found that current use rates are only 14% for SGLT-2 inhibitors and 4% for GLP-1 receptor agonists in patients who really need them. Many of these people have good blood sugar control and might not even know that they would benefit from a change to their medications.”
This type of project shows how useful it can be for researchers to have access to de-identified health data from people living with diabetes. The National Diabetes Repository makes this access possible for select research projects aimed at creating better health outcomes for people living with diabetes.
“Diabetes Action Canada provided a very powerful and unique dataset, allowing us to look at Canadians with diabetes that family doctors see every day. The process of getting to work with these data was really protective of patient information, but also very efficient for us to start doing our analysis. This work would not have been possible without Diabetes Action Canada,” says Lau.
The paper is available online now on the Canadian Journal of Diabetes website.
In April, Diabetes Action Canada’s Digital Health Solutions for Learning Health Systems program received a Data Champions Pilot Project Grant from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. This grant will support the ongoing work of our team as it looks at ways to use health data to improve outcomes for people living with diabetes.
“Over the last six years, Diabetes Action Canada has done extensive work to find ways to effectively harness the power of data to help those with diabetes. From our National Diabetes Repository to our collaborative initiatives with organizations across Canada, we have seen how valuable data is in improving outcomes,” says Tracy McQuire, Diabetes Action Canada’s Executive Director. “This funding from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada will ensure we can continue and expand on this work by supporting the salary of a team member who is dedicated solely to this area.”
The Digital Research Alliance of Canada plays a critical role in advancing the Government of Canada’s National DRI Strategy. It coordinates and funds activities related to and including Advanced Research Computing, Research Data Management, and Research Software. The Data Champions Grant, “aims to build national research capacity and deliver on the Alliance’s mandate to create a broad and integrated Canadian digital research infrastructure (DRI) ecosystem. Specifically, the call will address the needs of the research community related to Research Data Management (RDM), while promoting an equitable and inclusive DRI environment in Canada.”
2020-23 Research Alliance Data Champions: https://alliancecan.ca/latest/news/announcing-2022-2023-data-champions
Song C, Booth GL, Perkins BA, Weisman A. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2021 Oct;9(1):e002371. doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2021-002371.PMID: 34615649
This study evaluates the impact of publicly funded insulin pump programs on improving diabetes management and access to insulin delivery systems in Canada, particularly among individuals with type 1 diabetes. It highlights how these programs help reduce barriers to access and improve health outcomes. Diabetes Action Canada supported this research by funding this project through a grant competition and advocating for policy changes to expand access to insulin pumps and collaborating with stakeholders to ensure equitable care for all Canadians with diabetes.
In Canada, where there are great differences in terms of coverage for diabetes technologies, like insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, it is important to know if access and uptake are related.
That’s why Diabetes Action Canada researchers Drs. Alanna Weisman, Gillian Booth and Bruce Perkins, working with medical student Cimon Song, used the National Diabetes Repository to study this issue.
Their paper, Impact of government-funded insulin pump programs on insulin pump use in Canada: a cross-sectional study using the National Diabetes Repository, was published in BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care in October.
This research, which was supported by Diabetes Action Canada, was able to study adults with type 1 diabetes across five different provinces via the National Diabetes Repository (NDR). The NDR is a tool researchers can use to better analyze information about people living with diabetes across Canada in order to support improved health outcomes and prevent complications. Oversight of the use of the data is through dedicated Patient Partners working alongside researchers, healthcare providers and experts in privacy and law.
Weisman says the key finding from this study is that providing funding for insulin pumps makes this technology more accessible. This in and of itself may not seem surprising, but as the area had not been studied before it was important to confirm. The team also showed that, while overall access is improved, there are other factors that need to be considered. “An interesting finding was that even in provinces with funding for insulin pumps, we observed disparities in insulin pump use with those from lower-income neighbourhoods still being less likely to use insulin pumps despite the funding programs,” she explains.
This opens up the need to study this area further, including identifying and understanding barriers to insulin pump use that go beyond financial considerations. “Previous research has shown that some of the other factors include biases of the health care providers, access to expert teams, and education,” explains Weisman. “Future work in this area should focus on how insulin pumps and other diabetes technologies can be implemented effectively, and likely this will require a more comprehensive approach than just providing funding.”
Moving forward, Weisman hopes to validate these findings by studying other data sources, as well as to look more deeply into the issue of non-financial barriers to access.