Learning health systems
Two actions lie at the heart of a learning health system (LHS):
- using ‘learning and improvement cycles,’ typically organized around tests of change
- making ‘any change for the better’ the ‘new normal’ (and not yet another pilot project) using appropriate decision supports, aligned governance, financial and delivery arrangements, and an enabling culture and competencies.
Drawing on the LHS action framework, ESN-CA uses five ‘gears’ in the learning and improvement cycles it supports:
- analytics and population insights, which is where ESN-CA’s data analytics hub comes in
- evidence synthesis and support, which is where ESN-CA’s evidence-synthesis hub comes in
- patient, family, caregiver and provider co-design
- implementation, which is where ESN-CA’s behavioural and implementation research hub comes in
- evaluation, feedback and adaptation.
ESN-CA’s qualitative insights hub is helpful in many of these five gears.
With support from the Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit, we offer an LHS ‘pico’ course for clinical and health-system leaders and an LHS ‘nano’ course for researchers and for patient, family and caregiver partners. Requests for bespoke offerings of the pico course can be sent to esn-ca@mcmaster.ca. Offerings of the nano course are periodically profiled here on the LHS webpage on the RISE website.
We will add additional LHS resources to this part of the ESN-CA website over time.