Want to better understand how the health and social systems work and how you can better advocate for changes that would improve these systems for you and your family? Enhance your knowledge with one of our free courses for citizens:
Finding and using research evidence: A guide for citizens
In this free online course, you’ll be provided with solutions to overcome the most commonly cited frustrations people have when trying to access research evidence. Prepared by the McMaster Health Forum with support from the Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit, the course is now available online as a set of eight videos:
Here are helpful resources that are drawn on in the course:
- Definitions for word and phrases used in the modules
- How to make sure health information is trustworthy
- Links to online sources mentioned in the modules
Don’t miss the most important resource for citizen-targeted evidence about healthy aging:
Understanding how to navigate the health system
Knowing how your health system works will better you to navigate the system, identify opportunities to make things better, and advocate for changes that you’d like to see. This free online course describes the 'building blocks' of Ontario’s health system as well as how those building blocks are used to provide care in the province in different ways (e.g., by sector, condition, treatment, population). While Ontario is the example, these principles are useful to understanding health systems other jurisdictions in Canada and internationally.
Prepared by the McMaster Health Forum with support from the Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit, the course is now available online as a set of six videos:
Here are helpful resources that are drawn on in the course:
- Free download of chapters from Ontario’s Health System: Key Insights for Engaged Citizens, Professional and Policymakers. The Ontario book is also helpful in understanding other health systems
Don’t miss the most important resource for citizen-targeted evidence about healthy aging:
Masterclass on patient-oriented research
The Forum’s masterclass was designed to prepare future champions for the conduct and use of patient-oriented research and future mentors to others becoming involved in the conduct and use of patient-oriented research. While we are not currently planning any sessions for the masterclass on patient-oriented research, you can access all of the course material to learn more about patient-oriented research.
Dr. Mike of YouTube fame coming to McMaster
A family physician who has become a YouTube sensation through his videos that provide health advice in an engaging, easy-to-understand way, will be the keynote speaker at a public talk on Monday, October 27, at McMaster Innovation Park.
Dr. Mike Evans, who is known for his work on patient engagement and particularly the use of technology in healthcare communications, will talk about the changing landscape in how patients and healthcare professionals interact, and the impact technology has made on the way consumers seek out health information.
In the presentation entitled Disruption, Peer to Peer Healthcare, Creativity and YouTube: How to Fail Well in Patient Engagement, Evans will describe how technological advancements have been used to improve the ways in which consumers can obtain health information that is meaningful to them. He will also discuss why some aspects of patient engagement are not yet changing, such as relationships, self-care and attitudes. His talk will emphasize how these themes play out among older adults in particular.
The presentation will provide insights from Evans’ laboratory work related to how new media can and is used in patient engagement.
Evans’ numerous videos that cover topics ranging from low back pain to brain health and medication safety have garnered more than 10 million hits on YouTube since he created his first video in 2011. He is the founder of Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute in Toronto, which fuses creative techniques such as film-making and illustration with the work of clinicians and with patients, social entrepreneurs and best evidence to create “edutaining” healthcare information.
Evans is the house doctor for CBC weekend morning radio, has written an award-winning children’s book, and formerly served as scientific officer for knowledge translation at the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. He is also an associate professor of family medicine and public health at the University of Toronto, and a staff physician at St. Michael’s Hospital.
The talk will begin at 7 p.m. (Eastern Time), and include time for questions from the audience before it wraps up at 8:30 p.m. It will also be webcast live for those who are unable to attend in person (click here to access). McMaster Innovation Park is at 175 Longwood Road South in Hamilton, and offers free parking onsite.
Evans was recently granted an endowed chair in patient engagement and childhood nutrition at the University of Toronto.
Past awards he has garnered include the Gold Medal for Social Media at the Web Health Awards, being named to the Zoomer top 45 Canadians over 45 list, being named by CBC as one of five Health Heroes of 2012, and being profiled in 2013 as one of the top 10 innovators in healthcare, by the Canadian Medical Association.
The public talk has been organized by the McMaster Health Forum as part of its knowledge translation enterprise funded by McMaster University’s Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative, and is also supported by the MedicAlert Foundation of Canada.- McMaster Forum
