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.
Impact of the Forum’s rapid response program
While our evidence-synthesis work has always been viewed by our requestors as high quality, the COVID-19 pandemic elevated both the salience of our work (because we can get our robust and policy-relevant syntheses completed in very short periods of time) and its visibility (our products often go straight to the eyes of senior government decision-makers and are disseminated directly to the many other organizational and professional leaders, citizens and researchers for whom the insights are relevant). Among the many impacts of our work throughout the pandemic, some highlights include:
- updating senior decision-makers in Ontario last year on a regular basis, as key messages from our vaccine roll-out roll-out and long-term care care living evidence profiles were routinely copied and pasted into briefing materials; and
- informing the Chief Public Health Officer’s annual report report (see page 35) through our ‘lessons learned’ living evidence profile.
In one of the most recent examples, our living living evidence profile on the best available evidence about monkeypox profile on the best available evidence about monkeypox has proven to be such a highly valued resource that the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is now posting our updates on Canada.ca.ca.
We’ve now become a go-to team for a broad array of social challenges. PHAC staff and other health- and social-system decision-makers and stakeholders know that we can provide robust syntheses of evidence to address requests within as little as one day (sometimes half a day), or three-, 10- or 30-, 60- or 90-business days, depending on the required analysis and urgency of a response. We are also able to efficiently coordinate evidence demands and the evidence supply needed to meet these demands when the topic may require specific expertise from our network of evidence-synthesis partners.
>> Learn more about our rapid response program
>> Read our products developed through this program
>> Request a rapid synthesis by getting in touch with Mike Wilson (lead of the rapid response program) at wilsom2@mcmaster.ca.
- McMaster Forum
