Translating Knowledge into Improved Care...
(Principal Investigator: Dr. Shoo K. Lee)
The MiCare Program
A major weakness in our health research enterprise is the inability to effectively, efficiently and rapidly translate knowledge into improved quality of care, better patient outcomes, and reduced costs. Preterm birth is the most important cause of perinatal mortality and long-term neurodevelopmental morbidity. MiCare is a means to bridge this gap.
MiCare is a research program consisting of five innovative projects designed to improve outcomes and reduce costs. These goals will be acheived through a better understanding of how different practices and risks affect long-term outcomes of preterm infants, and how improved methods of knowledge translation can enhance the quality of care. The MiCare projects are integrated by the PARIHS framework. The PARIHS model is a guide for implementing evidence-based practice change and is based on three components: Evidence, Context and Facilitation.
Objectives
The overall objectives for the combined MiCare projects include:
1. Establish a multi-disciplinary team
2. Create a novel, integrated national database
3. Conduct 5 innovative projects to assist us in understanding the evidence, and contextual and organizational factors influencing practice change; develop and test new models for quality improvement; and transform the way we translate knowledge to improve the quality of care
4. Build partnerships between clinicians, decision makers and community partners
Anticipated Results
This program of research will re-define our approach to knowledge translation and quality improvement in all areas of health care, and significantly change how perinatal-neonatal care is delivered in Canada and elsewhere. The MICare Team will demonstrate how multidisciplinary researchers, clinicians, decision makers and community groups can collaborate in a practical way to effectively translate knowledge into practice and policy change to improve quality of care. Our research will yield a comprehensive, evidence-based programmatic approach to knowledge translation that improves outcomes in a multi-dimensional way, and can sustain the improvements over time.