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News highlights
Dr. Li's research on Opioid Use Disorder and ED prescribing trends, wins Top Clinical Trainee Poster at WCHRI Research Day, and a Resident Research Abstract award at CAEP 2024.
Dr. Li's research on Opioid Use Disorder and ED prescribing trends, wins Top Clinical Trainee Poster at WCHRI Research Day, and a Resident Research Abstract award at CAEP 2024.
November 6, 2024
Dr. Henry Li, PGY-4 PEM Fellow, is working to improve our understanding of how emergency department opioid prescriptions contribute to opioid use disorder in adolescents. His research found that over the past decade, emergency department opioid prescribing has decreased substantially, yet opioid use disorder has continued to increase. Furthermore, the majority of cases of opioid use disorder are not linked to emergency department prescribing, highlighting the importance of not withholding opioids when needed for children in pain. For this work, he was recently awarded the Top Clinical Trainee Poster award at the Women and Children's Health Research Institute Research Day and a Resident Research Abstract award at the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians.
Photo: Cooper & O'Hara; Dr. Katharine Jensen
EDify Top 40 Under 40 2024:
Dr. Katharine Jensen
EDify Top 40 Under 40 2024:
Dr. Katharine Jensen
November 1, 2024
Our PEAK Research Trainee, Katharine Jensen, was honoured with being named one of EDify’s Top 40 Under 40 2024. They honour Edmonton-and-area residents for the great work they do in bettering our community — and putting Edmonton on the global map. Katharine’s neuroscience research, and current caregiver health literacy and pediatric emergency utilization study were highlighted.
Read the full article here.
SKIP receives The Child Health Systems Impact Award
SKIP receives The Child Health Systems Impact Award
October 16, 2024
Children's Healthcare Canada awards Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP) with The Child Health Systems Impact Award this year. This award recognizes an individual, team, network, and/or organization that has driven/led system change to transform the future of children’s healthcare. With six hubs across the country, SKIP is a national knowledge mobilization network that has been working to improve children’s pain management, by mobilizing evidence-based solutions through coordination and collaboration.
In the SKIP Western Canadian Hub, is Dr. Samina Ali (Hub Co-Lead), Dr. Hayley Turnbull (Hub Co-Lead), Angela Bokenfohr (ChildKind International Nurse Educatior), and Leah Fiorillo (Knowledge Broker).
Learn more about the incredible work SKIP has done in the past 5 years, here.
SGEM #45: We Are Young...But We Can Still Understand
SGEM #45: We Are Young...But We Can Still Understand
October 1, 2024
Our national survey of children’s experiences and needs when attending Canadian pediatric emergency departments was featured on the Skeptics' Guide to EM (SGEM) Podcast by Dennis Ren. Guest skeptic, Dr. Andrew (Andy) Tagg, reviews our study through a skeptical lens. The SGEM Bottom Line: "There are many opportunities to improve the ED experience for children and help them understand their diagnosis and treatment."
Listen to the full podcast here to hear their full discussion.
Families of cardiac arrest patients need care too
Families of cardiac arrest patients need care too
September 9, 2024
When someone has a cardiac arrest — whether it’s fatal or not — award-winning U of A-led research shows their family members will need care from hospital staff to cope.
Read the full Folio article here.
Helping parents remember hospital discharge instructions
Helping parents remember hospital discharge instructions
February 20, 2024
Dr. Bruce Wright and team explore the communication needs of parents of children with mental health concerns admitted to the emergency department.
See full WCHRI story here.
Photo: WCHRI; Dr. Bruce Wright
Video: Global News
Uncertainty during a pediatric emergency
Uncertainty during a pediatric emergency
February 08, 2024
Pediatric emergencies, no matter how serious, can be stressful. A new study found 20 per cent of parents feel uncertain caring for their child after a pediatric emergency. Dr. Samina Ali joined Global News Morning Edmonton to talk about it.
See full interview here.
20 per cent of parents feel uncertain caring for their child after discharge from pediatric emergency: study
20 per cent of parents feel uncertain caring for their child after discharge from pediatric emergency: study
February 05, 2024
Photo: Getty Images
Providing more updates, paying better attention to parents’ emotional needs could help ease pressures of ER crowding, say study leads.
Read full Folio story here.
Photo: CBC
Radio Active with Jessica Ng, Min Dhariwal: In our conversation with Dr. Samina Ali, a pediatric emergency physician and researcher, we delve into research that provides parents with reassurance when bringing their child home from the emergency room.
For the full interview, listen here.
Photo: Katharine Jensen; Katharine Jensen
Dr. Jensen wins PIRN Trainee Presentation Award!
Dr. Jensen wins PIRN Trainee Presentation Award!
November 03, 2023
Dr. Katharine Jensen, Pediatric Resident (PGY-3) and PEAK learner, won the Trainee Presentation award at the Pediatric Inpatient Research Network (PIRN) conference in Calgary on November 3rd. She presented on: The Impact of Health Literacy on Canadian Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization.
Dr. Jensen and her team's research looked at how health literacy impacts Canadian Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) utilization. Health literacy is the capacity to obtain, process, and understand health information to effectively function in a healthcare setting and make suitable health decisions. This study revealed that nearly half of caregivers presenting to Canadian PEDs have low health literacy, which may limit their ability to make appropriate healthcare decisions for their children. Low caregiver health literacy is a modifiable factor associated with increased non-urgent pediatric ED utilization. Efforts to address these factors may positively impact PED utilization.
Video: NACTRC; Neelam Mabood
The PEAK of Research Innovation
The PEAK of Research Innovation
October 30, 2023
PEAK stands for Pediatric Emergency Advancing Knowledge and provides health research support to figure out how to treat children who come into the emergency room and other medical support facilities.
The emphasis of PEAK is on advancing knowledge within pediatric medicine to create better outcomes for children and their families. This research is entirely voluntary, but the children understand that, by participating, they’re helping other children so they’re really excited to be a part of the studies.
PEAK is an excellent example of how research is making a difference in the lives and health of people across Alberta.
See full NACTRC article and video feature here.
‘Laughing gas’ helps relieve kids’ pain and distress in emergency rooms, study shows
‘Laughing gas’ helps relieve kids’ pain and distress in emergency rooms, study shows
September 18, 2023
Pediatrics Professor, Samina Ali, and colleagues found that inhaled nitrous oxide is safe and effective for alleviating children's pain and distress when they're receiving emergency treatment in hospitals - a practice the researchers would like to see adopted more widely across Canada.
See full Folio article here.
Photo: Nenad Stojkovic
Photo: Yan Krukau
Canada creates world's first pain management standards for kids
Canada creates world's first pain management standards for kids
April 2023
Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP) and the Health Standards Organization (HSO) create the world's first Pediatric Pain Management standard, providing guidance to health organizations on how to deliver equitable and quality pain management across hospital settings.
Dr. Ali was involved in the creation of the tool. This standard was informed by SKIP work - both Dr. Ali (SKIP Western Canada Hub Co-Lead) and Dr. Kammerer (SKIP Knowledge Broker) are a part of this team.
Reddit posts reveal youth struggles with mental health and getting support
Reddit posts reveal youth struggles with mental health and getting support
May 05, 2023
Candid anonymous posts by teens on the social media platform, Reddit, reveal that stigma related to mental health issues persist despite efforts to raise awareness and understanding, and may be preventing many young people from seeking support.
See full Folio article here on Dr. Lisa Hartling, Dr. Sarah Elliot and their team's work.
Photo: Riyaz Sharan
Edmonton researcher helping develop a robot to help children in hospital manage pain
Edmonton researcher helping develop a robot to help children in hospital manage pain
December 04, 2022
Robot development happening at four Canadian and two Scottish Universities. After seeing some success alleviating children's pain using a basic robot during procedures, the Stollery Children's Hospital is working toward a more advanced, responsive version to better help their young patients manage pain. The programming of this new robot started in 2020 and is a collaboration between four universities in Canada: University of Alberta, Toronto Metropolitan University, McMaster University and University of Toronto. Two universities in Scotland are also involved: University of Glasgow and Heriot-Watt University.
See full CBC article here.
Robots are helping doctors improve children's ER care
Robots are helping doctors improve children's ER care
November 29, 2022
Doctors at the Stollery Children's Hospital are researching how to make care less painful. But it's not about medication or drugs. Instead, they're trying out robots. Dr. Samina Ali is a pediatric emergency physician and children's pain researcher. Listen to the interview here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-17/clip/15951734
WCHRI research day First Place People's choice award: Zoë Dworsky-Fried
WCHRI research day First Place People's choice award: Zoë Dworsky-Fried
November 2, 2022
Congratulations to our PEAK learner, and medical student, Zoë Dworsky-Fried, for being awarded in her category (3MT Child health and well-being: Development & Mental Health) and First Place People's choice award for her WCHRI research day presentation on factors that influence parental decision-making regarding analgesia for their children with acute pain: A qualitative study.
Parents/caregivers are often the gatekeepers to the management of their children’s pain. Concerns and preferences regarding medications, including opioids, influence their analgesic decisions. Our primary objective was to explore and understand caregiver decision-making as it relates to acute pain management for their children presenting to the emergency department. Parents of children with acute musculoskeletal injuries were recruited from three Canadian pediatric emergency departments (Edmonton, Montréal, Winnipeg) and underwent one-on-one semi-structured interviews.
Five major themes regarding pain assessment and treatment emerged from interviews with parents: a) My child’s comfort is a priority; b) Every situation is unique; c) Opioids only if necessary; d) Considerations when choosing opioids; and e) Pain research is important. We found that parents assess and manage their children’s pain and distress as a global entity, with comfort being prioritized. For most parents, the desire to relieve their children’s pain outweighed concerns of addiction, misuse, and adverse events when making decisions about opioid analgesia. These results can inform evidence-based family-centered approaches to shared decision-making of analgesic plans for children with acute pain.
Photo: William Au
Research aims to relieve pain children feel in emergency departments
Research aims to relieve pain children feel in emergency departments
October 17, 2022
Ali and her research team aim to substantially ease all pain felt by ill or injured children in EDs. As the research director for PEAK (Pediatric Emergency Advancing Knowledge)—a 20-person group that includes doctors, nurses, co-ordinators, facilitators, physician trainees, graduate students and volunteers from the Stollery’s ED and the University of Alberta—she’s steering innovative solutions via clinical trials and pilot programs.
See the full WCHRI story here.
Forward/slash Economic Summit:
Forward/slash Economic Summit:
September 28, 2022
From a talking and dancing robot to zero-emission hydrogen power, the Forward/slash Economic Summit at the Edmonton Convention Centre highlighted a variety of new technology and ideas. See the full article here.
PEAK team members presenting MEDi at Forward/slash were (left to right) Andrea Eaton, Patricia Candelaria, and Neelam Mabood.
June 2022
What makes a waiting room less stressful for children and their families? That’s what Pediatric Emergency Physician Dr. Samina Ali and her research team in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry (FoMD) are trying to figure out.
HEARTSMAP: A new app may shorten the time required for mental health crisis assessment.
01 May 2019HEARTSMAP: A new app may shorten the time required for mental health crisis assessment.
Members of the HEARTSMAP research team include (left to right) Mithra Sivakumar, Patricia Candelaria, Bruce Wright, Manasi Rajagopal
Research Nurse wins teaching award and research scholarship:
Research Nurse wins teaching award and research scholarship:
Lily Lu, PEAK team research nurse, took on the new role of teaching assistant to three incoming nursing students from the transition year program (TYP) at the faculty of Nursing in September 2022. TYP is a University access program for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students who may not be prepared to enter a faculty through the regular admissions route. "I was recently recognized for my work with a 2022 Graduate Student Teaching Assistant Award and a Tylenol® Fund to Advance Diversity in Nursing and Health Equity Research Scholarship. My support for the students included:
Writing study guides and assignment checklists.
Leading study sessions.
Offering one-on-one feedback on assignments.
I also facilitated communication between the students and their instructors when needed and was a passionate advocate, doing whatever I could to help them succeed.
I am motivated in this work by combining personal passion and professional experiences. I know there are a lot of historical barriers to Indigenous students pursuing higher education and I feel passionate about helping to support their success. Supporting more Indigenous enrolment in nursing and indeed in all the health-care streams is just one small step in righting historical wrongs and ensuring better care for all. In addition, increasing enrollment opportunities will help ensure more Indigenous nurses are in the clinical setting to provide patient-centered, culturally appropriate care to Indigenous families.
Helping the students keep that end goal in mind was very important to me. Whenever the students struggled, I would reassure them: “Maybe you won’t know all the questions on the final exam. But you are learning to be a nurse and provide the kind of care your patients will need and deserve.”
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