Every November, Island Health Research hosts a series of events that's all about translating evidence into practice to improve care and outcomes. Join us for a month of inspiration, innovation, and celebration!
- All events are free and open to anyone interested.
- All events are virtual and will take place on Teams.
- Register to receive a Calendar invitation.
- Nov. 3 (1 - 2 p.m.) | Generating Change in Seclusion Practices through Diverse Perspectives
-
A collaboration among healthcare providers, people with lived experience, and academic researchers
Seclusion remains a common practice in inpatient mental health settings despite limited evidence to reduce its use or mitigate the trauma it can cause, particularly for young adults.
This session will share findings from a research project that examined experiences of seclusion room use from the perspectives of young people with lived experience and health care providers working in mental health settings at Royal Jubilee Hospital. The project identified several ways to optimize seclusion practices, including improving patient awareness of seclusion rooms and their intended use; enhancing comfort, choice, and control within the room; strengthening staff skills in verbal de-escalation; and consistent debriefs for both patients and staff. This evidence is now being moved into practice to enhance mental health care within Island Health.
Presenters:
- Zoë Newson (she/her), Transitional Discharge Model (TDM) Peer Support Manager, Mental Health Recovery Partners, South Island
- Allie Slemon, PhD, RN (she/they), Assistant Professor – School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Co-Founder – AdJust Research Collective
Moderator:
- Clara Rubincam, PhD (she/her), Learning Health System Facilitator, Island Health
- Nov. 10 (11 a.m. - 12 p.m.) | Working Together: Co-Creating a Dementia-Friendly Comox Valley
-
Dementia-friendly communities are inclusive and respectful; they foster a sense of belonging and value people living with dementia as active participants in their communities. Join us as we explore what it means to create dementia-friendly communities where people living with dementia feel welcomed, respected, and included.
This presentation will feature a pilot project in the Comox Valley where local residents with lived experience of dementia and caregivers identified ways to make the community more dementia-friendly. The team will share how these insights led to a co-created resource with practical ideas to help local businesses create more inclusive and welcoming environments for people living with dementia.
Presenters:
- Mariko Sakamoto PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, University of Victoria
- Charlotte Oxford, Nursing student, North Island College
- Kendra Graves, Nursing student, North Island College
Moderator:
- Uta Sboto-Frankenstein, PhD (she/her), Research Navigator (Mid- and North Island), Island Health
- Nov. 20 (12 - 1 p.m.) | Island Health Library Services: Trusted Expertise in Times of Change
-
Your Island Health Library offers much more than just books! Are you looking for evidence-based information to support patient care, professional development, staff education, policy and procedure development, or general evidence-based research? The Library Services team can help you save time – and avoid adverse events – by getting you the information you need when you need it.
Presenters:- Matt Kaufhold, Sean De Maio, & Paula Osachoff, Medical Librarians, Island Health
Facilitators:
- Mary Vassilopoulos & Thea Chamberlain, Library Technicians, Island Health
- Nov. 23 (11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.) | Cultivating a Learning Health System Together: Advancing Harm Reduction in Island Health
-
Join us as we showcase two innovative community-engaged projects challenging stigma, building empathy, and improving care for those at the hear of the toxic drug poisoning crisis. Walk With Me will share lessons learned from their recent Harm Reduction Intensive within the Comox Valley’s North Island Hospital. The session will also feature insights from a research project at The Harbour Supervised Consumption Services that explored the social returns on harm reduction through community engagement, surveys, and interviews. Together, these presentations and discussion will highlight promising approaches to fostering understanding, improving care, and supporting people affected by substance use.
Presenters:
- Sharon Karsten, PhD, Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar, Vancouver Island University; Researcher, Walk With Me (walkwithme.ca)
- Christopher Hauschildt, Peer Researcher, Walk With Me; MA Student, Global Leadership, Royal Roads University; Mitacs Research Fellow, Vancouver Island University
- Michael Ma, PhD; Associate Teaching Professor, Sociology, University of Victoria
- Caiti Scales, BA; Research Assistant, University of Victoria
Moderator:
- Tracey Thompson, Harm Reduction Coordinator, Addiction Medicine & Substance Use Services, Island Health
- Nov. 27 (12 - 1:30 p.m.) | Evidence-into-Practice Awards & Presentations
-
You're invited to celebrate the winners of the 14th-annual Evidence-into-Practice Awards: the feel-good event of 2026 and the finale of Knowledge-to-Action Month!
Join us to celebrate knowledge translation initiatives that have successfully move evidence into practice at Island Health; find out who's won the gold, silver, and bronze awards and how they did it!
Recordings from previous years are linked below.
- 2025 Events
-
- Knowing the Risks: Lowering Cannabis-related Harms and Reducing Alcohol Consumption
- Walking Together to Create an Indigenous Framework for Diabetes Care
- Complex Relational Trauma and Complex PTSD: Closing the Gap in Healthcare for Patients
- Advancing Island Health’s Response to Climate Change
- Evidence-into-Practice Presentations & Awards Ceremony
- 2024 Events
-
- Everything You Wanted to Know about Evidence in Health Care… But Were Afraid to Ask
- Community Virtual Care: Harnessing Technology to Connect, Empower and Improve
- Advancing Evidence-Informed Decision-Making at Island Health
- "Walking Together In the Same Direction”: A Culturally-Rooted Model for Indigenous Diabetes Prevention and Care
- Bridging research and practice in Long-Term Care: Improving quality of care through the INFORM model (recording)
- Walk With Me: A Learning Health System Response to the Toxic Drug Crisis
- There’s a Rock in my Shoe! Clinician-Led Knowledge-to-Action
- Evidence-into-Practice Presentations & Awards Ceremony
- 2023 Events
-
- Canada’s Journey from Research to Impact
- Addressing overdose risks and fatalities: the Safer Bathroom Toolkit
- There's a rock in my shoe! Examples of Clinician-Led Knowledge to Action
- A Model for Intercultural Collaboration in Psychedelic Research
- The Rise of Health Misinformation, the Consequences, and the Cures
- Generating knowledge to reduce preterm births in Quw’utsun (Cowichan) territory
- Evidence-into-Practice Presentations and Award Ceremony
- 2022 Events
-
- Health XChange: How are Local Innovators Transforming Healthcare?
- There's a rock in my shoe! Examples of Clinician-Led Knowledge to Action
- What You Need to Know: Knowledge Translation Practice and Research
- Pain Education Day: Facilitating Patient Pathways
- Getting Research Evidence into the Right Hands: Examples of Innovative Health Knowledge Mobilization
- Integrated Métis-Led Research: Improving Access to Health Services
- Choosing Wisely: Climate Conscious Quality Improvement in Action
- Leading Change in the Health System: How to Make It Stick
- A Conversation on Emerging Research Evidence in Psychedelic Therapy
- We Needed One, and then COVID Happened: Managed Alcohol Programs in the Context of the COVID-19
- Harm Reduction – Substance Use Policy: Walking Our Talk
- 10th Annual Knowledge-to-Action Presentation and Awards Ceremony
- 2021 Events
-
View recordings on our Vimeo channel.
- 2020 Events
-
Heads Together Virtual Think Tank: Research & Prevention - Best Practices to address the Intersections of Mental Health, Addiction & Brain Injury
Substance use grand rounds: Drug Checking: Implementing harm reduction in dual public health crisis
- 2019 Events
-
View recordings on our Vimeo channel.
- 2018 Events
-
View recordings on our Vimeo channel.