Grant: Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)

The Lung Health Pathway at the Hospital for Sick Children' comprises of: artificial airway management; initiation & weaning from mechanical ventilation (MV); extubation; and post-extubation respiratory management. A better understanding of current respiratory support clinical practices & patient outcomes is needed to optimize a child's treatment path. Respiratory therapists (RTs) are specialized clinicians who use evidence-based decision-making to optimize patient care and organizational performance. However, much of the respiratory practice is based on the information presented from the research of other disciplines. This presents the possibility that these practices are not adequately informed and may require further refinement by RTs. By engaging with clinicians and stakeholders in the relevant profession is essential to advance the theory and practice-based knowledge in respiratory therapy. This will help RT organizations and initiatives to direct and prioritize their resources to build respiratory-specific evidence-based practices. There are currently several projects the student will be involved with, in varying quantity and quality. This includes: background research (literature review), and data collection retrospectively or prospectively on various respiratory therapy and/or mechanical ventilation interventions in the Critical Care Unit (CCU), the Emergency Department (ED),and/or in-patient hospital units.