Grant: Embedded Clinician Researcher Salary Award - Western Canada

Transitions in care occur when patients move from a hospital to home or another site of care. Another critical transition in heart care is when heart attack patients seek care at a hospital. Such transitions are known to be a time of heightened risk for all patients, and cardiac patients are no exception. These risks may be related to insufficient information being provided to the patient and family, inadequate planning for follow-up care, or patients' or caregivers' lack of required knowledge and skill to manage the transition. Poor transitions can lead to more emergency department visits and hospital admissions, as well as unnecessary suffering. My program of research, based at St. Paul's Hospital's Heart Centre and the UBC School of Nursing, aims to address some of the critical transition points in cardiac care, focusing on patients with unique and underappreciated needs. Overcoming ethnicity-based barriers to seeking and receiving care for heart attacks (of great importance, as timely treatment is crucial for success), improving access to depression care for affected heart patients, and enhancing understanding of, and adherence to, discharge instructions are some of the issues I will tackle, which are all united around the common theme of transition. The Heart Centre at St. Paul's Hospital is a centre of excellence for heart care and the only centre in BC to provide the full spectrum of care This includes prevention and reversal, diagnostic tests and the full range of treatments, including surgery, angioplasty, transplants and rehabilitation. UBC School of Nursing is a research-intensive school that boasts many world-renowned faculty members. With current appointments that straddle the clinical and academic settings, I am ideally positioned to identify relevant questions arising from practice, lead key studies to address these questions, and efficiently translate findings into practice. The embedded clinician-researcher award will allow me to achieve these aims.