Grant: COVID-19 Recommendations & Contextualization (eCOVID19RecMap) Extension

McMaster University

$999,984.00

COVID-19 Recommendations and Contextualization (eCOVID19RecMap) Extension

FY 2022-23

Summary

Background and Importance. With a competitive grant, awarded by CIHR in 2020, we brought together a network of 60 partners including a notable list of major international and national guideline developers to contribute to Canada’s global response to the COVID-19 outbreak. We built the interactive and open access COVID-19 Living Map of Recommendations and Gateway to Contextualization (referred to as the RecMap: https://covid19.recmap.org) which collates and presents quality-appraised clinical, public health and health policy guidelines. The RecMap has been the source for contextualized decisions at the local, provincial, and national level (e.g., Brazil, Slovakia, India). It serves as a template for similar efforts (e.g., by the World Health Organization). Since the RecMap’s launch, over 22,000 global users have visited the site in more than 37,000 sessions with over 141,000 page views and, in addition to dissemination through publications by users and partners, we published peer-reviewed articles. Maintenance and continued development of the RecMap is critical for many reasons such as: 1) uncertainty about the emergence of new virus variants and about future impact of vaccines; 2) unknown consequences on physical and mental health (e.g., long COVID-19); and 3) low credibility of many guidelines. Research Aims. Our objectives for this next phase include: 1. To retain the currency of the RecMap; 2. To mobilize knowledge about COVID-19 recommendations across multiple stakeholders, with a particular focus on addressing health inequities; and 3. To further innovate and evaluate recommendation mapping as a method and concept to prepare for other health problems and emergencies. Methods and Approaches. We will sustain our newly developed systematic process of searching, screening, critically appraising, and extracting recommendations. We will support their contextualization and uptake for all people with new and existing partners (e.g., policymakers, clinicians and diverse patient groups such as Indigenous, migrants and refugees), particularly the public health sector in Canada to optimize the reach of the RecMap. One approach is to co-design strategies to overcome barriers, enhance communication, and develop priorities, through a health equity-oriented use of the RecMap. To enhance further uptake, we will systematically conduct usability testing with diverse audiences and pilot the integration in electronic health records. We will enhance our new approaches to create plain language recommendations (PLRs) in many languages. PLRs allow the public and media to benefit from easy-to-read, accessible and unbiased recommendations. Finally, we will evaluate our work, so that the RecMap serves as a model for the future. Expertise. Under leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases, Research Methods and Recommendations and Cochrane at McMaster University, the team from across Canada, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Czech Republic, Germany, India, Lebanon, Norway, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, and USA has strong expertise related to COVID-19, knowledge synthesis, living recommendations, capacity-building, and health equities, and content relevant to specific populations (e.g., children, long-term care clients, refugees, Indigenous). Expected outcomes. We will produce an enhanced RecMap that provides real-time evidence to inform decision-makers, including in low- and-middle income settings and from clinical, public health and health policy perspectives, which is enriched by facilitating contextualization. Based on our learnings, we will also develop guidance for how to engage stakeholders in RecMaps and creating equity-oriented PLRs. Partners and collaborators. We are grateful for our strong partnerships with the Guidelines International Network, the Public Health Agency of Canada, various WHO offices, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK and many others.

Department

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Program

COVID-19 Recommendations & Contextualization (eCOVID19RecMap) Extension

Recipient

McMaster University

Location

Ontario, Canada

Recipient Type

Academia

Type

Grant

Source

CIHR Funding Decisions Database

As published

465991

Name

Schunemann Holger J

Region

Ontario

Country

Canada

Orgtype

Institution Paid; Research Institution

Prcname2

COVID-19 Recommendations & Contextualization (eCOVID19RecMap) Extension

Projecttitle

COVID-19 Recommendations and Contextualization (eCOVID19RecMap) Extension

Programtype2

Directed Grant

Orgnameinp2

McMaster University

Cihramount2

$999,984

Cihrequipment2

Programname2

COVID-19 Recommendations & Contextualization (eCOVID19RecMap) Extension

Keyworddelim

Covid-19

Competitiondate

202205

Approvedterm2

1 yr 0 mth

Pinamesdelim

Schunemann, Holger J; Akl, Elie A; Butcher, Nancy J; Falavigna, Maicon; Hartling, Lisa A; Klugar, Miloslav; Kredo, Tamara; Mathew, Joseph L; Offringa, Martin; Piggott, Thomas W; Pottie, Kevin; Richards, Dawn; Suvada, Jozef

Approvedterm

1 an 0 mois

Cihrcontribution2

~ $999,984~ $0~

Abstract

<html> <head> </head> <body> Background and Importance. With a competitive grant, awarded by CIHR in 2020, we brought together a network of 60 partners including a notable list of major international and national guideline developers to contribute to Canada’s global response to the COVID-19 outbreak. We built the interactive and open access COVID-19 Living Map of Recommendations and Gateway to Contextualization (referred to as the RecMap: <a href="https://covid19.recmap.org">https://covid19.recmap.org</a>) which collates and presents quality-appraised clinical, public health and health policy guidelines. The RecMap has been the source for contextualized decisions at the local, provincial, and national level (e.g., Brazil, Slovakia, India). It serves as a template for similar efforts (e.g., by the World Health Organization). Since the RecMap’s launch, over 22,000 global users have visited the site in more than 37,000 sessions with over 141,000 page views and, in addition to dissemination through publications by users and partners, we published peer-reviewed articles. Maintenance and continued development of the RecMap is critical for many reasons such as: 1) uncertainty about the emergence of new virus variants and about future impact of vaccines; 2) unknown consequences on physical and mental health (e.g., long COVID-19); and 3) low credibility of many guidelines. Research Aims. Our objectives for this next phase include: 1.   To retain the currency of the RecMap; 2.   To mobilize knowledge about COVID-19 recommendations across multiple stakeholders, with a particular focus on addressing health inequities; and 3.   To further innovate and evaluate recommendation mapping as a method and concept to prepare for other health problems and emergencies. Methods and Approaches. We will sustain our newly developed systematic process of searching, screening, critically appraising, and extracting recommendations. We will support their contextualization and uptake for all people with new and existing partners (e.g., policymakers, clinicians and diverse patient groups such as Indigenous, migrants and refugees), particularly the public health sector in Canada to optimize the reach of the RecMap. One approach is to co-design strategies to overcome barriers, enhance communication, and develop priorities, through a health equity-oriented use of the RecMap. To enhance further uptake, we will systematically conduct usability testing with diverse audiences and pilot the integration in electronic health records. We will enhance our new approaches to create plain language recommendations (PLRs) in many languages. PLRs allow the public and media to benefit from easy-to-read, accessible and unbiased recommendations. Finally, we will evaluate our work, so that the RecMap serves as a model for the future. Expertise. Under leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases, Research Methods and Recommendations and Cochrane at McMaster University, the team from across Canada, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Czech Republic, Germany, India, Lebanon, Norway, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, and USA has strong expertise related to COVID-19, knowledge synthesis, living recommendations, capacity-building, and health equities, and content relevant to specific populations (e.g., children, long-term care clients, refugees, Indigenous). Expected outcomes. We will produce an enhanced RecMap that provides real-time evidence to inform decision-makers, including in low- and-middle income settings and from clinical, public health and health policy perspectives, which is enriched by facilitating contextualization. Based on our learnings, we will also develop guidance for how to engage stakeholders in RecMaps and creating equity-oriented PLRs. Partners and collaborators. We are grateful for our strong partnerships with the Guidelines International Network, the Public Health Agency of Canada, various WHO offices, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK and many others. </body> </html>

View source data CIHR Funding Decisions Database (Canadian Institutes of Health Research)