Grant: Catalyst Grant: Quadruple Aim and Equity

Investment in prevention, including action to address social determinants of health inequity, is well supported by evidence and is at the core of the Quadruple Aim framework. Prevention is an evidence-based measure to curb the demand for acute services but investments to prevention have been limited due to a competing funding for acute care. Resource reallocation poses both decision making and operational challenges largely due to the lack of data-driven methodologies to support reallocation across major service portfolios such as from acute care to prevention. The goal of this funding proposal is to inform and accelerate an evidence-based and data-driven shift of health care resources from acute care to prevention services. To accomplish this goal, we have assembled an interdisciplinary team of researchers, knowledge users and collaborators from Island Health, the University of British Columbia, the BC Cancer Research, Provincial Medical Health Officers office, the General Practice Services Committee of BC, Healthcare Excellence Canada and Canadian Institute for Health Information. Working as a community of practice (CoP), we will (1) synthesize evidence to understand the underlying causal mechanisms of resource reallocation, how they work, and under what conditions; and (2) conduct a proof-of-concept study of the resource reallocation methodology in the Island Health region and assess its potential reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance. This study will provide knowledge users at Island Health and other health authorities with timely and relevant evidence to inform and support resource allocation using the Q-Aim methodology. The CoP will help advance important conversations that need to be had at regional, provincial and national levels both in policy and in practice. The study will make direct contribution in the areas of primary, home and community-based care and integrating upstream prevention within health care delivery settings.