New ideas for ways to improve healthcare in northern B.C. are taking centre stage this week at Research Days at the Civic Centre.
More than 170 researchers and clinicians from across Canada have gathered to discuss the latest studies and how the findings can be applied locally.
Hosted by Innovation and Development Commons - a partnership between Northern Health and UNBC - the annual event includes workshops, keynote speakers and research presentations.
Innovation and Development Commons regional manager Tammy Hoefer said the discussions at the event helps Northern Health meet its stated mandate of building a culture of learning and providing high-quality service.
"We need to seek knowledge from people that are doing that type of research and once we find that knowledge we need to be able to understand how we can change our practices and make those improvements within Northern Health to better that care in the north," she said.
The event began on Wednesday with workshops covering topics like how clinicians can evaluate research and apply it to their own practice and how researchers can connect with practitioners to determine the clinical areas that require more research.
On Thursday and Friday, there will be keynote addresses as well as opportunities for researchers and healthcare practitioners to present their latest findings to the group.
This year, the event has morphed from a regional event to a national one through a partnership with the Canadian Rural Health Research Society.
"We've always had very good participation from northern B.C. and other parts of the province, but this year we're really seeing the national exposure, " Hoefer said.
Over the years, Hoefer said ideas presented at the conference have been applied directly to improve care and enhance future research. For instance, she said last year's keynote speaker Ian Graham has continued to work with Northern Health and UNBC to help researchers and clinicians communicate better.
"We're going to be building a knowledge translation framework within Northern Health so we have a practical way ongoing to understand what our needs are for information and then how to take information and put it out to staff in a way that means something to them," Hoefer said.
