Improving patient care
From exploring ways to reduce wait times, improving access to care and providing reliable tools to help policy makers make informed decisions, McCaig researchers are helping patients receive the care they need.
Breaking the cycle of Intimate Partner Violence
McCaig Institute member, Dr. Prism Schneider, MD, PhD, and master’s student Kaitlyn Dillabough, are creating learning resources and developing screening tools for health care professionals to break the cycle of intimate partner violence. Schneider has transformed her own practice in hopes of breaking the cycle of intimate partner violence and ending stigmatization.
Biosimilar starts and switches
A McCaig Institute research team, led by Drs. Deborah Marshall and Dianne Mosher, aims to provide real-world information on the impact of patients with rheumatoid arthritis switching from biologic medications to biosimilars. Using standardized measurements of disease activity and health-related quality of life information, they will determine the budget and personal impacts of these starts and switches. This work will inform health policy for the use of biosimilars for RA patients.
Arthritis care in Indigenous communities
When a patient is diagnosed with a chronic condition like rheumatoid arthritis, health care immediately becomes more complex. Suddenly there are appointments with specialists and physiotherapists, lab tests, x-rays and visits to the pharmacy. Coordinating all these health services can be overwhelming, but add a remote location and cultural differences to the mix, and it becomes extremely difficult for patients to receive the care they need. This is especially evident for arthritis patients living in Indigenous communities across Alberta.
Productivity loss from osteoarthritis will cost Canadian economy $17.5 billion/year by 2031
Rising rates of osteoarthritis (OA) will cost the Canadian economy an estimated $17.5 billion a year in lost productivity by 2031 as the disease forces greater numbers of people to stop working or work less, a study has found. The upsurge in work time loss comes just as Canadian productivity comes up against a momentous challenge: finding enough workers to replace retiring baby boomers after decades of low birth rates.
Patients weigh-in on rheumatoid arthritis treatment
Treatment for rheumatoid arthritis has advanced, and most patients can now control their disease with medications. The usual practice is to continue with these medications for life, but emerging evidence suggests some patients may be able to reduce their medication once their disease has been under control for some time. But before treatment guidelines can change, more research needs to be done on the risks and benefits of reducing medication; otherwise known as drug tapering.
A team approach to navigating the pathways of lupus disease
A team of McCaig Institute researchers are working together to improve diagnosis, treatment and management of the disease. By combining expertise in clinical research and basic science studying biomarkers the team is advancing lupus research and improving patient care.
Researchers develop COVID-19 vaccination recommendations
To develop COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for patients with autoimmune rheumatic disease, the Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) formed a multi-disciplinary panel of rheumatologists, methodologists, infectious disease physicians with expertise in vaccines and patients. The panel included McCaig Institute researchers Dr. Glen Hazlewood, MD, PhD; Dr. Cheryl Barnabe; and Dr. Claire Barber, MD, PhD.