Ministry of Health Research Seed Grant Program

Background
In recent years, BC has experienced increasing prevalence and hospitalization rates for problematic substance use among youth. In 2017-2018, 5% of hospital stays for youth in Canada were related to harm caused by substance use. From 2009-2017, there was an 86% increase in hospitalizations for mental health and substance use issues for youth under 25. The ongoing overdose public health emergency has been compounded by the COVID-19 crisis and led to record highs in substance use harms and death. In 2020, an unprecedented 324 young people under the age of 29 died of an overdose. There is a clear need to build a more seamless and robust system of substance use care, where young people have access to the care they need, when they need it, closer to home.

Project Details
The research project will identify:

1. evidence-based, service model recommendations for substance use care and prevention for youth and young adults in BC; and
2. strategies for how these service models can be most effectively implemented by regional health authorities.

The research will consider high quality peer reviewed literature and grey literature describing the interventions and their results and evidence from comparable jurisdictions, such as the US, EU, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

The researcher/researchers will validate findings/interpretations of the evidence review with stakeholders. The Ministry of Health will organize opportunities to meet with health authority service delivery programs as required.

Output
​​​​​​​A final report will be provided which details the findings of the above research. The report will provide recommendations to the Ministries of Health and Mental Health and Addictions which reflects feedback from health authority service delivery programs.

Budget
​​​​​​​Up to $90,000

Background
The Province of British Columbia currently has a number of active programs operating to provide mobile service to individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis. These programs include civilian-led units such as peer assisted care teams and joint civilian and police partnerships such as Car programs (e.g., Car 87/88 in Vancouver, Car 60 in Prince George, Co-Response Team in Victoria). The Province of British Columbia seeks to better understand how these mobile crisis response teams are working, including better understanding patient and caregiver perspectives.

Project Details
There is a need to create indicators/measures that could be used to examine the effectiveness, risks, and benefits of these programs, as defined by people receiving services. It is important to address whether joint models (joint civilian and police crisis response team) have improved mental health outcomes and client experience compared to civilian-only models, as measured by decreasing injury, traumatization, and/or death of individuals. Indicators will likely include qualitative and quantitative elements. Development of indicators will be informed by a relevant literature review/jurisdictional scan of these kinds of programs. It will also be informed by consultation with appropriate organizations (e.g., CMHA and Foundry). If possible, with the support of mobile crisis response programs, researchers would conduct focus groups with community members likely to be in receipt of these services around their experiences with mental health programs.

Output
A final report will be provided which details the findings of the above research. The report will provide recommendations for how these indicators could be practically generated and implemented.

Budget
Up to $150,000

Background
Issues have been raised around the existing payment model for pharmacies and its impact on pharmacists and patients. For example, keeping patients on daily dispense of opioid agonist therapy is financially advantageous to the pharmacy but may be a barrier to patient preference and access to associated wraparound services. The scope of practice for pharmacists is shifting from mostly dispensing activities to including more clinical care activities, such as pharmacist prescribing for minor ailments. This shift raises questions about the adequacy of the current reimbursement model. The longitudinal family physician payment model recently announced by the BC government is an example of an alternate payment model, recognizing the breadth of services that physicians offer to their patients. There may be benefits to considering other funding models for pharmacies, with the goal of transparency, fairness and optimizing patient care.

Project Details

The research project will:

1. characterize the current reimbursement model in BC and identify barriers and enablers to delivering clinical services as perceived by patients, pharmacists, employers, other healthcare providers and decision-makers;
2. identify potential funding models and benefits and risks of each model to patients, pharmacists, other healthcare providers and decision makers; and
3. make comprehensive recommendations to improve the existing model or introduce a new payment model, including the determination of value threshold for clinical services from the payer perspective.

Output
A final report will be provided which details the findings of the above research.

Budget
Up to $250,000

1. Generate new research that responds to the Ministry of Health’s current needs.
2. Produce research proposals that are informed by policymakers.
3. Build a knowledge transfer pathway from researchers to the ministry.
4. Build relationships between ministry staff and researchers and between BC’s research universities and the ministry.
5. Increase transparency of how the ministry uses research and evidence.
6. Increase exposure and understanding of research and the research process across ministry staff.

• Ministry program areas gain evidence to address their research questions.
• New relationships between researchers and the ministry.
• Researchers gain understanding of ministry research needs, and ministry staff gain understanding of academic research environment.
• Researchers can access funding and support for existing or new research projects that are in alignment with ministry interests.
• Researchers can launch research that can then be leveraged to support larger funding applications and projects.

Participating researchers will have the opportunity to:

• receive up to $50,000 from their institution to carry out a research project that responds to a Ministry of Health research question;
• work directly with ministry staff to learn more about their specific research interests and how resulting evidence will be used; and
• share research directly with end-users in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions.

Participating researchers will:

• meet with ministry staff a minimum of three times during the research process (from proposal planning to final report); and
• upon completion of the research project, provide the Ministry of Health with a final research report.

For a Notice of Intent to be considered, the lead applicant must be a UBC academic faculty member. Other faculty types, as well as trainees and staff, can be co-applicants.

Notices of Intent that meet the above minimum requirement will then be evaluated based on the proposed project’s alignment and responsiveness to the Ministry of Health research questions.

Adjudication criteria for the full proposals will be made available after the Notice of Intent stage of the competition.