Scientist and Practice Affiliate COVID-19 Activities
August 20, 2020
Scientists and Practice Affiliates with the Centre for Healthy Communities have been involved in the COVID-19 response. From supporting those often forgotten through guidance documents, drawing attention to public health issues arising from the pandemic, finding novel interventions to support those in need and more, this page provides a glimpse into the work that is happening in their response to COVID-19. The information below was submitted by Centre for Healthy Communities Scientists and Practice Affiliates, and shared with their permission.
Scientists
Dr. Elaine Hyshka
Project Name: Supporting people who use substances in shelter settings during the COVID-19 pandemic
Project Description: This Canadian Institute of Health Research-funded (CIHR) national guidance document was developed to support organizations operating new or existing shelter settings to address the urgent needs of people who use substances and are facing homelessness or vulnerable housing during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, please visit the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse site.
Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj
Project Name: Natural environments in the urban context and gut microbiota in infants. Environment International 2020 Sep; 142
Project Description: Already a nation of nature-lovers, Canadians found refuge in forests and other natural spaces during the Covid-19 shutdown. According to the urban Primary Land and Vegetation Inventory (uPLVI) map, Edmonton has many natural forests, grasslands, wetlands, lakes, rivers and ravines.
Linking postal codes with Edmonton’s award-winning uPLVI map, our study profiled gut microbiota in fecal samples from 4-month old infants in the CHILD Cohort Study. Infants who lived within 500m of a natural space were less likely to have a highly-diverse gut microbiota. This result seems counterintuitive, but breastfed infants have lower gut microbial diversity than formula-fed infants because sugars in formula promote growth of different microbiota. Hence, our findings demonstrated that living close to nature can mitigate changes in infant gut microbiota associated with formula.
The greatest benefit was for formula-fed infants living in a home with a pet. Environmental microbes can be brought into the home by parents or their pets after dog-walking. Mother’s milk is optimal but not every infant can be breastfed. However, every infant can be taken along for a walk in a natural area.
An interdisciplinary team, including a geographer and a city planner, made this project happen. It was novel use of the already novel uPLVI map, created to better understand how urban natural assets support plant and animal biodiversity, and ecological connectivity.
Dr. Stephanie Montesanti
Project Description: In May 2020 Dr. Stephanie Montesanti and team received a Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) COVID-19 Knowledge Synthesis grant. The purpose of this grant is to examine the application and feasibility of a range of virtual care interventions (e.g., telehealth, mobile health apps, videoconferencing, e-mental health programs) within primary care and community settings in addressing domestic violence, and that incorporate trauma-informed care and support for individuals and families at-risk. Key initial findings in a 40-page report are now available on the CIHR website. From this, multiple relevant e-mental health tools were identified, some of which were recently released, and these allow a comprehensive family approach. These findings are now being used to develop a Knowledge Mobilization plan to support the implementation of these tools across community settings.
2. Project Name: Mobilizing Knowledge on the Use of Virtual Care Interventions to Provide Trauma-Focused Treatment to Individuals and Families At-Risk of Domestic Violence During COVID-19
Project Description: Dr. Stephanie Montesanti and team were recently awarded the Alberta Addiction and Mental Health Research Hub’s COVID-19 Seed Grant 2020 to: 1) mobilize knowledge on the application and feasibility of virtual care interventions to provide trauma-focused treatment to individuals and families at-risk of domestic violence in Alberta; and 2) to support implementation of a virtual care intervention to address domestic violence within a primary care setting. For this research, Dr. Montesanti’s team will interview individuals with lived experience to understand their perspectives on using virtual care technologies to access services or supports for domestic violence. They will also host two half-day virtual dialogues with Knowledge Users in August and September 2020. The purpose of the first dialogue is to exchange knowledge on potential virtual care interventions that could be adopted or tailored by community partners, and appropriate to the domestic violence population being served. The second dialogue will focus on the co-design of an implementation strategy for successful implementation of a feasible virtual care intervention.
3. Project Name: OpEd Published in The Hill Times Finding safety during the COVID-19 pandemic: increased risk of domestic and interpersonal violence
Project Description: In response to the rise in domestic violence rates due to COVID-19, Dr. Stephanie Montesanti published an opinion piece in the Hill Times on April 26th, 2020. In this article, Dr. Montesanti highlights the need for policy and decision-makers to understand the consequences that result from short-term funding for services intended to address long-standing problems that are often exacerbated by a public health crisis.
4. Project Name: Invitation to Support the Development of a “National Framework for the Prevention of Violence in the Home During and Post COVID-19”
Project Description: Dr. Stephanie Montesanti was invited to provide her expertise and experience to support the creation of a National Framework for the Prevention of Violence in the Home During and Post COVID-19 which was led by the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention (CMNCP). Her role in this work included reviewing a National Framework Toolkit for comprehensiveness and adoptability, and supported with strengthening the framework in regard to contexts of violence and prevention programs. This framework is intended to be used to create strategies that focus on mitigating situations of elevated risk as well as prevention by giving families tools to deal with conflict in healthy ways at home during and after COVID-19.
5. Project Name: Indigenous Advisory Group on COVID-19 Testing
Project Description: Dr. Stephanie Montesanti is on the advisory committee for the Alberta Health Services Indigenous Advisory on COVID-19 Testing. As a member of this committee Dr. Montesanti is expected to share her knowledge and expertise and provide advice with regards to Indigenous approaches and how to apply the Ownership, Possession, Access and Possession (OCAP) Principles to the work of the Alberta Serology Advisory Group. She provides guidance on how COVID-19 testing methods apply to Indigenous communities; how to improve access by Indigenous individuals and communities; and how to report test results to Indigenous individuals and about Indigenous communities.
Practice Affiliates
Sharlene Wolbeck Minke
Project Name: How Important Are Public Recreation and Parks to Albertans?
Organization: Alberta Recreation and Parks Association
Project Description: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed the way Albertans live, work and play. At the height of the pandemic, public recreation services and facilities were closed, including some outdoor park areas, like playgrounds. As Alberta communities gradually re-open, the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA) is curious about how important public recreation services and park areas are to Albertans.
ARPA is developing a short, online survey to gather Albertans’ perceptions of the value of public recreation services and park areas. All Albertans over the age of 16 will be invited to anonymously complete the survey. The survey link will be shared with Albertans in early fall 2020 through many social media channels. Results will be shared on the ARPA website in early winter. Please help us promote the survey to Albertans and encourage their participation!
For more information on the survey, or recreation and parks in general, please see the ARPA website.