Abstract
Background: The Transforming Health with Integrated Care (THINC) research initiative aims to improve our understanding of how to implement, evaluate, adapt and/or spread and scale (share) evidence-informed integrated care policies and interventions that encompass intersectoral collaborations within and/or beyond the formal health care delivery system to advance the Quintuple Aim. THINC is led by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (CIHR-IHSPR) in collaboration with federal and provincial partners and involves a multi-million, multi-year research investment in integrated care. It comprises a suite of research programs, including implementation science teams, embedded researchers, policy research grants, all designed to leverage research as a tool to advance evidence-informed integrated care. A first-of-its-kind collective impact knowledge mobilization hub, called the Network for Integrated Care Excellence (NICE) Canada, was funded to build synergies across the disparate funding programs, foster connection and community, and advance a shared goal of evidence-informed integrated care transformation.
Audience: This workshop is for everyone interested in optimizing the value and impact of research to advance integrated care. It is designed to engage researchers, practitioners, providers, health system leaders, people with lived/living experience, and research funders. It will hold space to listen and learn from diverse experiences with impact-oriented integrated care research, with the overall aim of identifying promising approaches and strategies to maximize the value and impact of research on integrated care.
Approach: The workshop will begin with a brief overview of the THINC research initiative (10 min) followed by a rapid panel discussion with leads of the hub, implementation science teams, and embedded researchers (20 min). The panel discussion will focus on insights, experiences, and strategies to use collaborative research (e.g., implementation science, embedded research, knowledge mobilization) as a lever for integrated care transformation. Following the panel discussion, workshop participants will engage in small group discussion where they will add their insights and experiences (20 min). Tables will be invited to report back key discussion points to collectively build a shared “top strategies” for optimizing research impact in integrated care (10 min).
Outcomes: Take home messages will be summarized in real time throughout the panel and table report backs, iteratively building a list of promising approaches and strategies to maximize the value and impact of research on integrated care. The promising approaches will be shared with all workshop participants and participants will be invited to join the NICE hub community to build and extend connection and relationships across jurisdictions present at the conference.