what is b.c.'s dr. megan macpherson going to do with $500,000?
the fraser health researcher plans to use a grant from the health research foundation (hrf) of innovative medicines canada to build a virtual health-care system that breaks down barriers to access and care.
6 minute read
"we’re going to ensure that virtual health-care policies improve accessibility for diverse, ethnic and older groups," says dr. megan macpherson, recipient of a $500,000 grant from the health research foundation of innovative medicines canada. supplied
soon after that first covid lockdown in march 2020, 60 per cent of canadians turned to virtual care to help keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe. but while in theory, the “virtual first” model allowed many patients to receive timely care without having to worry about disease transmission, not everyone enjoyed equal access to this critical tool. emerging research shows that barriers to virtual care — defined as a remote interaction between a patient and a health-care provider using any one of the multiple forms of communication, including phone, email, text or video conference — can include everything from limited access to technology and internet, language and cultural differences to privacy and confidentiality constraints.
dr. megan macpherson, regional lead for research and knowledge translation for virtual health at fraser health in british columbia, has set out to break down some of the barriers to access and care. an early-career researcher, macpherson was awarded a $500,000 grant from the health research foundation (hrf) of innovative medicines canada, a not-for-profit organization that invests in health research and promotes evidence-based innovations in healthcare, to help balance the scales and improve virtual care. the grant aims to help boost the work of up-and-coming principal investigators, like macpherson, with the research helping to inform policies that make equitable access to care possible.
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in an interview with healthing, macpherson talked about her upcoming research project, what brings her joy, the one food she can’t live without, and why she decided to pursue a career in the research field.
this interview has been edited for length and clarity.
why is virtual care so important?
virtual care is an emerging delivering platform for healthcare that has massively escalated as a priority for the government, health authorities and patients due to covid-19. the pandemic caused a backlog in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in canada, and virtual care has been one of the most widely used tools to alleviate the increased pressure on our health-care system. within fraser health specifically, since january 2020, we’ve had more than 1.6 million virtual visits.
why have you decided to focus your research on virtual care?
it stemmed from the potential on how to improve access to care, reduce the risk of disease transmission, ease the tension on health-care facilities while also supporting continuity of care. however, these things only happen when virtual care services are designed and implemented with equity considerations in mind. what we ultimately wanted to focus on is how we can best meet the needs of our community within fraser health in a virtual way while not creating more barriers to access and care.
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which groups face the biggest challenges?
one of the key things we’re going to be doing with our research is targeting an ethnically diverse and older population within fraser health because these groups already have the biggest barriers in place to access and care. we’re going to ensure that the virtual health-care policies that we’re developing improve accessibility for those diverse, ethnic and older groups. we’re also going to make sure that all the research we’re doing in virtual care has diverse participants and everything will be translated into the most commonly used languages within the fraser health region. we will have interpreter services for every single study that we’re doing, so that we’re hearing those diverse voices and understanding their barriers to accessing care. the goal is to address and not exacerbate those issues when we implement new policies.
how will the grant be used?
we will conduct about five different unique research projects within the fraser health region in hopes of developing and implementing equitable virtual care solutions that are designed for and with diverse ethnic and older groups. the development and successful implementation of health policies is really what we’re hoping to achieve from this work. we want to establish the minimum standards for quality, and we want to promote access and improve consistency within service delivery among different providers as well. we received $500,000 in funding for three years of research. within the research world, funding begets funding — the more funding you have, the more you will get. as an early-career researcher, trying to get that first investment is often a challenge.
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what happens at the end of year three?
we can always apply for more funding, but at the three-year mark, there will be an assessment. our hope is that within three years, we will be able to determine what’s best practice in terms of working with patient partner groups and the best way to reach that diverse population. we’re also going to focus on developing best practices around patient-provider messaging — any kind of written communication between a provider and their patient, such as text and in-app messaging as well as emails. the goal is to translate all of our findings into future research endeavours as well.
tell me about the team that assist you in your research.
we have researchers embedded within fraser health, from both the virtual health team and long-term care and assisted living research team — those two teams spearhead this grant. we’ve also included researchers from the university of british columbia and simon fraser university. we have a robust team of early-career researchers as well as mid- and senior researchers, and we’re also going to include research assistants and graduate students to help build capacity within fraser health.
why did you become a doctor?
i completed my master’s degree in occupational therapy. i was told, time and time again, that we’re an evidence-based profession, meaning that we incorporate both research evidence as well as contextual evidence in order to ensure that patients receive the best care possible. but both myself and my colleagues were finding that the contextual evidence was so much easier to obtain. it’s so much easier to ask patients and caregivers what they want, what would work for them and their life, and apply your own clinical knowledge to that, whereas finding research-based evidence is more challenging. my colleagues and i didn’t really know where to look to find the research that you’re supposed to be implementing into practice as a clinician. seeing the gap in translating research evidence into practice, i then chose to continue on to do my phd at the university of british columbia within the centre for health behaviour change, where i specialized in how to better develop virtual care solutions in a way that it increases the likelihood of it being implemented into practice.
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what surprised you most about working in the research field?
one of the most surprising things of coming into the workforce is the ability to actually have a working relationship with the community — with the decision-makers, with those who are developing policies, with the clinicians and patients and with different patient partner groups, while at the same time, working alongside long-term care and assisted living and mental health teams. there are so many amazing stakeholders now at my fingertips.
what does your typical day look like?
i wake up between six and seven o’clock and have a leisurely morning – i make tea, watch netflix, and eat breakfast. i then walk over from my comfy couch to my desk to start my workday. one of the fantastic things about being on the virtual health team is that we practice what we preach. i try and stick to a nine-to-five work schedule. working virtually and being a part of a dynamic research team, there’s a nice flexibility for an extended lunch or to take my dog for a walk. it’s so nice to be working with a team that acknowledges the variations in how someone prefers to work — some people need to be in the office, and others may come in once a month for a team meeting.
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what brings you joy?
i’m only 5.2 and i’ve got an 80-pound chocolate lab, and he thinks that he’s a lap dog. his favourite thing to do is to sit on my lap. obviously, he brings me joy. also, i’m basically a 30-year-old grandma and my favourite things to do are knitting and crocheting and reading by the fire.
your favourite food?
hands down, it’s sushi. my partner and i were living in kelowna for five years and we moved back to the vancouver area mainly because i needed good, authentic sushi in my life.
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