Podcast

Description: January’s SPARK: Conversations monthly podcast is on Indigenous child health with our podcast host, Dr. Katharine Smart in conversation with special guest, Dr. Cindy Blackstock. As an internationally recognized First Nations scholar and child welfare expert, Cindy has been the driving force behind promoting reconciliation to ensure culturally based equity for First Nations children and families. Cindy is the Executive Director and co-founder of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada, Associate Professor & Director of First Nations Children’s Action Research and Education Service at University of Alberta and Professor in McGill’s School of Social Work. In this podcast, Cindy will be exploring the utilization of Jordan’s principle and the Spirt Bear Plan to achieve culturally based equity for First Nations Children. She will be providing guidance to non-Indigenous system leaders and health care professionals working in pediatrics to support them in promoting reconciliation within their practice to better serve Indigenous children, youth, and their families.

Speaker Name/Bio: Cindy is the Executive Director and co-founder of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada, Associate Professor & Director of First Nations Children’s Action Research and Education Service at University of Alberta and Professor in McGill’s School of Social Work. As a nationally and internationally respected advocate for the rights of Indigenous children and a member of the Gitksan First Nation, Cindy has 25 years of social work experience in child protection and Indigenous children’s rights. Further, her research spans the identification & remediation of structural inequalities affecting First Nations children, youth & families. An author of over 50 publications & a widely sought after public speaker, Cindy has collaborated with other Indigenous leaders to assist the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in the development and adoption of a General Comment on the Rights of Indigenous children. Recently, she also worked with Indigenous young people, UNICEF & the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues to produce a youth friendly version of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child. Her promotion of culturally based and evidence informed solutions has been recognized by the Nobel Women’s Initiative, the Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. Frontline Defenders and many others. 

Launching February 27, 2023

Addressing how research and partnering with stakeholders across the spectrum- from high tech to business partners to patients could be an important part of reshaping tomorrow’s health care.

Speaker Name/Bio: Dr. Jason Berman is the CEO and Scientific Director of the CHEO Research Institute and the Vice-President Research at CHEO. He is also a Full Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa. Previously he served as Associate Chair, Research, Department of Pediatrics, and Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology & Immunology and Pathology at Dalhousie University and interim Vice President Research, Innovation and Knowledge Translation for the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has overseen the pediatric leukemia program for the Maritimes since 2005 and chairs an international clinical trial for children with Down syndrome and myeloid leukemia. He is internationally recognized for pioneering research using zebrafish to study childhood cancers and rare inherited diseases.  His laboratory has served as the Atlantic node of the Centre for Drug Research and Development and a national hub for zebrafish modeling of orphan diseases. He has been co-chair of the C17 Childhood Cancer Network Developmental Therapeutics Committee and Director of the Clinician Investigator Program and Medical Research Graduate Program at Dalhousie. He is president of the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation, vice president of the Canadian Hematology Society and a founding member of the Canadian Rare Disease Models and Mechanisms Network.

December’s SPARK: Conversations monthly podcast is on health systems transformation with our podcast host, Dr. Katharine Smart in conversation with special guest, Helen Bevan. Helen is a Strategic Advisor and leader of large scale change within the National Health Service (NHS) in England, the largest public healthcare system in the world. Helen will be discussing her experiences and expertise in large scale change and providing guidance to system leaders in health care on addressing complex issues in child health and how to redesign and strengthen our child health systems in Canada to better serve children and youth.

October’s SPARK: Conversations monthly podcast is on child health in the community with our new podcast host, Dr. Katharine Smart in conversation with special guest, Alison Quigley. Alison is the Senior Vice-President, Patient Care Services & Master Plan Clinical Lead at Trillium Health Partners. Alison will be discussing her experiences at Trillium Health Partners, systems consideration for community-based hospital services, leveraging virtual care supports, and how her front-line experiences have shaped her current leadership role. 

Speaker bio: 

Alison Quigley
Senior Vice-President, Patient Care Services & Master Plan Clinical Lead

After graduating with her BScN from Queen’s University, Alison began her nursing career in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Hospital for Sick Children and went on to become Clinical Educator for four years in the Perinatal Program at Toronto General Hospital. She returned to SickKids to work as a clinician on the Neonatal Transport Team and then accepted a position on an organization-wide strategic redesign team, leading programmatic changes to improve care delivery to children and their families.

After completing her MHSc (Health Administration) from the University of Toronto, Alison was appointed Director, Acute Care Transport Services at SickKids, a clinical team specializing in the safe transport of sick and critically-ill neonates and children. 

In 2005, Alison became the Executive Director for the Child Health Network for the Greater Toronto Area.  The Network was a partnership of hospitals and home care providers who provided birthing, newborn, and paediatric care and who were dedicated to the creation and sustainability of high quality and integrated services. Committed to that vision, Alison was also a founding member on the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health (PCMCH) Maternal Newborn Advisory Committee and also co-chaired the PCMCH Transport Advisory Committee for four years.

In 2011, Alison joined the legacy Credit Valley Hospital as the Director for the Emergency Department and the Mental Health Program.  Since that time, Alison has had a series of progressive operational leadership positions at Trillium Health Partners (THP) including Associate Vice-President (2013), leading Women’s & Children’s Health, Mental Health, Laboratory Medicine and Genetics, Pharmacy, and Diagnostic Imaging; Vice-President (2016), overseeing Emergency Department & Urgent Care and (in 2018) also leading the Medicine Program, ICU, and Patient Flow & Operations.

Alison served as a Director and then Chair on the Board of the Credit Valley Family Health Team from 2014-2019.  In keeping with her passion for women’s and children’s health, Alison joined the Board of Children’s Healthcare Canada (CHC) a national organization dedicated to improving the health of children and families.  Alison has been serving on the CHC Board since 2018.

Since February 2020, Alison has been serving Senior Vice-President in Patient Care Services and was appointed Clinical Lead for the substantive Master Plan project.  During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Alison had the privilege of leading the Pandemic Clinical Operations Centre response for THP, one of the hospitals hardest hit during the pandemic.

Alison and her partner live in Mississauga and are proud to be part of Trillium Health Partners’ mission to create a new kind of healthcare for a healthier community.

Description:

The Canadian healthcare system is currently unable to meet the demands of the people who need it. Children and adults alike are seeing extended wait times for emergency rooms, ambulances and surgeries as well as closures of essential rural emergency centers due to staffing shortages. Dr. Katharine Smart, the current president of the Canadian Medical Association, has previously warned that Canadian healthcare is on the brink of collapse. She joins us as she nears the end of her presidential term to discuss the current state of Canadian healthcare, speaking to the importance of provider well-being and the nuances of collaborating and advocating both as individuals and organizations to bring about systemic change.

This is Part 2 in a two-part series. To hear Dr. Smart speak on the impact mis and dis information has on our population and how we rebuild trust in healthcare, listen to Part 1 of this series “Getting the Facts Straight: Tackling mis/disinformation through patient-provider relationships”.

Note: This interview was recorded in July, 2022, prior to Dr. Smart’s transition to CMA Past-President.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Katharine Smart is a pediatrician in Whitehorse, Yukon and Past President of the Canadian Medical Association. Her work is centered on developing collaborative partnerships with community and government services to serve marginalized children using a model of social pediatrics. She works primarily with children who have experienced trauma and adverse childhood events, and she witnesses the broad and lasting impact these events have on children and their development daily. She is passionate about improving services for marginalized children in an effort to change their life trajectory.

In addition to her community-based work, Dr. Smart enjoys acute care and provides on-call services to the hospital. Before moving to the Yukon, she was a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Dr. Smart is the past president of the Yukon Medical Association

Description:

COVID served as a catalyst for the spread and uptake of mis- and disinformation, threatening the trust Canadian citizens have in vaccines and, frankly, putting lives at risk. Further, the extra disease burden on the healthcare system exacerbated pre-existing problems, including in the area of health human resources (e.g., staff burnout and shortages). Some may ask, So what? Why are these problems so concerning? How do we go about rebuilding trust in healthcare and science? Dr. Katharine Smart has been tackling these problems as President of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). As she transitions to the role of Past-President, Dr. Smart joins us to reflect on these issues, speaking to the importance of the longitudinal patient-provider relationship and innovative ways that clinicians can meet people where they’re at.

This is Part 1 in a two-part series. To hear Dr. Smart discuss staff burnout and bringing our healthcare system back from the brink of collapse, listen to Part 2 of this series, “Healing the Healthcare System: Staff burnout, honest leadership and collaboration”.

Note: This interview was recorded in July, 2022, prior to Dr. Smart’s transition to CMA Past-President.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Katharine Smart is a pediatrician in Whitehorse, Yukon and Past President of the Canadian Medical Association. Her work is centered on developing collaborative partnerships with community and government services to serve marginalized children using a model of social pediatrics. She works primarily with children who have experienced trauma and adverse childhood events, and she witnesses the broad and lasting impact these events have on children and their development daily. She is passionate about improving services for marginalized children in an effort to change their life trajectory.

In addition to her community-based work, Dr. Smart enjoys acute care and provides on-call services to the hospital. Before moving to the Yukon, she was a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Dr. Smart is the past president of the Yukon Medical Association

Season 2, Episode 09 | Missed Opportunities Can Last a Lifetime: The State of Infant and Early Mental Health in Canada

Episode Description:

Infancy is a developmental period when children are most vulnerable and when they present with the greatest potential. Infant and early mental health (IEMH) involves the social, emotional, cognitive wellbeing of infants and young children. IEMH care aims to ensure every child has the best possible start in life.

Research tells us that:

• Infant and early child development sets the stage for later development and functioning.

• Babies and young children who experience adversity are at increased risk of poorer health and social outcomes in childhood and later in life

• Such adverse childhood experiences influence development of the baby’s brain, the number and type of connections between brain cells, how they respond to stress, and even their DNA

• Young children are the most vulnerable with the least access to mental health services and supports

• The development of infants and young children is strongly affected by the quality of their relationships with adults (parents or other caregivers)

• Love and nurturing can protect against some of the negative experiences of young children

We know what to do. We have the evidence and practice and policy requirements are clear. Changes are required to training and education of healthcare practitioners. Early intervention services must be accessible in a timely manner and responsive to the needs of the child and family. Policy change is required to support at-risk families and involves partnership between families, healthcare, community services, and child welfare.Listen while Dr. Chaya Kulkarni discusses leadership, evidence-informed practice and policy, resources, and educational opportunities to increase Canadian capacity to ensure all babies get off to a great start.

This session will be of interest to:

• Healthcare professionals

• Families & Caregivers

• Social service providers

• Legal services

   

Speaker Bio

Dr. Chaya Kulkarni is the Director of Infant and Early Mental Health Promotion (IEMHP). This national organization, at The Hospital for Sick Children, also known as SickKids, aims to improve outcomes across the lifespan through translating and promoting the science of early mental health into practice with families during pregnancy, infancy, and early childhood. Chaya is also an advisor to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a member of the Strategic Advisory Committee at the Ontario Centre of Excellence on Child & Youth Mental Health, and a member of the Board at Family Day Care Services. Prior to joining IEMHP, Chaya was VP, Parent and Professional Education at Invest in Kids, and has also served as Senior Policy Analyst and Researcher for the Office of the Official Opposition, Queen’s Park.

 Season 2, Episode 08 | COVID's Impact on Routine Immunizations

Episode Description:

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons, including best practices for immunizing populations efficiently. To retain what we have learned, and continue to improve vaccine confidence and uptake, the Canadian population will rely on experts like Dr. Manish Sadarangani to lead robust infectious disease and prevention research. On this episode of SPARK: Conversations, we sat down with Dr. Sadarangani to discuss natural and vaccine immunity to COVID-19, approaches to combatting new variants, and how we can improve vaccine and science communication. We explore the possibility of the COVID-19 vaccine becoming a routine vaccination, and how to best promote the importance of keeping up with those routine childhood immunizations.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Sadarangani has been Director of the Vaccine Evaluation Centre since 2016. He is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. Manish has unique expertise in translational vaccinology. He completed his undergraduate medical training and pediatric residency in Cambridge, Oxford, and London in the UK. He then completed his DPhil with the Oxford Vaccine Group in the UK, developing novel meningococcal vaccines, and completed a Fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases in Vancouver in 2013 before returning to Oxford to work as a Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician. He has worked in pediatrics throughout the world, including in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Australia, North America and Europe. His research links clinical trials with basic microbiology, immunology and epidemiology to address clinically relevant problems related to immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases. Specific research interests include bacterial vaccines, understanding vaccine-induced immunity, maternal immunization, antibiotic resistance, and CNS infections. Dr. Sadarangani was the recipient of the Pediatric Chairs of Canada 2021 Emerging Academic Leader Award.

Season 2, Episode 07 | Child Health and Wellness Research: A Priority to Transform Children’s Healthcare

Episode Description:

Children are the foundation of Canada’s future, and as such, research in child health is research on the future of our nation. Conducting health research with children is an ethical imperative to understanding treatment and prevention effectiveness, relative costs of child healthcare, and tactics to advance equitable healthcare. We had the opportunity to sit down with groundbreaking child health researcher, Dr. Susa Benseler, to understand the current landscape and trajectory of child health research. Dr. Benseler explains the need for an ongoing, national conversation, outlines why a cross-sectoral approach is impactful, and gives advice to others hoping to ‘scale up’ their child health research plans. She sheds light on her interdisciplinary vision to advance children’s healthcare in a positive direction.

Speaker Bio:

Susa Benseler, MD, PhD; Director, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine; Strategy Lead, Child Health and Wellness Research Strategy; Cenovus Energy Chair in Child and Maternal Health; Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation Chair in Paediatric Research; University of Calgary

Season 2, Episode 06 | More than just a Tick Box: Building Back Better through Family Engagement

Episode Description:

Children and their family members have unmatched, dyadic impacts on each other’s health. This is especially prominent in children and families that, due to unfortunate circumstances, are frequently connected with hospitals, researchers, and health systems. As such, it is imperative that we engage families in healthcare processes, and recognize their stories, experiences, and input as the valuable forms of knowledge that they are. We recently had the opportunity to sit down and discuss family partnership with Rachel Martens. Rachel provides a unique perspective on this topic as she has seen child healthcare from the lenses of both a parent and a professional. On this episode of SPARK: Conversations, Rachel helps us dig into best practices in family engagement and the importance of the human aspect in child healthcare. She also offers advice to practitioners on the balancing act between involving family partners, while avoiding causation of potential burnout and discomfort.

Speaker Bio:

Rachel Martens came to CanChild a parent of a young man born with a rare chromosome diagnosis, CP and autism. He has since passed away, but her partnership with researchers continues on in his memory. She works as a Research Engagement Strategist with the Family Engagement in Research Course, supporting family members and researchers as they learn to partner in projects. She also facilitates engagement and promotes knowledge mobilization through a variety of other initiatives. Initiatives such as the online group Parents Partnering in Research, and Luke’s Legacy Family Research Rounds ensure more opportunities for connection and community participation. Rachel has an interest in federal and provincial disability policy and uses writing as a tool for advocacy. She is currently studying part-time in university studying population health. Due to her ongoing dedication and leadership, Rachel was also the winner of the prestigious 2021 Children’s Healthcare Canada Patient & Family Leadership Award.

Episode Description

Misinformation and even disinformation are not new concepts in science. This has been evident during the COVID-19 pandemic while the world has monitored, shared, and re-shared information on the spread of the virus, public health restrictions, and immunization. Recently, the COVID-19 discussion has become even more emotionally charged with a vaccine available for some children in Canada. Unfortunately, we can see that the skills required for critical consumption of evidence appear lacking in many areas. We live in a world driven by metrics, and unfortunately, headlines are often misleading, and people share information without reading the full text or confirming the accuracy of the information. Uncertainty, discomfort, and mistrust are lingering as Canadians are having difficult, divided conversations with their loved ones around the dinner table, on the phone, and on Zoom. To combat this, Dr. Krishana Sankar and the team at ScienceUpFirst focus on the clear and accurate distribution of scientific evidence. On this episode of SPARK: Conversations, we sit down with Dr. Sankar to discuss the importance of simple, clear, and up-to-date evidence distribution, and how to do so effectively.

About Dr. Krishana Sankar

Dr. Sankar is a Science Advisor & Community Partnerships Lead at ScienceUpFirst. She is currently the #Scicomm Lead & Program Manager @covid_19_canada. Krishana is also a molecular and cellular biologist who earned her PhD from the University of Toronto. Originally from Guyana, Dr. Sankar is a researcher, science communicator, founder, speaker, & advocate. Beyond research, Krishana loves to communicate her research and science to the general public and kids in STEM. She promotes science literacy and advocates for girls and women in STEM. She is also active on social media, where she promotes her love of science and advocacy work.

Episode Description:

Season 2, Episode 02 | COVID, Equity, and Child Health: Vaccines, Passports, and Impacts

Episode Description: 

Episode Description

Season 1, Episode 07 | The COVID-19 Vaccine and Canada's Children and Youth 

Episode Description

If you ever needed healthcare (or if you work in healthcare) for kids you probably know how fragmented the system is, how long some waitlists are, and how the quality of care often depends on where you live and even who you are. In this episode we discuss how creating a Learning System in Child Health can help begin to address some of these issues at a regional, provincial, and national level. 

Season 1, Episode 06 | Children's Hospitals of the Future: Creating Conditions for Healthy Kids

Episode Description

Season 1, Episode 05 | Raising Hope from the Ground Up: Building children's healthcare in Canada

Episode Description

Episode Description