SPARK: Live

SPARK: Live

Children's Healthcare Canada's SPARK: Live webinars provides you access to cutting-edge research and other evidence (practice, policy, leadership, and lived experience) in child and youth health and healthcare, innovations from across the child healthcare continuum, and subject matter experts and colleagues from Canada and around the world.

 

Upcoming Webinars

Easing Pain, Advancing Care: A New Pathway for Children with Severe Neurological Impairments

Oct 29, 2025 | 11am ET

Provided by Children’s Healthcare Canada in collaboration with the CHILD-BRIGHT Network. 

Children with severe neurological impairments often experience persistent, unexplained pain and irritability, compounded by limited ability to verbally communicate their distress. The CHILD-BRIGHT Pain Pathway team developed the Pain Pathway, a systematic clinical tool designed to support clinicians in assessing and managing pain while improving care for families.  

This webinar will provide an overview of the multi-phased project, from clinical trial to implementation. It will highlight the clinical complexity of assessing pain and irritability; the project’s relevance and impact for clinicians, children with health complexity, and their families; as well as key lessons for patient-oriented research and implementation science. 

Hal Siden 
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, UBC

Dr. Hal Siden is a Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia and an Investigator at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. He is a specialist in pediatric palliative care, and his clinical and research interests include pediatric pain, complex care, and palliative medicine. Dr. Siden is a passionate educator and advocate, and he continues to shape the future of pediatric palliative care through compassionate clinical work and innovative research. 
 

Stephanie Glegg  
Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, UBC

Dr. Stephanie Glegg is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia and an Investigator at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Dr. Glegg is an implementation scientist who studies the most effective ways to move knowledge into action to improve health, health services delivery, and health systems. Her work supports pediatric and adult populations, and spans individual, organizational, community and policy contexts. 
 

Sharon Hou  
Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University

Dr. Sharon Hou is an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University and a Psychologist and Investigator at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Her clinical and research interests focus on diversity and health equity in child health and wellness, with particular attention to the role of culture in shaping health outcomes. Dr. Hou’s work aims to inform the creation and delivery of culturally responsive interventions to underserved and underrepresented communities of children and families. 

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From Insight to Impact: Strengthening Services for Indigenous Children and Families in Canada’s Children's Hospitals

Dec 10, 2025 | 11am ET

Join us for an engaging webinar centered on improving healthcare experiences for Indigenous children and families in Canadian children’s hospitals. This session will share the findings from a CIHR-funded environmental scan of Indigenous-focused health services and programs operating at children's hospitals across the country. Learn about the gaps and opportunities that exist in Indigenous staffing and spaces, data collection, cultural safety education, and strategic approaches. Hear about the journeys and successes of some institutions related to smudging practices and Indigenous navigation programs. 

This webinar will also share opportunities to participate in a CIHR-funded Community of Practice that has recently emerged from this work. The goal of the Community practice is to facilitate clinicians, staff, researchers, and Indigenous health program leaders learn from each other and shape practice and policies to address the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and Joyce’s Principle. Whether you’re in clinical practice, in administration, or a patient/family advocate, this webinar hopes to provide you with ongoing fuel to champion culturally safe healthcare for every child and family.  

Amy Shawanda 
Director of Research, Kenjgewin Teg 

Dr. Amy Shawanda is an Odawa Kwe from Wikwemikong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, where she was immersed in Indigenous education and land-based learning throughout her life. This foundation shaped her path as an Indigenous health researcher dedicated to strengthening Indigenous ways of being, doing, knowing, and reclaiming.

As a distinguished scholar and educator, Dr. Shawanda has pioneered innovative research methodologies, including Dream Methodology, which expands beyond Western parameters to center Indigenous Ways of Knowing. Her work addresses critical gaps in Indigenous scholarship, including developing frameworks for citing dreams and "All My Relations" in academic writing, examining linguistic representation of Indigenous Peoples, and conducting scoping reviews on infant feeding experiences among Indigenous communities. Her research consistently focuses on unburdening Indigenous health professionals and addressing systemic racism in healthcare institutions.

In her new role as Director of Research at Kenjgewin Teg, Dr. Shawanda brings her expertise in Indigenous health, maternal health, pedagogies, methodologies, and spiritual health to advance Anishinabek research conducted by and for Indigenous communities, ensuring that research amplifies community voices and supports solutions to real and practical challenges.

Patricia Li 
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, McGill University;  
Scientist, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre;  
Pediatrician, Montreal Children's Hospital 

Dr. Li is a general paediatrician at Montreal Children’s Hospital, Associate Professor in Pediatrics at McGill University, and a FRQS senior clinician-scientist at the Centre for Health Outcomes Research at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. She works as a hospitalist on the inpatient unit and as a consultant in the Multicultural Clinic at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the CLSC Parc-Extension. She is also part of the Northern and Indigenous Child Health Program where she serves Inuit children and families in the community of Ivujivik. Her research includes CIHR-funded research projects across a variety of topics including primary care, hospital care, migrant children, and child health equity. 

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Child Maltreatment in Young Children: Evidence and Insights from the Pandemic

Dec 17, 2025 | 11am ET

COVID-19 pandemic conditions impacted child health and wellbeing with children’s healthcare, system, and policy implications. One area of keen interest has been child maltreatment. This webinar will share evidence from the longest study to describe trends in child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore how  public health measures impacted hospitalization rates and ICU admissions for maltreatment in young children (<2) in Canada. Real-world care examples will help contextualize the data (or bring the data to life). Learn the latest evidence related to the identification and management of suspected maltreatment.

Matthew Carwana 
Pediatrician and Researcher, UBC Department of Pediatrics, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute 

Matt Carwana is a pediatrician and clinician-investigator based on unceded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territory. He is the Medical Director of the Social Pediatrics Program at BC Children's Hospital and provides care in Vancouver's Downtown East Side. He is also the Co-Lead for the Indirect Consequences Project for the POPCORN Research Network. 

Nita Jain 
Pediatrician, BC Children’s Hospital  

Dr. Nita Jain a general pediatrician with over 25 years of experience working in the hospital and community setting in BC. She is the Medical Director for the Child and Family Clinic at BC Children's Hospital, which offers support for children and youth who may be at risk of physical, sexual or emotional harm, or neglect. She has an interest in health equity for children with the goal of improving access to health care for those whose voices are not being heard. 

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