Channel - Research Week 2024
1/27/2026 12:54:30 AM
Channel Videos
Chelsey Perry, Kirsten White - COVID-19 360°Review: A Path to Addressing Colonial Knots in Public Health Emergency Response
In Plain Sight Recommendation 15 (IPS 15) calls for developing an Indigenous pandemic response plan that addresses jurisdictional issues that have arisen in the context of COVID-19, and which upholds UNDRIP. To support this, the U&U Lab reviewed the Office of the Public Health Officer’s COVID-19 pandemic response through the lens of Indigenous rights, reconciliation, and anti-racism. Using Jody Wilson-Raybould’s Learn-Understand-Act Framework for True Reconciliation, we identified 9 high level colonial knots that must be addressed to advance IPS 15. Our findings also provide insights into upholding Indigenous rights, reconciliation, and anti-racism in the current Toxic Drug Poisoning Crisis.
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10/31/2024 7:05:00 PM
Jimmy Lopez - An Evaluation of the 2023/2024 BC Respiratory Virus Surveillance System
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of respiratory virus surveillance in British Columbia. Various adaptations were made to the pre-pandemic surveillance system in response to the novel virus. An evaluation was conducted to assess the most recent version of the integrated system. A logic model was developed to identify key evaluation components and a mixed-methods approach was applied to collect data from user groups. Overall, the respiratory virus surveillance system is reliable, and its structure allows it to be nimble and able to adapt to changing needs if underlying data are available. Select outcomes and key recommendations will be presented.
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10/31/2024 5:20:00 PM
Amrit Tiwana - Enhancing Access to HIV/Hepatitis Care for People Who Experience Criminalization Through Digital Equity: A Mixed Methods Quality Improvement Evaluation
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digitization of healthcare, increasing the importance of reducing digital exclusion. The Test, Link, Call (TLC) Project aims to address barriers to healthcare caused by digital exclusion among people who experience criminalization by providing cell phones and peer support to enhance access to HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and syphilis care. Findings from a mixed-methods evaluation show that this intervention advances digital health equity, significantly improves engagement in care, and reduces health disparities. Interestingly, receipt of prescribed ‘safer supply’ was also associated with increased HCV treatment uptake. These findings demonstrate the importance of addressing digital exclusion among marginalized populations in a post-pandemic world.
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10/31/2024 5:05:00 PM
Angela Yao - Mortality during cold weather among population experiencing homelessness in BC
A significant increase in deaths among individuals experiencing homelessness was observed in recent years. Lack of shelter can make this population especially vulnerable to the impact of extreme cold weather, but the extend of the impact has not been well studied in BC. In this study, we aim to (1) develop the methodology for identifying population experiencing homelessness with administrative health data; (2) assess the excess risk of death during cold weather among the population experiencing homelessness compared with those with stable housing; and (3) understand the major causes of deaths during cold weather. The results from this study can inform public health and social policies to better support the underhoused population during cold weather events.
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10/29/2024 9:05:00 PM
Binay Adhikari - Forecasting the number of primary care visits for respiratory symptoms using multiple health administrative data and spatial machine learning approaches
Background: COVID-19 has affected public health, including changes to circulation of other respiratory viruses. Accurate forecasting methods are needed to predict infections at a regional level1. Given the contagious nature of respiratory illness, within region forecasting can be improved using data from surrounding regions. Many current methods ignore spatial correlation and can be improved by using geospatial machine learning. Utilizing modern deep learning methods such as Graph Neural Networks can have the potential to combine different data sources accounting for their spatial and temporal relationships. This approach can forecast surges in primary care visits due to respiratory-related illnesses and enhance the surveillance system. Methods: In this study, we aim to enhance our current machine learning models that use LHA-level MSP data for forecasting respiratory symptom related primary care visits using additional data from the lab test results data hosted in the PANDA-PAWS platform. Using multiple data sources will enhance the predictive power of the models by incorporating different pathways by which individuals with a viral respiratory illness may encounter healthcare. We use the Consolidated Local Health Areas (CLHA) as the spatial unit of analysis to make the forecasting amenable for primary care planning. We will fit a series of machine learning models (Lasso, Random Forest, Light Gradient Boosted Method [LGBM], CatBoost, XGBoost), and compare with modern deep learning graph neural networks for time-series on the combined data and assess their predictive ability. We implement a blocked time series approach for cross-validation and hyper-parameter tuning and withhold 30% of the data for testing. The spatial dependence is accounted for using an inverse-distance-weighted matrix and contiguous adjacency matrix to create spatial lagged features. Model performance is assessed using the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and model predictors are assessed using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values. Results: Our initial results which make use of MSP data for 19+ years age-group show 1% RMSE with XGBoost & CatBoost on out of sample COVID data, 1.2% on Flu, 2.4% on Pneumonia and Flu & 1.5% on Acute Respiratory Infections. Across most of our models and diseases, the population size and the first geospatial lag rank amongst the top features in SHAP plots consistently. Conclusions:
Machine learning can provide improved prediction primary care visits for respiratory symptoms in local health areas by incorporating geospatial epidemiological data. These models show improved performance over more traditional regression and time-series approaches. By incorporating multiple data sources with modern deep learning methods, we can directly incorporate the spatio-temporal properties of the data and provide better forecast of primary care visits for respiratory symptoms for timely intervention. Data used: British Columbia Ministry of Health [creator]. Medical Services Plan (MSP) Payment Information File. British Columbia Ministry of Health [publisher]. Data Extract. MOH (2020). 2021.https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/health-forms/online-services. British Columbia Ministry of Health [creator]. Client Roster (Client Registry System/Enterprise Master Patient Index). British Columbia Ministry of Health [publisher]. Data Extract. MOH (2020). 2021. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/health-forms/online-services
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10/29/2024 9:20:00 PM
Catherine Hogan - Molecular barcoding vs microscopy of Ixodes and Dermacentor ticks: A Prospective Comparative Evaluation Study over the 2024 Tick Season in British Columbia
The BCCDC Public Health Laboratory performs routine tick identification by microscopy through passive tick surveillance. Over the 2024 tick season, the Parasitology Laboratory implemented a new workflow to prospectively evaluate the accuracy of a molecular barcoding assay based on cytochrome oxidase I against microscopy for tick identification. A total of 266 ticks were included, and overall concordance was 88%. Discordant results highlighted some challenges with microscopy, including the inherent morphology overlap of certain species, and identification of immature stages. This project lays the groundwork for use of a complementary tool that can optimize detection of novel and emerging tick species, and contribute to a revisited tick epidemiology of BC.
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10/31/2024 7:50:00 PM
Citlali Márquez - Estimating Mpox Prevalence in BC: A Serosurvey Using a Validated Multiplex Assay
Since the global mpox (MPXV) outbreak in 2022, sporadic cases have continued to emerge in BC. However, the true prevalence of mpox in the province has yet to be estimated due to the lack of a specific test capable of detecting past infections. We have now validated a multiplex serological assay that identifies evidence of infection based on specific mpox antigens (E8L, A35R, B6R). Using this assay, we conducted a serosurvey on residual sera samples from males submitted to the BCCDC PHL for routine syphilis testing at two time points: July 2023 and January-March 2024. The samples have been linked to mpox vaccination records to exclude potential cross-reactivity. This study will help estimate the prevalence of infection within a high-risk population in the province.
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10/29/2024 6:20:00 PM
Day 1 - Oct 29 Full Event
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11/1/2024 6:00:48 PM
Day 1 - Oct 29-2 Full Event (Copy)
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11/3/2024 7:00:48 PM
Day 2 - Oct 31 Full Event
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10/31/2024 5:00:00 PM
Elaine Chan - New Pneumococcal Vaccines: Potential for Prevention of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Cases and Pediatric Deaths in BC
Infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria can result in invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and lead to significant morbidity and death, especially in the very young and the elderly.
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10/29/2024 8:05:00 PM
Hannah Caird, Chelsea Treloar, Mayank Singal - Evaluating Enteric Illness Workplace Exclusion Practices In the Era of Culture-Independent Diagnostic Tests
BC has recently transitioned to the use of Culture-Independent Diagnostic Tests (CIDT) for diagnosis of enteric pathogens from traditional culture-based methods. Since CIDT is a more sensitive test, we expect a higher number of cases, and subsequent exclusion from sensitive occupations and situations such as food handlers and childcare facilities. Exclusion has profound impacts on excluded cases’ ability to earn and/or attend childcare. This evaluation compares the clinical severity of culture positive cases and their potential to cause outbreaks compared with CIDT-only positive cases. Results would inform exclusion practices in BC to minimize disruption while maximizing public health benefit.
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10/31/2024 7:35:00 PM
Hannah Lishman, Erica Chuag - Dental Antibiotic Use in British Columbia 1996–2023: Are We Backsliding?
This study explores dental antibiotic prescribing trends in BC. The data includes all community antibiotic prescriptions in BC during 1996–2023. Prescribing trends were stratified by patient characteristics, health service area, antibiotic class, duration, and dentist’s experience. Interrupted time series regression explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental prescribing. Dentistry accounted for an increasing proportion of overall antibiotic use. Dental prescriptions increased to a peak rate during the pandemic and remained elevated into 2023. This study shows how a decreasing trend in dental prescribing pre-pandemic has been interrupted by continuously high rates thereafter.
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10/29/2024 6:50:00 PM
Inna Sekirov, James Zlosnik - A Blast for Your Buck – Next Generation Sequencing Applications for Transforming TB Testing
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10/31/2024 6:35:00 PM
James Johnston - Predicting TB risk in people migrating to British Columbia
Over 70% of people that develop TB disease nationally were born outside of Canada. To meet Canada's TB elimination objectives, and reduce health inequities, we need to understanding TB risk in people that migrate to Canada. We will present the rationale, development and validation for a TB risk prediction model to migrants to Canada.
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10/31/2024 8:05:00 PM
Jérémie Boudreault - Unpacking the Relationship between Medications and Mortality Risk during Extreme Heat: A Machine Learning approach
Medication use is known to affect mortality risk during extreme heat events (EHE). However, the risks and potential benefits of different drugs is difficult to analyze using more traditional approaches (e.g., logistic regression) due to the very large number of drugs to be analyzed and potentially unknown interaction effects. In this study, we are employing machine learning approaches to better understand the effect of drugs on heat-related mortality, using the 2021 EHE in British Columbia as a case study. The expected results will help health authorities to better communicate about medication use during EHEs to limit heat-related health impacts.
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10/29/2024 8:20:00 PM
Julia Li - Long-term health care utilization following SARS-COV-2 infection in people with and without Long COVID, in British Columbia (BC), Canada
The long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection beyond the first-year post-acute illness remains
understudied. This study demonstrated a sustained increase healthcare utilization in people with long Covid up to two years after acute illness.
after acute illness
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10/31/2024 6:20:00 PM
Kevin Hu - Trends of Newly Diagnosed ADHD among Adults with and without Histories of Substance Use Disorder or Mental Illness in BC
In recent years, emerging evidence indicates a potential rise in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) incidence in BC. Given the overrepresentation of people with substance use disorder (SUD) and mental illness (MI) diagnoses among people with ADHD, and the known impacts of the pandemic on mental health across the population, we conducted an interrupted time series analysis to examine how rates of newly diagnosed adult ADHD changed before, during and after the pandemic. Analyses were conducted by SUD and MI history, as well as age, sex and region. Results revealed a nearly four-fold increase since the pandemic, highlighting, in the context of an ongoing drug toxicity crisis, the importance of increased attention to the treatment and diagnosis of ADHD among people with concurrent SUD and MI.
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10/31/2024 5:50:00 PM
Lea Separovic - Shift in the age distribution of pediatric and adult respiratory syncytial virus infections related to the COVID-19 pandemic in BC: 2014/15 to 2023/24 seasons
Measures to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic also suppressed respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) through the 2020/21 season. To better understand changing profiles of resurgent RSV activity in BC
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10/29/2024 8:50:00 PM
Megan Oakey, Jeffrey Trieu - Exploring the potential for advancing means restrictions to prevent youth suicide and self-harm (YSSH) in British Columbia
The number of youth self-harm hospitalizations in BC has increased during the last decade, especially among females aged 10-24. Evidence for restricting access to means of suicide and self-harm has strengthened in the recent years, especially with regard to control of medications and limiting access to locations of concern for death by suicide (hotspots). To decide on effective interventions, the BC Injury Prevention Committee’s (BCIPC) YSSH means restriction working group conducted 1) an evidence summary on the effectiveness of suicide means restriction and 2) an overview on the most common substances involved in YSSH in BC, according to death, hospitalization and DPIC data.
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10/29/2024 7:05:00 PM
Natalie Prystajecky - The Silver Lining-Innovative Lab Solutions from the Pandemic
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10/31/2024 8:50:00 PM
Nirupama Tamvada - Producing Automated Short-Term Forecasts of Viral Respiratory Diseases based on a Renewal Equation Approach with the vrifprecasting R package
Producing short-term forecasts of cases of viral respiratory infections (VRIs) is crucial to gain situational awareness of the short-term changes in viral activity and support public health management. A widely used measure to simulate the number of new disease cases is the time-dependent instantaneous reproduction number, Rt, which can be estimated by a renewal equation model . However, daily data in periods of low case counts is often noisy, which leads to inaccurate forecasts. To this end, we augment the model with a smoothing model to increase the accuracy of the estimated forecasts. We incorporate this method in the vriforecasting R package. The end user can easily generate a customizable report of high-quality projections of any infectious VRI of interest along with forecast validation metrics on historical data.
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10/29/2024 5:50:00 PM
Rebeca Cardim Falcao -- Optimizing sampling strategies for sequencing positive respiratory infection tests using mathematical modelling
Sequencing positive respiratory infection tests is essential to understand the circulating strains and identify emerging variants of concern. This study investigated the impact of sample size and frequency on the inferred properties of a novel or emerging variant. A theoretical model explores a two-strain system, where one strain emerges during a period when another strain is dominant. This was conducted using an expanded compartmental SIR-type model. The two key indicators used to assess the quality of inference for each sampling regime were the time to detection of a new strain from its emergence and the estimation of the proportion of the emerging strain relative to the dominant strain.
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10/31/2024 6:50:00 PM
Sahi Hajirawala - Optimizing Follow-Up Strategies for Emergency Department-Initiated Opioid Agonist Therapy: Insights from a Randomized Controlled Trial in BC
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10/29/2024 6:35:00 PM
Saina Beitari - Respiratory Serosurveillance Using Multiplex Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay to Evaluate Population Immunity
Serological surveillance is a crucial tool for monitoring population immunity to emerging and re-emerging respiratory pathogens. This cross-sectional study utilizes serological surveillance to assess immunity to respiratory viruses such as RSV, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2 in antenatal samples collected across British Columbia from August 2021 to August 2024. Using advanced multiplex and high-throughput electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, we will measure seroprevalence, track immunity trends across different demographics and time points, and compare two respiratory seasons. These findings will provide essential insights to inform public health interventions and vaccination strategies, helping to identify vulnerable populations and improve community protection efforts.
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10/31/2024 5:35:00 PM
Stefan Iwasawa - Birds, ticks, and climate change: a citizen science surveillance toolkit
Overview: Climate change is opening new habitat for organisms that once found Canada uninhabitable. Ticks, and their associated pathogens, are known to be expanding northward as the temperature increases and one potential way this is occurring is by catching a ride on migrating birds heading North for the summer.
The objective of this project is to study the interactions between ticks, hosts, and pathogens to better understand the emergence processes of different strains of Borrelia burgdorferi (the causative agent of Lyme disease) or other pathogens that may circulate in two regions of Canada. The project will also provide information on which bird species are hosts to ticks and potentially identify invasive ticks species that are catching a ride North on their hosts.
Materials and methods: To achieve this, ticks on migratory birds and in the environment around bird banding stations have been collected, identified, and tested for targeted pathogens. The sampling sites are two bird migration monitoring stations, one located in eastern Québec (Observatoire d'Oiseaux de Rimouski; OOR), and the other on Vancouver Island (Vancouver Island University (VIU) Bird Banding project; BUWE). In addition to standard identification and testing of ticks a portion of captured ticks will be submitted to eTick to increase the diversity of submissions to the platform and finally a citizen science toolkit that can be distributed to bird banders and banding stations across Canada has been developed to promote the submission of photos of ticks removed from birds to eTick.
Preliminary results: Sampling at the eastern Quebec sites (located in the city of Rimouski in the Forillon National Park) conducted in May and June 2024 led to the collection of 86 Ixodes scapularis ticks (larvae and nymphs) and 76 Haemaphysalis leporispalustris ticks collected from migratory birds. Sampling at the VIU Bird Banding Station(located in the city of Nanaimo in Buttertubs Marsh) between April and July of 2024 led to the collection of 29 ticks (nymphs and larvae).
Conclusions: This project will enhance the understanding of the complex interactions between migratory and resident birds, resident rodents, ticks, and associated tick-borne pathogen strains. It will also promote the continued submission of ticks off birds to eTick.
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10/31/2024 8:35:00 PM
Welcme to Research Week and Deena Hinshaw (KEYNOTE) - Looking Back, Looking Forward: Lessons for Public Health
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10/29/2024 5:00:00 PM
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