As the regional provider of maternal and child services, Trillium Health Partners (THP) is continuously seeking new ways to support and improve family and child health across Peel region. THP recognizes that children and families have complex care needs and it can be challenging to navigate through the health care system, as health care and social support organizations often operate separately. Principal Investigator, Ian Zenlea (MD, MPH) and Co-Principal Investigator, Sara Martel (PhD), and an interdisciplinary team at the Institute for Better Health believe that family and child health is influenced by factors beyond clinical care, including social and economic factors, health behaviours and the physical environment. The project team is committed to understanding the needs and priorities of families and children in the community and designing solutions together to improve health and wellness across the region. This year, the project team engaged 60 cross-sector organizations, including social services, health care, education, community support, and cultural associations to understand current needs and existing services for families and children. These findings will be used to better understand the priorities of the community and to co-design novel solutions to improve health and wellness for families in the region with a focus on services for children and youth in the region.

There are currently 1.3 million people in Ontario experiencing both physical and mental health illness. Because the current health care system is designed to focus on either physical or mental illness, many of these patients do not receive the most appropriate treatment to address their needs. The Medical Psychiatry Alliance (MPA), is a collaborative partnership between the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Trillium Health Partners and the University of Toronto, whose goal is to transform the delivery of mental health services for patients with combined physical and mental health illness. The Institute for Better Health (IBH) has partnered with the MPA to support the evaluation of 4 projects, including the Child and Youth Project, which aims to create a collaborative care program to improve mental and physical health outcomes of patients, reduce wait times for mental health treatment, and reduce costs associated with untreated depression and diabetes in adolescents. In the past year, the collaborative care program has been successful in identifying challenges and improving mental health services for adolescents in the community. Researchers at IBH continue to partner with MPA to bring cutting-edge evidence into designing the collaborative care program and evaluating outcomes for patients, families and providers to improve physical and mental health for the community.

With the support of Trillium Health Partners Foundation, the Institute for Better Health (IBH) is establishing Research Chairs to build programs of research to improve health for the community in the areas of population health and patient and family-centred care. Most recently, IBH welcomed Walter Wodchis (PhD) as the Research Chair of Implementation and Evaluation Science in collaboration with the University of Toronto. As an internationally recognized scientist, Dr. Wodchis is establishing a research program at THP to implement and test innovative approaches for improving the delivery and organization of health services for the community. This past year, Dr. Wodchis has been invited to present and share his work both nationally and internationally. In November 2018, Dr. Wodchis presented to health ministers and delegations from 11 countries at the Commonwealth Fund International Symposium on transforming care for high-need and high-cost patients. In addition to establishing Research Chairs, IBH is committed to advancing research and innovation by fostering mentorship and learning opportunities, such as the Maria Racioppo Scholarship for Integrative Care. Funded by Trillium Health Partners Foundation, the Scholarship provides dedicated research and innovation time within IBH to a THP staff member whose day-to-day role contributes to the experience, care and safety of patients.

The Institute for Better Health (IBH) believes in curiosity, creativity and continuous learning and strives to embed research and innovation in its work to solve real-life problems and support the unique needs of the changing community. This past year, IBH hosted the inaugural Hazel McCallion Endowed Lecture in Shaping Healthier Communities in collaboration with the Medical Psychiatry Alliance (MPA) Conference. This lecture has been named in recognition of a great leader in the community, Ms. Hazel McCallion who is a visionary not only for the City of Mississauga, but for all communities in how we can partner to achieve optimal health for all. The inaugural lecture was attended by patients, families, health care providers, researchers and educators from the community. Edward H. Wagner (MD, Director Emeritus, MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation), world renowned researcher, gave the inaugural lecture on bridging the gap between how we treat mental and physical health to improve overall quality of care. Following Dr. Wagner’s talk, there was an engaging discussion by panelists, Adalsteinn Brown (Dean, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto), Christina Jabalee (Director, Centre for Innovation in Peer Support) and Karli Farrow (Senior Vice President, Strategy, People and Corporate Affairs, Trillium Health Partners).

Between electronic medical records, digitized diagnostics and wearable medical devices, the average person will leave a trail of more than 1 million gigabytes of health-related data in their lifetime. By studying this data, there is vast potential for health care organizations to gain valuable insights into patient needs, preferences and values to better inform how we improve the delivery of care, health outcomes and experiences for the community. We are continuously seeking innovative ways to improve health through evidence-based decisions using analytics, leading practices and innovative approaches. An interdisciplinary team at the Institute for Better Health are creating a platform that will collect and analyze data from multiple sources inside and outside THP to gain key insights about the community we serve, including key determinants of health, such as social, cultural, economic and environmental factors. This platform will be a community resource to support research, innovation and health system needs, both within and outside the walls of THP.