Établir une «Connexion Nordique» at the High Value Care Symposium

I’m excited to share an update on our ongoing project "Connexion Nordique – Linking the North to the MUHC Allergy/Immunology through Virtual Health.”  As you readers would know, it all began with a transformative trip to Nunavik, which opened my eyes to the unique healthcare challenges faced by Indigenous communities in this region.  

Photo credit: Ada Prunescu, Department of Medicine

This June, I had the honour of co-presenting with Dr. Michael Fein at the McGill University Health Centre Department of Medicine High Value Care Symposium. The theme this year was “Electronic Health Data to Improve the Quality of Patient Care.”

 

As we engage in our discussions and work, I recognize that we spoke on the traditional and unceded territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) Nation. Kanien'kehá:ka means “People of the Flint.” I am fortunate to know Karyn Wahsoniiostha Murray, and Mavis and Rycki Etienne-Cree (who are also part Manitoba Cree). These leaders have made significant contributions far beyond their immediate communities.

I highly recommend visiting nativeland.ca, an interactive map to learn more about Indigenous lands worldwide and their histories.

 

Live recording of the entire symposium: our talk is from 03:25 to 27:20.

A bit about our work so far:

Virtual Clinics: Launched in June 2024 in collaboration with the Cree Health Board. Each month we will connect with 1-2 different communities.

Cultural Sensitivity: We are exploring cultural safety training hosted by the elders of the Cree Health Board. We have also obtained resources from the Avataq Cultural Institute to guide our efforts for Nunavik.

Surveys: This feedback from Indigenous patients flown for in-person appointments is crucial for tailoring our care to be as effective and culturally appropriate as possible.

Education: We launched our inaugural virtual education session supporting the local physicians in Nunavik with more sessions planned for the fall to continue enhancing local healthcare knowledge and capabilities.

Fly-in Visits: to build trust and strong connections with the local healthcare workers and community members.

The two regions we have focused our work on so far are Nunavik and Cree Territory of James Bay.

Nunavik spans the northern one-third of Quebec with a population of about 14,000 Inuit. It is home to breathtaking landscapes, the Northern Lights and the midnight sun.

The James Bay territory covers over 300,000 km² (about one-fifth of Québec), and stretches from the 49th to the 55th parallel. It is home to more than 15,000 Cree and offering a rich culture.

One of our virtual clinics in the Cree region.

Maryam El Alaoui and Dr Michael Fein with our poster. Photo credit: Sebastian Oancea, Fractional Media

With that, I’ll turn it over to my incredible teammates who also contributed significantly to this presentation: Megan Park and Maryam El Alaoui!

 

Maryam El Alaoui

Hi everyone! My name is Maryam El Alaoui, and I am entering my second year of the MSc Public Health program at McGill University. I recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Cognitive Science, also at McGill. My interests lie in global health equity and medicine. I'm fortunate to be part of Connexion Nordique, where I am a part of the Survey and Protocols team.

 

Overall symposium experience

Upon entering the atrium at the RI, I experienced a mix of emotions from excitement to nervousness as I was surrounded by MDs, medical students, and residents, all discussing their research endeavours. I also had the chance to speak with some medical students about their projects, and it was incredibly inspiring to hear about their work and their academic career. 

 

The morning began with a keynote address by Dr. Emily MacDonald, an MD who pursued an MSc in Epidemiology. Following her presentation, it was time for Northern Connection, the very first presentation! Both Michelle and Dr. Fein did an outstanding job. 

 

I learned so much from the other presentations as well. For instance, I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Ahmad’s talk on reporting serious adverse drug reactions to Health Canada. The morning concluded with a presentation by Dr. Blecker, focusing on Pragmatic Clinical Trials to Improve Care Quality and Value.

 

At the end of the morning sessions, conference presenters and attendees had the opportunity to walk around and view various posters. We had several MDs and students stop by our poster and inquire about our project.

 

What does high value care mean to me 

To me, high value care means providing the highest quality of healthcare while ensuring cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and patient-centeredness. As someone interested in global health equity and making healthcare more accessible in remote communities, being part of Connexion Nordique is the perfect place as this project aligns with my passion by working to break barriers to care through creating a virtual clinic in allergy care in Nunavik, making a tangible impact on those who need it most.

 

Linking public health to Connexion Nordique

Public health comes into play in the project as we use our knowledge of health promotion strategies and understand what influences the delivery and use of health services in remote areas. This helps us tackle the specific healthcare needs of the Nunavik population effectively. 

Megan Park

Participating in the Connexion Nordique project has been an incredibly gratifying experience for me. We presented at our first conference, the McGill DOM High Value Healthcare Symposium, sharing our work on the development and implementation of a comprehensive virtual health program that bridges the gap between the Indigenous populations of Northern Québec and the specialist allergy care provided by the McGill University Health Centre.

My role was primarily creative, focusing on designing the poster that effectively communicated our project’s objectives and outcomes. Aside from our collective commitment to facilitate culturally sensitive and accessible care for the Northern Quebec communities, team members have opportunities to creatively contribute to website development, educational presentations, and even video editing. Working on this project has allowed me to integrate my creative skills and has strengthened my passions to pursue a career at the intersection of medicine and the creative arts.

Moving forward, I am excited to continue to help with multiple aspects of this project, ultimately reaching our goal to improve healthcare delivery for underserved First Nations, Inuit, and Métis populations.

Megan is a third year medical student at University of Toronto.

Acknowledgements

The rest of the Connexion Nordique team who worked on this project - Dr Adnan Al Ali, Dr Clara Long, Dr Michael Aw, Danielle Ben-Shoshan, Dr Johanne Morel, Dr Nadia Waterman, Dr Christos Tsoukas

Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay, especially: Isabelle Bélanger, Valérie Elément for their invaluable assistance with the virtual clinic. Dr Mercedes Yanes Lane, Jennifer Morrow for research assistance. The head nurses from each Cree clinic!

Dr Patrick Willemot, médecin conseil, Régie régionale de la santé et des services sociaux du Nunavik

Nicolas Pirti-Duplessis at Avataq Cultural Institute

Juan Qian, John Fletcher and the MUHC Department of Quality, Evaluation, Performance and Ethics for their help with data extraction.

MUHC Department of Medicine, especially: Alexandra Hauck for all the background work with the symposium and Ada Prunescu for gathering materials and photos for this post.