Once our PSI Knowledge Translation (KT) Fellows take off from the starting line, they make strides as they move their knowledge translation activities and research program forward. As the finish line becomes clearer in their sight, we asked our fellows some questions to share their progress thus far, and what they look forward to in the remainder of their KT Fellowship.

What are some of your accomplishments from the KT Fellowship thus far?

The KT fellowship has been such an important facilitator for my research program focused on child health equity. Having dedicated funded time for research is instrumental in the progress of research and its impact.

The PSI Graham Farquharson KT Fellowship has helped support my work with Connecting Families, a randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of income support navigation for low-income families of young children on child and parent health. There is a pressing need for effective interventions to help mitigate child poverty that can be integrated in primary care and are rigorously evaluated. The pilot phase of this trial is complete and has informed the planning for the full trial, which is also underway. A manuscript has been published reporting the experiences of families with young children experiencing financial strain. Another manuscript reporting the quantitative results of the pilot is being prepared for submission.  Recruitment for the full trial is progressing very well.

The Fellowship has also supported Innovations for Community Resilience, Equity and Advocacy (I-CREAte), a community based participatory action research team that conducts meaningful and action-oriented research to improve the health and well-being of children, families, and communities (https://www.queensu.ca/i-create/). We have completed phase 1 of Engaging Families To Build Healthy Communities, which used multiple case studies and arts based methods to examine resilience among families experiencing individual or community adversity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The knowledge dissemination phase has included hosting 11 community meetings with a range of participants including community members, service organizations, government and advocacy organizations. The feedback from these meetings will be used to prepare a searchable database of community led solutions, policy briefs, and infographics, as well as peer reviewed publications and conference presentations.

Additionally, the KT Fellowship has supported me in a project using electronic medical records to examine changes in the provision of preventive well child care for young children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our team has examined changes in visit frequency, changes in growth patterns, and parent and clinician identified innovations to address access challenges during the pandemic. We have also developed methods for using natural language processing to derive breastfeeding and developmental outcomes in young children’s full charts (including narrative notes). Several manuscripts are in preparation.

What are some items/deliverables that you look forward to coming to fruition in the remainder of your KT Fellowship?

I anticipate completion of the Connecting Families study and dissemination of results to policy makers, clinicians and the academic community. This work promises to make an important contribution to evidence surrounding the effectiveness of interventions to address child poverty in primary care settings. These results have the potential to change practice and to support policy development in health services planning.

I also am working with a team conducting a systematic review of the diagnostic test properties of developmental screening tools in young children. The review will be very helpful in guiding primary care and public health practitioners in an evidence informed approach to developmental screening in young children.

What are some things that surprised you during your fellowship thus far?

Having support from PSI in this fellowship has meant that I have been able to be flexible and respond to unexpected opportunities that arise, which have the potential for significant impact.