APERSU Newsletter -- Volume 6, Issue 1
Summer 2021

Report from Co-Directors

We are pleased to update you on recent activities of the Alberta PROMs and EQ-5D Research and Support Unit (APERSU) Team.

We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these unprecedented times.

The APERSU Team is still working from home due to the COVID-19 situation and will continue to do so until it is deemed safe to return to campus. Thankfully, everyone on our team has stayed safe and healthy to date.

Some members of the APERSU Team took part in the 5th Annual EuroQol Academy Meeting on March 1 and 2, 2021. This meeting was held virtually, as all meetings have been for the past 15 months.

The APERSU team is currently working with the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) on several studies estimating the association of COVID-19 on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and life satisfaction of Albertans. Results of the studies are expected during the next few months. Overviews of our other activities are reported below in this newsletter.

We have continued to host the APERSU Webinar Series. Members of the Primary Care Working Group presented in December on “The use of routinely collected PROMs data in Primary Care Networks in Alberta”. In April, we held a second APERSU Online Forum titled, “Emerging topics in patient-reported outcome measures in primary care” with speakers from Alberta and Quebec; more details follow in this newsletter. We invite you to view this webinar and online forum, or previous ones, on our website at www.apersu.ca.

We will be hosting more online forums in place of the face-to-face APERSU End-User Meeting, as we did last year. Topics for the online forums will be announced in the fall.

We will be hosting the APERSU Board of Directors Meeting and the APERSU Scientific Advisory Committee Meeting virtually again this year; both will be held in October, 2021. Thank you to all members of these groups, as well as the PCN Working Group, for their ongoing participation and expertise; we appreciate their commitment and direction.

On behalf of the APERSU Team, I would like to wish you all a great summer and most importantly, stay safe and healthy! We will update you on APERSU’s activities in December.

You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by emailing us at apersu@ualberta.ca.

We look forward to sharing our progress with you biannually in future newsletters.

Newly Produced Whiteboard Videos

As part of our ongoing work with a knowledge translation grant from the EuroQol Research Foundation, we recently produced two whiteboard videos. These 2-minute videos explain patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), what they are and how to use the data at the micro, meso and macro levels in the health system. They target clinicians, health system evaluators, managers and other non-researcher users of PROMs.

Click on the images below to watch the videos.

Please feel free to use and share these videos with your networks.

Emerging Topics on Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Primary Care Online Forum

In lieu of our annual End-user meeting, we hosted a second online forum on “Emerging Topics on PROMs in Primary Care”. Michel Haener of Grande Prairie Primary Care Network moderated the session. Three Canadian experts presented the following:
• Prospective application of implementation science theories and frameworks to inform use of PROMs in routine clinical care within an integrated pain network – Dr. Sara Ahmed (McGill University)
• Using patient-reported experiences in healthcare – Dr. Maria Santana (University of Calgary)
• Perspectives on primary care during COVID-19 – Roland Simon (Health Quality Council of Alberta)

All presenters gave a short presentation, Q&A, as well as participated in a full panel discussion. The full recording is available here, along with the forum proceedings. Thank you to all the presenters and participants.

EQ-5D Content Validity Study

APERSU is pleased to have partnered with colleagues at the National University of Singapore to conduct a study titled ‘Exploring the content validity of the EQ-5D across cultures using standardized qualitative methods.’ The purpose of this study is to assess the adequacy of the EQ-5D descriptive system in representing health status across various cultures. People’s perceptions of health are influenced by the cultures they live in, but the EQ-5D was only developed by a small group of European researchers. Therefore, the construct of health status embodied by the EQ-5D descriptive system may only reflect the cultural setting and background of the people who developed it. The EuroQol Research Foundation has provided funding for this research project to investigate the content validity of the EQ-5D in 7 different countries: China, India, Indonesia, Spain, The Netherlands, Argentina, and Canada. The evidence from this study will deepen the EuroQol Group’s understanding of the aspects of health which are important to people in different areas of the world and help to better understand and explain the appropriateness of the instrument in those regions.

In April 2021, project leads, Nan Luo and Zoe Hildon, provided standardized study training to APERSU team members, Allison Soprovich and Hilary Short, who are conducting the qualitative interviews with Canadian participants. Participant recruitment and data collection began in May 2021 with 11 of 25 participants recruited. Interviews are conducting virtually over Zoom, allowing for greater regional diversity with study participants joining from various provinces including Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Prince Edward Island. The Canadian data collection is aimed to concluded in August 2021. If you are interested in participating in this study, contact Hilary at heshort@ualberta.ca.

APERSU PCN Working Group Update

We are happy to welcome Nolan Schaaf (Chinook PCN) to the APERSU PCN Working Group this spring. Nolan’s background is in evaluation and quality improvement activities within his PCN. We look forward to his insights and collaborations.

Thank you to Ann Makin (Bow Valley PCN) and to Peter Rymkiewicz (Mosaic PCN), for their service on this working group for the past 3 years. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

The APERSU PCN Working Group continues to support PROMs in primary care in Alberta, including implementation practices, research projects and dialogue with other PCNs across Alberta. APERSU is also continuing to offer one-on-one PCN consultations, aimed to guide and support PROMs implementation and use. If you would like more information or to book a consultation, please connect with Allison Soprovich (allison.soprovich@ualberta.ca).

APERSU Publications

Short H, Al Sayah F, Ohinmaa A, Johnson JA. The performance of the EQ-5D-3L in screening for anxiety and depressive symptoms in hospital and community settings. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2021;19(1):96. PMID: 33741011.

APERSU Webinars/Online Forums/Presentations

Brower K, Schmitt-Boshnick M, Haener M, Wilks S. Moderator: Soprovich A. The use of routinely collected PROMs data in Primary Care Networks in Alberta. APERSU Webinar Series, December 9, 2020.

Ahmed S, Santana M, Simon R. Moderator: Haener M. Emerging Topics on Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Primary Care. APERSU Online Forum, April 14, 2021.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Fatima Al Sayah and Hish Hussein on the birth of their twin boys, Adam and Ramy.

Upcoming Events

Online Forum and APERSU Webinar Series

Dates and Topics TBD

Our Contact Information:
APERSU
University of Alberta
2-040 Li Ka Shing CHRI
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
email: apersu@ualberta.ca
Website: www.apersu.ca
Phone: 780-248-1010