CIHR Health System Impact Fellows: Reflections on “Driving Change” Within the Health System

Learning health systems necessitate interdependence between health and academic sectors and are critical to address the present and future needs of our health systems. This concept is being supported through the new Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Health System Impact (HSI) Fellowship, through which postdoctoral fellows are situated within a health system-related organization to help propel evidence-informed organizational transformation and change. A voluntary working group of fellows from the inaugural cohort representing diversity in geography, host setting and personal background, collectively organized a panel at the 2018 Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research Conference with the purpose of describing this shared scholarship experience. Here, we present a summary of this panel reflecting on our experiential learning in a practice environment and its ability for impact

Preventing Respiratory Viral Illness Invisibly (PRiVII): protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized trial evaluating far-UVC light devices in long-term care facilities to reduce infections

Abstract Background Respiratory viral illness (RVI)—e.g., influenza, COVID-19—is a serious threat in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Standard infection control measures are suboptimal in LTC facilities because of residents’ cognitive impairments, care needs, and susceptibility to loneliness and mental illness. Further, LTC residents living with high degrees of frailty who contract RVIs often develop the so-called atypical symptoms (e.g., delirium, worse mobility) instead of typical cough and fever, delaying infection diagnosis and treatment. Although far-UVC (222 nm) light devices have shown potent antiviral activity in vitro, clinical efficacy remains unproven. Methods Following a study to assay acceptability at each site, this multicenter, double-blinded, cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled trial aims to assess whether far-UVC light devices impact the incidence of RVIs in LTC facilities. Neighborhoods within LTC facilities are randomized to receive far-UVC light devices (222 nm) or identical placebo light devices that emit only visible spectrum light (400–700 nm) in common areas. All residents are monitored for RVIs using both a standard screening protocol and a novel screening protocol that target atypical symptoms. The 3-year incidence of RVIs will be compared using intention-to-treat analysis. A cost-consequence analysis will follow. Discussion This trial aims to inform decisions about whether to implement far-UVC light in LTC facilities for RVI prevention. The trial design features align with this pragmatic intent. Appropriate additional ethical protections have been implemented to mitigate participant vulnerabilities that arise from conducting this study. Knowledge dissemination will be supported through media engagement, peer-reviewed presentations, and publications. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05084898. October 20, 2021

Additional file 1 of Preventing Respiratory Viral Illness Invisibly (PRiVII): protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized trial evaluating far-UVC light devices in long-term care facilities to reduce infections

Additional file 1. Sample Size Estimation