WORKSHOPS

Spatial Perspectives in Population Health – Two-day workshop

Date: February 9-10, 2012
Time: 9:00 to 4:30 each day
Location: SFU WOSK, Centre for Dialogue, Room 320

Refreshment breaks and lunch are included in the workshop fee.

Space is an essential, though underutilized, framework for population health research and practice. This two day workshop explores spatial perspectives in population health and uses hands on case-studies to introduce different types of spatial data and geographic information system (GIS) methods.

Participants of the workshop will learn how to critically interpret and assess spatial analyses and how to conceptualize and apply GIS methods to different aspects of population health. Specific case-studies will be conducted in ArcGIS and will introduce geo-coding of health data, mapping, calculating travel times and service areas, exposure assessment, time-series maps and cluster identification, and methods for assessing built and social neighbourhood characteristics.

The hands on case-studies will be taught at an intermediate level. Individuals with no ArcGIS experience are welcome to take the workshop but may find it difficult to complete all case-studies; nevertheless, they will obtain a good introduction to GIS capabilities. More advanced GIS users will benefit from the workshop theory and exposure to new spatial data sources and GIS applications to population health.

Participants will receive a bound copy of all workshop notes.

Workshop Instructor:
Perry Hystad  is a PhD candidate in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. His research activities broadly cover environmental and spatial epidemiology, cancer surveillance and prevention, and interactions between social and environmental health determinants. He is a researcher with CAREX Canada, a national occupational and environmental carcinogen exposure surveillance initiative, and has previously developed and taught workshops on GIS and Spatial Epidemiology. 

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Scientist Knowledge Translation Training – One-day workshop

Date: February 9, 2012
Time: 9:00 to 4:30
Location: SFU WOSK, Centre for Dialogue, Room 370

Refreshment breaks and lunch are included in the workshop fee.

A well-developed knowledge translation (KT) plan is emerging as a proposal requirement for health research in Canada and abroad, and there is greater attention to research utilization and research impact in many aspects of practice and research across disciplines.   The workshop is intended for researchers in health, mental health, education and social sciences who have an interest in sharing research knowledge with multiple audiences beyond the traditional academic community, as appropriate, and in increasing the impact potential of their research.

During this one day workshop, participants will develop improved understanding, knowledge and attitudes related to KT within the social, political and research contexts. They will also be introduced to knowledge translation frameworks, review of the evidence base for KT strategies and an overview of the basic elements of KT planning and budgeting. The later part of the workshop will also provide an orientation to best practices in establishing and maintaining collaborations and partnerships with non-academics and policy makers.

Participants will receive tools such as the SKTT KT Research Planning Template and a SKTT Manual.

Workshop Instructor:
Dr. Barwick is a Registered Psychologist with a primary role as a Health Systems Scientist in the Community Health Systems Resource Group at SickKids.  She is Associate Scientist and inaugural Scientific Director of Knowledge Translation in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences program of SickKids’ Research Institute, and holds appointments as Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. 

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Finding the Story in Healthcare Data & Communicating it with Tables and Graphs – One-day workshop

Date: February 10, 2012
Time: 9:00 to 4:00
Location: SFU WOSK, Centre for Dialogue, Room 370

Refreshment breaks and lunch are included in the workshop fee.

This one-day workshop will deliver hands-on training in the best practices of displaying and communicating healthcare data using tables and graphs. The workshop is highly interactive with a combination of lecture and small group case study activities, and is designed to give researchers and professionals the tools they need to present health related data so that their message is clear and compelling.

The workshop is designed to provide a greater understanding of how to apply critical thinking and analytical skills to identify patterns, trends and stories in data not previously considered, and will introduce participants to data visualization techniques, which will empower them to communicate the stories in their data “at a glance.” 

Participants will receive a bound copy of workshop notes including reference grids and summary inquiry techniques for consultation with stakeholders.

Workshop Instructor:
Kathy Rowell has 25 years of experience working with providers, payers, policy makers and regulatory agencies. This applied work, together with her unusual combination of degrees in business, health management and clinical quality and outcomes from the Dartmouth Medical School, gives her a unique ability to teach and advise healthcare organizations about how to capture, manage and communicate their data.  She is a member of the faculty at Brandeis University where she teaches Data Analysis and Decision Support in the Medical Informatics Graduate Program, and a her most recent clients include the World Health Organization and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

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Longitudinal Analysis Workshop – Two-day workshop

Date: February 9-10, 2011
Time: 9:00 to 4:30 each day
Location: SFU, Harbour Centre, Computer Lab 7050, 7th Floor

Refreshment breaks and lunch are included in the workshop fee.

Understanding patterns, processes, and predictors of change is at the heart of many health research questions. This two-day workshop will provide an introduction to concepts and methods in longitudinal data analysis and hands-on experience conducting multilevel growth curve analysis.

In the first day, fundamental concepts and different methodological approaches to longitudinal data analysis will be presented, accompanied by examples from recent Canadian population health research. Both multilevel growth curve and latent growth curve approaches will be discussed. During the second day, participants will work with real data to build and interpret a two-level growth curve model with time-invariant and time-varying predictors. This workshop will provide participants with a practical introduction to longitudinal analysis and multilevel growth curve modelling.

Workshop participants should have at least a basic knowledge of statistical modelling, including experience conducting multiple linear regression. No experience in multilevel modelling or structural equation modelling is required. Participants will develop knowledge and experience interpreting a variety of longitudinal models, and experience conducting multilevel growth curve modelling.

Participants will receive a bound copy of workshop notes.

Workshop Instructors:
Dr. Heather Orpana is a Senior Research Analyst with the Division of Aging and Seniors at the Public Health Agency of Canada, and an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Ottawa. Previously a Senior Researcher at Statistics Canada, she has extensive experience in the longitudinal analysis of complex data sets.

Dr. Barry Forer is a research methodologist and statistician with the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) at the University of British Columbia. One of his primary interests is the effect of different aspects of early developmental well-being on later academic and social/emotional outcomes.

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