Primary Health Care Learning Series

BRIC NS

BRIC NS Primary Care Learning Series: November 2025

The BRIC NS Primary Care Learning Series is an opportunity for professors, established researchers and/or early career investigators across Nova Scotia to share their completed or in-progress primary care research.

This seminar features two presentations:

Presentation #1

Title: Embedding Pediatric Pain Standards into Everyday Care

Presenters: Patti Douglas, RN, BScN & Louise Tunnah, PhD

Patti Douglas is the Clinical Implementation Specialist in Pediatric Pain Management with IWK Health’s pediatric-LHS ‘Maritime Child Health’ in partnership with Solutions for Kids in Pain. Originally from Prince Edward Island, she began her career as a registered nurse in rural healthcare before joining IWK Health. Most recently, she played a key role in acquiring ChildKind International certification and supports the IWK’s Pain Champion group. She is actively working on building connections in the pediatric pain care field and looks forward to collaborating on the grant project for Kids Brain Health Network.

Louise Tunnah (she/her) is the Managing Director of Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP). SKIP is a national knowledge mobilization network based at Dalhousie University that is on a mission to improve children’s pain management by mobilizing evidence-based solutions through coordination and collaboration. Having earned her doctoral degree in Biology from the University of Guelph, Louise now brings her skills and experience managing research projects to contribute to SKIP’s meaningful and important work regarding children’s pain.

Presentation #2

Title: Exploring the implementing and impacts of the Adult Comfort Promise for patients receiving intrauterine device insertion and endometrial biopsy: a mixed methods study protocol

Presenters: Laura Kennedy, PhD, MPH, RN & Jennifer Spencer, NP

Dr. Laura Kennedy is a Registered Nurse and CIHR Health Systems Impact Postdoctoral Fellow at IWK Health. Dr. Kennedy holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from McMaster University and a Master of Public Health from Memorial University. In 2024, Laura completed her PhD in Health at Dalhousie University. She has over ten years of experience as a Registered Nurse and received the Chris Power Leadership Development Award for her contributions to health promotion at Nova Scotia Health. Laura holds an Adjunct Appointment in the School of Nursing at Dalhousie University and teaches courses in health policy, knowledge translation and population health. Dr. Kennedy’s program of research uses policy research methods to explore health promotion within healthcare and community settings.

Jenn Spencer completed her Master of Nursing Nurse Practitioner Family all Ages from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2023. She spent 13 years working as an RN at IWK Health in both the Women’s and Newborn Health Program and the Children’s Health Program. She currently shares her NP role at the IWK between Gynecology, Early Pregnancy Complications Clinic, and the Emergency Department. She works as an NP in the Hants ED and is an adjunct professor at Dalhousie University for the NP program. She is involved in establishing a nurse-led interdisciplinary healthcare team for early pregnancy complications to improve timely access to patient-focused, psychologically safe care. She has a passion for, and focuses on assessing and treating pain for gynecological procedures, improving access to gynecological care, nurse leadership and NP role implementation. She has a passion for research and implementing positive change. A quote she finds especially meaningful is from Kalhil Gibron, who says that “work is love made visible.” Outside of her work, her loves include her 3 sons, who help maintain a curious approach to life and a strong sense of adventure!

When: November 19th, 2025 12:00 – 1:00pm AT

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BRIC NS

BRIC NS Primary Care Learning Series: September 2025

The BRIC NS Primary Care Learning Series is an opportunity for professors, established researchers and/or early career investigators across Nova Scotia to share their completed or in-progress primary care research.

Title: Validation and Application of a Needs-Based Complexity Case-Mix System for Community-Based Primary Health Care Planning and Research

Presenter: Beth McDougall is a Senior Epidemiologist with Nova Scotia Health Performance and Analytics and has worked in health research for almost 20 years. She recently completed her PhD in Epidemiology and Applied Health Research at Dalhousie University under the supervision of Dr. George Kephart and is set to graduate in October 2025. She is passionate about health, with research interests spanning primary health care, mental health and addictions, health services research and clinical trials. She particularly enjoys contributing to projects that advance evidence-based decision-making in healthcare. In her spare time, Beth loves hiking and keeping up with her energetic 16-month-old and playful Labrador Retriever.

When: September 17, 2025 12:00 – 1:00 pm AT

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BRIC NS

BRIC NS Primary Care Learning Series: May 2025

The BRIC NS Primary Care Learning Series is an opportunity for professors, established researchers and/or early career investigators across Nova Scotia to share their completed or in-progress primary care research.

Title: Evidence-Based Guidelines for All: Advancing Knowledge Translation and Health Equity in Primary Care of Diabetes and Obesity (2025-2030)

Presenters:

Dr. Kevin Pottie is a Distinguished Professor, and Research Chair in Family Medicine at Dalhousie University. His research covers health equity and digital transformation. Dr. Pottie’s systematic reviews and clinical guidelines are transforming primary care clinical approaches to refugee and migrant health, homeless populations, and ‘deprescribing’ for the elderly. His influential evidence-based refugee health contributions extend to leading roles in organizations like Cochrane Health Equity Thematic Group, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care and collaborations with IOM and WHO Geneva. Canadian Researcher of the Year Award in 2021, he received the international Springer Nature Inclusive Health Research Award in 2023. Dr. Pottie’s work embodies a dedication to fostering a diverse and vibrant research culture that advances health equity within health systems.

Divine Ngeh Budzi, has a background in public health with over eight years of experience in community health and humanitarian projects in Cameroon, primarily focusing on monitoring and evaluation. As the founder of several community initiatives, he is driven by a strong commitment to being a community solutionist, particularly in the areas of community health, youth transitions, and the development of local projects. His passion lies in client-centered design and advancing health equity to improve community well-being. Now based in Canada, he is expanding his expertise in health equity research, with a particular focus on understanding and proposing solutions to address the health equity needs of refugees and immigrant populations

When: May 29th, 2025 12:00 – 1:00 pm AT

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BRIC NS

BRIC NS Primary Care Learning Series: April 2025

The BRIC NS Primary Care Learning Series is an opportunity for professors, established researchers and/or early career investigators across Nova Scotia to share their completed or in-progress primary care research.

Title: Enhancing Continuing Care Case Management Services for Older Adults with Complex Needs

Presenter: Dr. O’Neil is a CIHR Health Systems Impact post-doctoral fellow conducting embedded research within Nova Scotia Health Continuing Care. Her work, which forms part of Continuing Care’s ongoing case management renewal initiative, focuses on better understanding the needs of older adults with complex health and social care issues. This unique research partnership also includes the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging (NSCA) at Mount Saint Vincent University.

Kelly holds a doctoral degree in educational studies from St. Francis Xavier University (2024) with a focus on older women’s learning. She also holds a master’s degree in gerontology and family studies from MSVU (2019) where her master’s research on housing insecurity among older women living with a low income in Halifax Regional Municipality garnered the university’s Graduate Thesis Award. She obtained a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Dalhousie University (2011) with an emphasis on critical, anti-oppressive practice. Kelly has been a research associate with NSCA since 2017 and has worked on projects focused on older workers, family/friend caregiving and dementia education. Kelly has worked as a professional gardener for almost 30 years, and enjoys making art and being in nature.

When: April 23rd, 2025 12:00 – 1:00 pm AT

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BRIC NS

BRIC NS Primary Care Learning Series: December 2024

The BRIC NS Primary Care Learning Series is an opportunity for professors, established researchers and/or early career investigators across Nova Scotia to share their completed or in-progress primary care research.

Title: Innovating Health Systems: A Showcase of Research from the Centre for Integrated Care

Presenter: Dr. Shelley Doucet is the Jarislowsky chair in Interprofessional Patient-Centred Care, professor in Nursing and Health Sciences, and director of the Centre for Research in Integrated Care at the University of New Brunswick. Shelley’s expertise lies in interprofessional patient-centred care, patient navigation, integrated care and qualitative research. She has a broad pan-Canadian research network through her role as the New Brunswick research lead for the Primary Care Research Network (PCRN).

When: Dec 3rd, 2024 12:00 – 1:00 pm AT

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BRIC NS

Primary Care Learning Series

Join us to learn research and quality assurance projects being conducted by the primary and integrated health care community

Topic: Overview of 211 and its services

Presenter: Sherry Forester

Sherry Forester, 211 Communications Manager, and other team members will present an overview of 211 services and its linkage to primary care delivery across the province. For more information about 211, visit: 211 Nova Scotia – 211NS 

Date: November 24th, 2023 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm AST

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BRIC NS

Primary Care Learning Series

Join us to learn research and quality assurance projects being conducted by the primary and integrated health care community

Title: Overview of OurCare Research Project

Presenter: Dr. Ruth Lavergne, PhD

The OurCare project is a national conversation with everyday people about the future of primary care in Canada. This includes a national survey, provincial priorities panels, and community roundtables, culminating in a national blueprint for the future of primary care. The project is paying particular attention to the needs and experiences of underserved groups, while ensuring a representative sampling of the country’s demography. This presentation will discuss findings of the national survey and the recommendations of the Nova Scotia priorities panel, which were recently released this fall 2023. Panelists were a group of 34 everyday Nova Scotians from all walks of life, who came together to study primary care in Nova Scotia, identify shared values and problems to solve, and make recommendations for the future. 

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BRIC NS

Primary Care Learning Series

Join us to learn research and quality assurance projects being conducted by the primary and integrated health care community

Date: March 30th, 2023 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm AST

Title: Implementation of a palliative approach to care in primary care settings; a realist evaluation

Presenter:

Jodi Langley is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Health at Dalhousie University. She completed her Masters in Health and Exercise Science from UBC- Okanagan and her Bachelors degree in Kinesiology at Acadia University. Her research focuses on understanding non-curative cancer patient’s perspective of physical activity and other quality of life enhancing programmes.

This stream of research emerged from working with Dr. Grace Warner on implementing an early palliative approach to care in primary care which highlighted the positive impact of an early approach to palliative care for maintaining quality of life until the end of life.In her research, Jodi enjoys using realist evaluation, which asks the question “What works, for whom, under what circumstances and why?”

This type of evaluation increases our understanding of what makes some programmes successful and others unsuccessful. Other interests and efforts include working with the patient and public to co-design research projects that are sensitive to context. Jodi is a big advocate for community-based research and working with the community to design programmes that aim to benefit them directly. Current and past projects include Early Palliation through Integrated Care (EPIC), EXercise for Cancer to Enhance Living well (EXCEL), Activating Cancer Communities through an Exercise Strategy (ACCESS), and RESISTance training for brain cancer (RESIST).

***This event has already passed! For future series, keep an eye out for updates on our social media and in our newsletter***

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BRIC NS

Primary Care Learning Series

Join us to learn research and quality assurance projects being conducted by the primary and integrated health care community

Date: January 30th, 2023 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm AST

Title: lnterprofessional Collaboration between health professional learners when breaking bad news: a JBI scoping review

Presenters:

Stephen G Miller MD, CCFP(EM), FCFP, MEd
Dr. Miller is the Associate Dean of Continuing Professional Development and Medical Education since 2020 as well as the Director of Simulation for the Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine since 2019. He is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and works clinically as an Emergency Physician at the Halifax Infirmary in the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax. He received a Master of Health Professions Education (Curriculum Studies) from Acadia University where his focus/interest was in simulation-based education in 2014. He has co­authored and presented widely with publications and presentations in inter­professional education, feedback research, breaking bad news, medical education, and simulation-based education. He co-led the development and implementation of the Simulation Leader Inter-professional Instructor Course (SLIICTM) which has trained over 250 simulation facilitators while offered at Dalhousie University. He also co-led with Dr. Lackie, the team that developed the first iteration of the new hybrid e-SLIIC simulation course in spring of 2022.

Kelly Lackie BScN, MN, PhD, RN, CCSNE
Dr. Lackie is the Associate Director of Simulation-based Education & Inter­professional Education and an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing, Dalhousie University. She is cross-appointed to the Department of Emergency Medicine, Faulty of Medicine, Dalhousie University and is an Affiliate Scientist at Nova Scotia Health. Dr. Lacki e’s program of research is situated in the discipline of inter-professional education for collaborative person-centered practice {IPECP) which focuses on a number of interrelated areas, including inter-professional education, learning, practice, and care; simulation-enhanced inter-professional education; psychological safety; inter-professional collaboration and productivity; competency assessment; evidence-based decision-making; and health systems planning. Dr. Lackie sits on the Steering Committee and co-leads the Knowledge Network of I nte rprofessiona I Research.Global (I PR.GI oba I), the G loba I Network for Inter-professional Education and Collaborative Research. Dr. Lackie, co-lead of the development of inter-professional facilitator competencies, has offered inter­professional facilitator development workshops since 2006. She was the co-Director of the Simulation Leaders Inter-professional Instructor Course (SLIIC) and has co-led the development of the new Inter-professional Simulation Facilitation Course, which builds upon and replac.es the previous well-known SLIIC.

***This event has already passed! For future series, keep an eye out for updates on our social media and in our newsletter***

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BRIC NS

Primary Health Care Learning Series

Join us to learn research and quality assurance projects being conducted by the primary and integrated health care community

Date: February 9, 2022 | 12:00 – 1:15 pm AST

This seminar will consist of two presentations:

Talking ’bout my generation: Practice patterns among early-career family physicians and implications for primary care policy and workforce planning

About the speaker:

Dr. Ruth Lavergne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Dalhousie University and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Primary care. Dr. Lavergne’s program of research aims to address disparities in access and build evidence to ensure primary care organization, delivery, and workforce meet the needs of Canadians now and in the future. She leads the Early Career Primary Care (ECPC) study, which is exploring changing practice patterns among family physicians, as well as practice intentions and choices among family medicine residents and early career physicians.

The kids are alright: Influences on the intentions for obstetric practice among family physicians and residents in Canada

About the speaker:

Dr. Emily Gard Marshall is an Associate Professor in the Dalhousie Department of Family Medicine Primary Care Research Unit, cross appointed with Community Health and Epidemiology, and Psychiatry, as well as a Nova Scotia Health Affiliated Scientist. Her mixed methods research examines primary healthcare from patient, provider, and system perspectives to address the quadruple aim: promoting population health, optimizing costs, enhancing patient experience, and supporting care team well-being. Foci include access, continuity, and comprehensiveness to improve equity and optimize outcomes across the life course, involving population data and equity-deserving populations. She leads multiple pan-Canadian studies including the CIHR COVID-19 Rapid Response funded PUPPY-Study. Dr. Marshall is the 2020 recipient of the NAPCRG Mid-Career Researcher Award.

***This event has already passed! To view the seminar recording, please contact bricns@dal.ca***