Hamilton Township, New Jersey

Canada-wide Implementation of a Virtual Sexual Health and Rehabilitation eClinic (SHAReClinic) for Prostate Cancer Patients and Their Partners

Detailed Description The considerable prevalence of sexual dysfunction (SD) after prostate cancer (PCa) treatment makes SD post-treatment a substantial health-related quality of life burden for patients and their partners. Research indicates that 40% to 75% of men suffer from SD post-PCa. Sixty percent of men experience significant distress in response to SD. Significant distress is also reported by partners and couples. Overall, patients cite sexual health concerns as the most significant unmet need following treatment for PCa. Accordingly, there is an existent need for equitable, timely, and affordable access to high-quality SD treatment for Canadian PCa patients and their partners. Unfortunately, none of the empirically-based, comprehensive interventions reported in the literature have been implemented into clinical settings in Canada. The lack of translation from research evidence to clinical implementation is common across healthcare provision. It is known that most research, even positive full-scale studies, do not result in practice-change or take years to do so. A key aspect contributing to this lack of knowledge translation is the complexity of transitioning an "experimental intervention" to "real world" clinical settings. In sexual healthcare in oncology, ineffective knowledge translation is ubiquitous and includes several unique complexities that impair the implementation, integration, and sustainability of empirically-based treatment. The recent advent of virtual care in healthcare offers an opportunity to address many of the barriers to implementing sexual recovery programs within PCa treatment facilities. Virtual care provides greater accessibility for patients not proximal to cancer centres, or who are unable to travel due to financial constraints or physical limitations. Encouragingly, examples of internet-delivered interventions exist for men with PCa and their partners. Schover and colleagues found that a digitally-based intimacy enhancement intervention was as effective as a brief in-person sex therapy intervention in improving sexual outcomes in couples after PCa. Although these advances in models of care provision are inspiring, the majority of Canadian PCa patients and their partners have yet to benefit from virtual care innovations. In an effort to advance evidence-based survivorship programming in the treatment of SD post-PC, a team of expert Canadian healthcare practitioners and patient/partner advocates developed the Sexual Health and Rehabilitation eClinic (SHAReClinic). SHAReClinic is a web-based, bio-psychosocial SD intervention specifically for patients/couples who have undergone treatment for PCa. A pilot study evaluating the acceptability and engagement of SHAReClinic achieved significant patient activity on the platform and 80% patient engagement at 1-year follow-up. Additionally, evaluation of the effectiveness of SHAReClinic showed non-inferior sexual health outcomes when compared to a "best practice" in-person sexual health clinic. Rationale Sexual dysfunction after PCa treatment has significant adverse impacts on patient/partner health-related quality of life. Few Cancer Centres in Canada offer comprehensive care for SD post-PCa treatment, resulting in significant barriers to care equity and access. SHAReClinic is established as effective virtual care programming for SD post-PCa. The goal of this research is to evaluate the SHAReClinic in 2 cancer centres currently using it as usual care and 9 cancer centres which has newly implemented SHAReClinic as part of their usual care. The SHAReClinic will be offered to 1. Newly diagnosed patients at who are scheduled to undergo active treatment for localized prostate cancer, 2. patients currently undergoing active treatment for prostate cancer and 3. patients who have undergone prostate cancer treatment within the last 6 months. Active treatment can include any of the following options surgical, radiation, and/or ADT. The SHAReClinic goals are to re-establish optimal sexual function, satisfaction and to support the maintenance of intimacy following prostate cancer treatment. These goals are addressed through two complementary components: 1) a bio-medical component (erectile rehabilitation), focused on the long term penile health or short-term erectile function as per patient preference, and 2) a psychological component (intimacy maintenance), involving the maintenance or restoration of couples' intimacy and sexual activity (penetrative or non-penetrative). Both physical and psychological factors can affect patients' sexual satisfaction after cancer treatment; resultantly, interventions should incorporate a bio-psychosocial approach to rehabilitation. Study Design This is a prospective observational evaluation of a virtual sexual health and rehabilitation intervention program. As part of patient standard care, facilitated web-based clinic visits will be provided to patients once before treatment, 6 weeks, 10 weeks, 4 months, 6 months and 12 months post cancer treatment. Patients who opt-in to the SHAReClinic will also be invited to register for this study. The study involves no additional requirements from patients, as all questionnaires (baseline, 6-weeks, 6 months, and 12 months) are completed as part of their enrolment in the SHAReClinic. Patients experience in the SHAReClinic involves the following: Upon registration, patients will be paired with a sexual health coach from their center and asked about their availability to receive a phone/video call from their sexual health coach. At the beginning of the first clinic visit, participants will be asked to complete a set of questionnaires. The questionnaires take around 10-15 minutes to complete. Patients are also asked to complete the same questionnaires at 6 week, 6 months and 12 months. The topics covered in each clinic visit vary and are based on the treatment schedules of the participants. A Q&A session on the web page will be available for participants to leave any questions or concerns regarding their sexual health, rehabilitation process and the content of the portal. Participants are free to request for a check-in call with their sexual health coach if they want to chat about their concerns by phone. Each clinic visit will last approximately 30 minutes. If participants miss their clinic visit, they will get a notification from the platform and then a reminder call from their sexual health coach. At the end of their final SHAReClinic clinic visit, participants will be asked to fill out a satisfaction questionnaire, including questions about the ease of access to the website, their experience with SHAReClinic portals and communication with their sexual health coach. The satisfaction questionnaire takes about 10 minutes to complete.

Longitudinal Study to Investigate Different Transcranial Electrical Stimulation

This research will investigate the effect of applying transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) with different parameters when paired with cognitive exercises with optional background music on older adults in a longitudinal study. In addition, the investigators will investigate and explore novel technological methods not only to monitor the plausible changes due to intervention. Since most technological intervention on dementia have a demanding and costly protocol, it would be of great interest to personalized optimum treatment strategy. The investigators will use Egocentric Spatial Assessment using our Virtual Reality Navigation (VRN) and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measurements and analysis to develop the monitoring technologies. VRN measures how people orient themselves in a non-familiar environment; the investigators hypothesize it is deteriorated significantly in Alzheimer's even at its onset. fNIRS measures oxygenated and deoxygenated blood flow to the brain and it may help to understand neuronal changes due to intervention.

Optimizing Nutrition and Milk (Opti-NuM) Project

Observational study mode: The Opti-NuM Project is a retrospective secondary data/sample use study. Time perspective: Secondary use data and biospecimens accruing from the 2 completed studies DoMINO and OptiMOM (NCT02137473) and 1 ongoing RCT MaxiMoM (NCT05308134) are included in this project. Sampling method: This project is a secondary use of data/samples, from a cohort consisting of participants of the MaxiMoM Platform RCTs.

A Study of 2 Doses of Ritlecitinib in People 12 Years of Age and Older With Alopecia Areata

Pharmacogenomics of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI)-Induced Behavioural Activation

Background and Rationale: Major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are among the most common mental health disorders in children and adolescents. Antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most frequently prescribed medications for this population. Although SSRIs are generally effective and well-tolerated, some children suffer from burdensome adverse effects. One such adverse effect is "behavioural activation", which is characterized by a rapid onset of hyperactivity, impulsivity, irritability, or insomnia that can lead to consequences such as violence and suicidal ideation. Collectively, this can impose a major burden on families as well as a substantial economic cost to society. Unfortunately, there are no clinically useful markers available to assist clinicians in predicting which children and adolescents will experience behavioural activation as a result of SSRI treatment. Given that the use of these medicines in Canada is steadily increasing, solutions to curb the incidence of SSRI-induced behavioural activation are needed. The proposed study provides one such solution by identifying genetic markers associated with this adverse event. Objectives: The proposed study aims to identify and validate a panel of genetic markers associated with SSRI-induced behavioural activation in children and adolescents with MDD, anxiety disorders, or OCD that could ultimately be used clinically to reduce the incidence of this adverse event and improve health outcomes. Methods: Children and adolescents (aged 17 years or younger) who developed (cases) or did not develop (controls) behavioural activation after taking an SSRI will be matched on age, sex, ethnicity, diagnosis, and the SSRI prescribed. One hundred participants (50 cases, 50 controls) will be recruited. Participants will be recruited from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Program at the Health Sciences Centre, the Children's Hospital of Winnipeg, pediatric community clinics, and clinics currently participating in the Manitoba Primary Care Research Network. Saliva samples will be collected from these children. DNA will be extracted and genotyped using a comprehensive pharmacogenomic array. Pharmacogenomic profiles of the two groups will be compared to identify a panel of genetic variants associated with SSRI-induced behavioural activation. Finally, the panel will be replicated using an independent cohort of children with SSRI-induced behavioural activation from the University of Calgary. Expected Outcomes: The study not only provides the opportunity to advance knowledge in a grossly understudied area but also directly addresses a clinical need that, if fulfilled, could drastically reduce the incidence of a potentially severe adverse event associated with the care of children and adolescents with MDD, anxiety disorders, and OCD. The study will provide an initial and crucial step for achieving this anticipated impact by enabling the discovery of pharmacogenomic markers that could then be taken forward and tested in prospective clinical trials and ultimately integrated into clinical practice.

Skeletal Muscle Myokine Response to Acute Eccentric Exercise

The intervention will involve one session of maximal eccentric exercise of the knee extensor muscles (quadriceps) of the right leg. During the 24-hour period preceding the intervention, participants will be asked to refrain from any for of moderate-vigorous physical activity or exercise. Participants will perform 30 sets of 10 repetitions of maximal isokinetic eccentric knee extensions at 60 degrees/second with 1-minute of rest between each set. Before completing the exercise bout, each participant will be asked to remain in a seated position (resting) for 30-minutes and then provide a skeletal muscle biopsy using the modified Bergstrom with suction muscle biopsy technique from the vastus lateralis on the right leg. This will be done for the baseline assessment of 5 myokines including apelin, fibroblast growth factor-21, irisin, interleukin-6, and interleukin-15. Then the participants will complete the exercise bout as described above. They will then rest quietly in the laboratory for 3-hours and wait for the second skeletal muscle biopsy to be taken following this 3-hour wait.

Small Steps for Big Changes - Healthy Cities Implementation Science

In partnership with YMCAs in Canada spanning 8 provinces (overseeing 44 distinct community facilities/sites), the investigators will adapt and deliver our evidence-based diabetes prevention program, Small Steps for Big Changes. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of SSBC across diverse urban communities. Specifically, the investigators aim to: 1. Evaluate the implementation and sustainability of the program by examining the number of staff trained/patients enrolled, attendance, sessions delivered as planned, delivery costs, and number of sites continuing to deliver the program. 2. Examine clinical-effectiveness of the program on: T2D status (self-report and HbA1c; primary outcomes), cardiorespiratory fitness, anthropometric (weight, waist circumference, resting heart rate), health behaviours (exercise, diet). 3. Examine cost-effectiveness of the program on: healthcare resource utilization, and health-related quality of life (secondary outcomes). Research Design: A hybrid type 2 implementation-effectiveness study design (Curran et al., 2012) with multi/mixed methods will be used to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of SSBC. SSBC program: SSBC will be administered and facilitated by the community facility trainers at YMCA locations. SSBC consists of 6 sessions delivered over 4 consecutive weeks, with each session comprising brief (20-30 mins) counselling that support participants self-regulatory skills to promote independence and long-term adherence to healthy dietary behaviours and regular exercise, followed by 20-30 mins of supervised aerobic exercise.

Evaluation of Tranexamic Acid in Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Acute Myeloid Leukemia

RATIONALE: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are serious, life-changing blood cancers. Despite the best efforts of their care team, patients with MDS and AML commonly experience complications related to bleeding. These complications affect patient quality-of-life and can sometimes lead to hospitalization or death. Evaluation of affordable and widely available treatments to minimize bleeding complications among patients with MDS and AML is needed. STUDY OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility of tranexamic acid (TXA) that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of treatments to minimize bleeding in patients with MDS and AML treated in the outpatient setting. METHODOLOGY: The investigators will conduct a multicenter pilot randomized control trial (RCT) for outpatients ≥18 years of age with MDS and AML. Patients with MDS and AML with low platelet counts will receive TXA (a medication that prevents clots from dissolving). TXA is commonly used in other clinical settings but have not been studied in patients with MDS or AML receiving outpatient chemotherapy (ie, chemotherapy that can be given from clinic, rather than a hospital). In this study, 50% of patients will be randomized (like the flip of a coin) to receive the medication the investigators are studying. The other 50% of patients will receive a matching placebo. OUTCOMES: The primary feasibility outcome is the ability to enroll a mean of 1 patient per site per month. SITES AND DURATION: The investigators will initially enroll patients from 10-15 sites across Canada. The expected duration of enrollment is 2 years. SIGNIFICANCE: With a broad range of stakeholders, including patient partners, the trial will address a broadly applicable patient-prioritized question. Tranexamic acid is readily available, inexpensive, and has an established side effect profile. Results of this trial are highly generalizable and will broadly impact the care of patients with MDS and AML.

Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health (BEAM) 2024-2027

The initial five years of a child's life mark a critical developmental phase and a period of high sensitivity to environmental stressors, including the impact of parental mental illness (MI) and parenting stress. Research has consistently linked parental MI with a broad range of child-related issues, including irritability, sleep disturbances, and socio-emotional developmental impairments. These adverse outcomes are often attributed to environmental factors, including parental modeling of maladaptive emotion coping strategies such as avoidance and aggression and harsh parenting practices characterized by reactive discipline and conflictual interactions. Notably, when parental MI is accompanied by additional stressors such as domestic conflict or financial strains, the long-term risks for children are exacerbated. Further, the chronicity of parental MI has critical implications for children. When stressors and parental MI are persistent, the risk of adverse developmental outcomes for children increases, putting children at heightened risk for stress and development of their own psychopathology. This highlights the critical need for interventions that address parental MI and the broader spectrum of parenting stress and its multifaceted impacts on children. Despite the need for parents to improve their stress and mental health symptoms, the majority of parents do not access evidence-based treatments. Previous research has documented many barriers preventing parents from accessing care. These barriers include service backlogs, long waitlists, high costs of individual therapy, lack of information of where to access interventions, and overwhelming childcare demands. Additionally, although evidence-based treatments exist, most interventions do not comprehensively address the mental health of both parents and children. This gap in services is significant, given meta-analytic evidence indicating that dual-generation programs, which simultaneously target parent MI and child well-being, yield impacts that are 50% larger in promoting positive child outcomes compared to programs focused solely on addressing parental MI. There is a clear need to provide accessible and scalable solutions that promote positive mental health and developmental outcomes in at-risk children. Digital mental health interventions offer a potential avenue for addressing family needs and barriers to care that are an accessible and low-cost option, and research shows great promise for treating adult depression using these methods. Additional emerging research highlights the efficacy of app-based programs in improving parental MI and parent-child interactions. However, very limited existing app-based or mHealth programs address both parental mental health and parenting skills, which indirectly targets child well-being. In response to this need, the investigators conducted qualitative research (i.e., focus groups and individual interviews with parents with lived experience) and consulted with a parent advisory board to co-develop a program that simultaneously addressed parental MI and parenting. Results suggested that parents wanted accessible, online services grounded in expert research. Alongside patient-partners and community providers the investigators then developed the BEAM (Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health) app-based program. The BEAM program is aligned with best practices in mHealth programs including patient-driven priorities, rapid-cycle iterations to facilitate continual improvements, and a commitment to evidenced-based care. Key elements of the original BEAM program include: (1) expert-led educational videos using transdiagnostic therapy and emotion-focused parenting strategies; (2) brief group sessions to consolidate therapeutic content and build social support; (3) a community forum to enhance social connection; and (4) symptom monitoring to track progress. In case of a mental health or parenting-related crisis, clinical coaches also consult via phone. BEAM builds on evidence from the investigative team's knowledge synthesis work suggesting that mHealth therapeutics can address parent MI and while appealing to parents. The BEAM intervention has consistently demonstrated promising outcomes across various trials to date. The investigative team's latest phase II RCT with mothers of toddlers found that the BEAM program outperformed a services-as-usual (SAU) control condition. Significant improvements in parental MI symptoms including anxiety, anger, and alcohol use were observed. Additionally, BEAM was effective in reducing harsh parenting practices and negative parent-child interactions, with substantial improvements observed for families living in poverty. This trial also showed noteworthy participant engagement with retention rates (84%), comparable to in-person therapy sessions. This phase of research built on and replicated the success of earlier trials with both an open pilot and pilot RCT demonstrating BEAM's efficacy in reducing MI symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, sleep issues, and substance use. Qualitative feedback from the initial trials emphasized the positive impact of the BEAM program on mental health and parenting, leading to enhanced quality of life and improved family relationships. Participants also highlighted the value of the social support gained through the online community. To further address family mental health needs, this trial will test the readiness of the BEAM program for scalability. The current study involves a hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial design to build on previous work. The investigators will use both effectiveness and implementation metrics including short-term follow ups of primary outcomes alongside longer-term follow-ups of mental health and socio-developmental outcomes with linked administrative data. This hybrid design follows the "type 2" model, in which effectiveness and implementation are co-primary aims and can be tracked simultaneously as the trial progresses. This approach is consistent with the investigative team's rapid-cycle program development to date in which BEAM has been tested and adapted in response to patient and provider feedback through each iteration. This implementation trial aims to maximize BEAM's accessibility, equitability, and effectiveness for future nation-wide implementation. For the current implementation trial, the investigators conducted a full App rebuild to create BEAM Version 2.0 based on participant and Parent Advisory Board feedback. BEAM 2.0 updates include improvements to psychoeducational video content (e.g. high-quality video production, animations, closed captioning), the mobile application user experience (e.g. push notifications, direct messaging, integrated video player that adjusts video quality based on available bandwidth, easy-to-navigate platform), and functionality across mobile device operating systems (iOS, Android). The weekly psychoeducational videos, short symptom tracking surveys, and social support community forum are now housed seamlessly within the BEAM app. Other aspects of the program include individual check ins with trained peer coaches, group drop-in sessions, and a connection to a systems navigator, whose role will be to support participants in accessing community resources.

Assessing the Feasibility of a Virtual Reality Intervention for Phantom Pain Immediately Following Lower Limb Amputation

There are many barriers that prevent people with lower limb amputations (LLA) from receiving effective nonpharmacological treatment for their phantom limb pain (PLP), such as long outpatient wait times and the sparse number of amputation rehabilitation specialists. Early administration of effective PLP treatments, such as graded motor imagery (GMI), may improve both treatment access and efficacy if it is administered through virtual reality (VR). However, no VR GMI treatments have been developed or tested in the acute postoperative period following LLA to prevent PLP. The current study will recruit 30 patients being treated for LLA at the Health Sciences Centre (HSC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba to assess the feasibility and pilot outcomes of a novel VR GMI program administered in the postoperative acute care setting, with the goal of preventing and or reducing PLP. First, the researchers predict the mean acceptability, tolerability, and length of engagement in the VR program will be high across administration contexts and each of the VR stages. Second, the researchers hypothesize the recruitment strategies employed will capture and retain a large, representative sample of individuals undergoing LLA at the HSC. Lastly, the researchers predict length of VR program engagement will demonstrate a preliminary effect on PLP incidence, intensity, and interference at one-month follow-up. Baseline characteristics such as anxiety, depression, and amputation etiology will also be explored as extraneous variables. This research will be the first to provide evidence for the feasibility of VR PLP treatment administered immediately following LLA. The results will inform future development of the VR program and optimize the study procedures for an upcoming randomized clinical trial.