EDDI work in the department of emergency medicine
The department of emergency medicine recognizes the importance of supporting research that enhances equity, diversity, decolonization and inclusion (EDDI) in emergency medicine.
The department is proud to support an interdisciplinary Equity, Diversity, Decolonization & Inclusion committee led by Dr. Murdoch Leeies and Dr. Carmen Hrymak. The committee works to identify gaps in knowledge and service, followed by recommendations for best practices, lecture series and educational modules to enhance health equity, diversity, decolonization and inclusion in emergency medicine.
The Disrupting Racism in Emergency Medicine (DRiEM) research program is one way the department is working to improve Manitoba’s emergency departments by understanding, and then designing, evidence-based strategies to mitigate racism in emergency departments.
Department of emergency medicine researchers are examining the impact of routine enhanced data collection of equity-relevant sociodemographic variables in the emergency department. It is only through the collection of this data that we can characterize and measure inequities for different populations and design strategies to promote equitable access to care and outcomes for all patients. Through this research, Dr. Leeies and his interdisciplinary team have identified best practices, compared relevant benefits and risks of enhanced sociodemographic data collection, and developed recommendations for processes that are both safe and effective.
- Leeies, M., Grunau, B., Askin, N., Fesehaye, L., Kornelsen, J., McColl, T., Ratana, P., Gruber, J., Hrymak, H., & Hrymak, C. (2022). Equity-relevant sociodemographic variable collection in emergency medicine: A systematic review, qualitative evidence synthesis, and recommendations for practice. Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, 10.1111/acem.14629. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.14629
- Hrymak, H, Hrymak, C, Ratana, P, Leeies, M. Legal issues pertaining to the collection of sociodemographic data in emergency departments. Acad Emerg Med. 2023; 00: 1- 5. doi:10.1111/acem.14709
Accelerated Remote Consultation Tele-POCUS in Cardiopulmonary Assessment (ARCTICA)
Dr. Tom Jelic, assistant professor of emergency medicine, is the provincial lead and a co-investigator for the Accelerated Remote Consultation Tele-POCUS in Cardiopulmonary Assessment (ARCTICA) project, which aims to see if physicians and nurses working in rural and remote communities can be taught how to perform a focused cardiac and lung assessment using point of care ultrasound. The study was awarded $200,000 from the New Frontiers in Research Fund – Exploration.
Automated decision support
Dr. Murdoch Leeies, assistant professor of emergency medicine, is partnering with Dr. Farzad Zaerpour from the University of Winnipeg’s Faculty of Business to develop a data-driven decision support system for managing patient flow in emergency departments with the ultimate goal of decreasing barriers to accessing emergency medicine care for all patients. Their work was awarded $99,000 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation (OTDT) Patient and Public Advisory Team
Many of the department of emergency medicine faculty have subspecialty areas of expertise. In addition to leading advocacy efforts to promote EDDI in emergency medicine, Dr. Murdoch Leeies is working in the organ and tissue donation and transplantation system to improve equity for systemically marginalized populations.
Several inequities for SOGI-diverse persons in the Canadian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation (OTDT) system have been identified. Dr. Leeies, as a hospital based organ donation specialist physician with the Transplant Manitoba Gift of Life program is leading a collaborative program of research to further define, explore and understand these inequities to inform system changes to promote equity for SOGI-diverse persons in OTDT. With the support of the University of Manitoba George & Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation Preparing for Research by Engaging Public and Patient Partners (PREPPP) award, Dr. Leeies has developed a patient and caregiver advisory team composed of persons with SOGI-diverse identities and lived experiences of the OTDT system to integrate patient and public perspectives into this program of research.
Dr. Leeies and Dr. Carmen Hrymak just published a novel scoping review that maps out existing published harms and inequities for SOGI-diverse persons in OTDT systems. They have also collaborated with the Community-Based Research Centre to publish a policy report highlighting Canadian specific system inequities with recommendations for policy revisions to improve equity in the Canadian OTDT system.
- Leeies M, Collister D, Ho J, et al. Inequities in organ and tissue donation and transplantation for sexual orientation and gender identity diverse people: A scoping review [published online ahead of print, 2023 Mar 28]. Am J Transplant. 2023;S1600-6135(23)00359-3. doi:10.1016/j.ajt.2023.03.016
- Leeies, M., Christie, E. & Collister, D. Sexual orientation and gender identity in organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Nat Rev Nephrol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41581-023-00711-2
- Ending Discriminatory Practices in Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation.
Highlighted authors: Drs. Murdoch Leeies, Carmen Hrymak. Publication: Community-Based Research Centre. Vancouver; 2023. Link:https://www.cbrc.net/ending_discriminatory_practices_in_organ_and_tissue_donation_and_transplantation_otdt
Patient/community engagement in the department of emergency medicine
Understanding the lived experience of individuals and their communities is critical to informing them of the services available and how they are delivered.
We are currently seeking participants for patient advisory teams to act as partners in the development of research questions that are important to you as well as the design of research studies to answer those questions.
To take part as either a patient or a community partner, please contact us.