An exciting partnership between researchers, decision-makers, policy-makers and stakeholders in the field Ontario home and community care.

Mandate

The OHCRN's mandate is to identify and address research needs in the field of home and community care in Ontario. OHCRN also supports knowledge-exchange activities with the goal of delivering current research evidence to Ontario home care stakeholders.

Goals

1. Identify gaps and priorities in home and community care research for Ontario.

2. To promote and conduct research that will help to improve the quality of home and community care in Ontario and enhance the quality of life of vulnerable populations.

3. To disseminate new research findings in a timely and accessible manner.

4. To bring together new and existing researchers with a shared interest in home and community care.

History

Origins of OHCRN

The Caplan Report, commissioned by the province of Ontario, made a number of recommendations to improve client-focused quality home care in Ontario. Ontario's response to the Caplan Report 'Choosing Quality, Rewarding Excellence' was released in May 2006. The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's response to the Caplan recommendation #1 was to develop new knowledge in an appropriate format to support clinical and policy decision-making in the field of home care. The ministry recommended the establishment of a non-endowed research Chair to lead a research consortium and actively promote research in home care to be used by decision-makers and to communicate research findings.

The Ontario Home Care Research and Knowledge Exchange Chair was established by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care in 2007. It was created to ensure a permanent commitment to advancing home care research that will inform and improve the quality of home care services and inform home care policy in Ontario. Dr. John Hirdes, Professor, University of Waterloo, Ontario, was appointed as the Chair of the Ontario Home Care Research and Knowledge Exchange Chair in July of 2007.

The mandate of the Chair is to provide effective communication, coordination and evaluation to support the uptake of home care research by home care decision-makers and stakeholders, other health and social services-related institutions, the larger community and the ministry.

OHCRN Governance

Chair

Dr. Hirdes is a Professor of Health Studies and Gerontology at the University of Waterloo and the Scientific Director of the Homewood Research Institute in Guelph. He is a Fellow and

Board Member of interRAI, an international consortium of researchers from 29 countries.

Dr. Hirdes is also a Board Member of the Seniors Health Research Transfer Network (SHRTN).

Steering Committee

The committee membership include leaders, decision-makers, and ministry representation in the field of home care in Ontario. Their primary goal is to identify existing gaps in Ontario home care research. The committee also provides input and support to knowledge exchange activities.

Membership List

Research Consortium

The consortium membership includes researchers across Ontario making a significant contribution in the field of home care in Ontario. Their primary goal is to promote research activities which will inform and improve home care service delivery in Ontario. Membership List

Knowledge Exchange Associate

Leslie Eckel is a Knowledge Exchange Associate at the University of Waterloo. Her role is to ensure that information on home and community care is available to stakeholders when needed, and in a format that is easy to understand and apply.

links to other presentations on this or related topics

• Getting a Better Return
• A Key Message From the OCFP
• Knowledge Exchange Key to Better Health Care for Seniors