Quality of Non‐Surgical and Non‐Pharmacological Knee Osteoarthritis Care in the Maritimes

Authors: Aleksandra Budarick, Cheryl Hubley-Kozey, Linda Li, Olga Theou, William Stanish Journal: Musculoskeletal Care Objectives: To evaluate the quality and types of care individuals with mild‐to‐moderate knee osteoarthritis receive in the Canadian Maritime provinces, and determine associations with demographic, social, and patient‐reported factors. Methods: Individuals with knee osteoarthritis were invited to complete a healthcare quality survey based on the British Columbia Osteoarthritis (BC OA) survey. The cross‐sectional descriptive observational survey assessed four healthcare quality indicators: advice to exercise, advice to lose weight, assessment of ambulatory function, and assessment of non‐ambulatory function. Pass‐rates were calculated overall and for each quality indicator. Binary logistic regressions determined associations between quality indicators and demographic, social, and patient‐reported outcomes. Patient‐reported use of exercise and diet as arthritis treatments were added to the quality indicator eligibility criteria as a sensitivity analysis. Results: Participants (n = 241) had a mean age of 67 (7) years, body mass index of 30.7 (7.5) kg/m2 and were 77% female. The overall pass rate was 42.9% using the BC OA criteria, and 49.3% in the sensitivity analysis. Individual quality indicator pass‐rates ranged from 4.3% for non‐ambulatory function to 85.7% for ambulatory function assessments. The sensitivity analysis increased pass‐rates for advice to exercise (61.9%–69.3%) and advice to lose weight (27.9%–35.1%). Pass‐rates were not driven by demographic, social, or patient‐reported factors. Conclusions: Over half of individuals with mild‐to‐moderate knee osteoarthritis did not receive recommended core treatments in the Maritimes, highlighting a need to improve care for this patient group. Quality indicators should be routinely evaluated to determine whether clinical care aligns with best practice guidelines. doi: 10.1002/msc.70047

New Article – Quality of Non-Surgical and Non-Pharmacological Knee Osteoarthritis Care in the Maritimes

Congratulations to Aleksandra Budarick, Dr. Cheryl Hubley-Kozey, Dr. Rebecca Moyer and team on their new article, “Quality of Non-Surgical and Non-Pharmacological Knee Osteoarthritis Care in the Maritimes.” Participants with osteoarthritis from Atlantic PATH were invited to participate in an ancillary study about the Current Management and Health Care Quality for Patients with Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis. Over half of individuals with mild-to-moderate knee osteoarthritis did not receive recommended core treatments in the Maritimes, highlighting a need to improve care for this patient group.

Global Biobank Meta-Analysis Initiative: How CanPath is Powering Genetic Discovery Across Human Disease

The Global Biobank Meta-analysis Initiative (GBMI) unites 24 biobanks, including CanPath and its regional cohorts, with data from over 2.2 million people, to power global genetic discovery. By integrating diverse genetic info, GBMI improves disease risk prediction, advances personalized medicine, and boosts discoveries. CanPath contributes Canadian data, adding diversity and impact! Together, they’ve harmonized data, improved data on 14 diseases, and accelerated drug target discovery. The future? More inclusivity, better data sharing, and deeper disease insights.

CIHR Team Grants: Bringing Biology to Cancer Prevention

Team Grants — Bringing Biology to Cancer Prevention  This opportunity is led by the CIHR Institute of Cancer Research (CIHR-ICR) in collaboration with the CIHR Institutes of: Aging (CIHR-IA), Gender and Health (CIHR-IGH), Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (CIHR-INMD), Population and Public Health (CIHR-IPPH), and in partnership with the BioCanRx, Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), Cancer Research Society (CRS), Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) – Adopting Sustainable Partnerships for Innovative Research Ecosystem (ASPIRE), and the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI). This funding opportunity aims to unite interdisciplinary research teams to advance the biological and mechanistic understanding of cancer etiology, genesis, and risk to identify new targets and approaches for cancer prevention, risk reduction and early detection. CanPath and Atlantic PATH can provide letters of support for applicants using our data and biological samples. Registration deadline: April 1, 2025 Application deadline: June 19, 2025 Additional details: https://bit.ly/3PtR8SC Upcoming webinars: January 29, 12:30-2:00 PM ET | Register here. February 5, 12:30-2:00 PM ET | Register here  

2024/25 Scotia Scholars Undergraduate and Summer Research Awards

From Research Nova Scotia: The Scotia Scholars Award provides financial support to students with exceptional potential who are, or wish to be, engaged in a health research project at participating institutions. Applications for the undergraduate awards are now open to students at Cape Breton University, Université Sainte-Anne, and University of King’s College, and applications for the summer research awards are now open to students at Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC). This award supports the growth and retention of highly skilled individuals who are advancing and translating knowledge in one or more of RNS’s health mission areas: disease detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, strengthening our health care delivery system, caring for vulnerable populations, preventing negative impacts to health and wellbeing. Applications are due January 30, 2025 at 1:00pm (AST). Additional details: https://researchns.ca/ssa