INSPIRE Interprofessional Research
INSPIRE provides research supports and services for nurses and interprofessional healthcare professionals who are interested in leading or collaborating in research and quality improvement projects.
Through a systematic process, INSPIRE has identified four core themes that will be addressed as priority areas. These include:
Research Skills: Training, Workshops and Knowledge Sharing
Mentoring, Networking and Collaboration
Recognition, Value and Visibility
Barriers to Research and Opportunities for Funding, Capacity and Contributions
ELEVATE Interprofessional Research Stream Winners - 2026
Sandhya Goge - Registered Nurse
What are the decisional needs of adults living with type 1 diabetes considering an insulin pump?
People living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are faced with many health-care decisions, including choosing an insulin delivery method. They can continue injecting insulin via multiple daily injections (MDI), or they can switch to an insulin pump – a wearable device that continuously infuses insulin. As both options have their benefits and risks, it is often difficult for people to decide which option best aligns with their preferences and values. For equity-deserving groups, this decision is more difficult as they face more barriers to accessing insulin pump.
At TOH Diabetes Clinic, we support people with T1D as they decide between MDI or insulin pump. Little is known about what part of decision-making process poses a challenge. To date, no existing studies have examined their decisional needs, and no effective interventions are available to support them in making this decision.
Our study aims to identify decision-making needs of people with T1D who are considering an insulin pump. Our team of clinicians, a patient partner, and researchers propose conducting a mixed-methods study. We aim to recruit 50 participants with T1D, including those on MDI and those using an insulin pump. Participants will be asked to complete a survey to measure their decisional needs, including decisional conflict, decision regret, and decision self-efficacy. Upon completion of the survey, they will be invited to participate in an interview. Qualitative one-on-one interviews will explore common themes related to (a) perceived benefits and risks associated with options; (b) decisional needs; and (c) ways to better support them. We will use purposeful sampling to include people from equity-deserving populations. Analysis of data will identify decision-making needs (decisional conflict, uninformed, unclear values, inadequate support, decision regret) and self-efficacy, with a sub-analysis focused on equity-deserving populations. Findings from this study will inform the creation of interventions to support people facing this decision.
Vidhyalaksmi Veeraragavan - Nurse Educator
Improving patient safety, dignity, and early de-escalation practices on an acute mental health unit
Violence, aggression, and self-harm are common in acute mental health inpatient settings, posing risks to both patients and staff. Physical restraints are sometimes necessary to prevent imminent harm, but they can cause injury, emotional trauma, and damage therapeutic relationships. The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) enforces a hospital-wide “least restraint” policy emphasizing patient autonomy and safety; however, staff report challenges balancing safety and therapeutic intent, and post-restraint debriefing is inconsistently completed. Rising workplace violence further complicates clinical decision-making and highlights the need for structured, actionable interventions.
This project will pilot an adapted Six Core Strategies (SCS) framework on an acute mental health unit at TOH, to enhance consistency, appropriateness, and trauma-informed application of restraint practices. SCS is an evidence-based organizational approach encompassing leadership engagement, systematic data use, workforce development in trauma-informed care and de-escalation, proactive prevention tools (e.g., individualized safety/crisis plans), inclusion of individuals with lived experience, and structured post-restraint debriefing.
The 12-month project follows a phased, participatory design. Phase 1 will establish baseline restraint practices via chart review and administrative data. Phase 2 involves co-designing practical tools with staff and a person with lived experience, including simplified debriefing workflows, crisis plans, visual tracking tools (Safety Crosses, Mood Boards), and sensory supports, refined through focus groups and thematic analysis. Phase 3 will pilot the adapted framework, with fidelity assessed via documentation completeness, crisis plan utilization, and debriefing participation, and acceptability evaluated through staff surveys and interviews. Quantitative data will be analyzed descriptively, and qualitative feedback presented narratively. Expected outcomes include improved patient safety, dignity, and early de-escalation practices; increased staff confidence and unit cohesion; and consistent, trauma-informed restraint practices. This pilot will establish a sustainable model for restraint reduction, inform broader TOH implementation, and support organizational learning.
Susan Ward - Social Worker
Rewiring the Chronic Pain Experience: Feasibility and Pilot Testing of a Single-Session, 4-Hour delivery model of Pain Reprocessing Therapy
Chronic pain affects millions of Canadians, leading to high health-care costs, disability, and long wait times for effective treatment. At The Ottawa Hospital Pain Clinic (TOHPC), 2,800 new patients are referred annually, creating long delays for access to evidence-based, non-drug therapies. This forces many patients to wait months or even years for help. We need a way to quickly and effectively deliver high-impact treatments to more people. We propose a pilot study of an innovative solution: a four-hour, single-session delivery model of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT). PRT is a powerful, evidence-based psychological treatment grounded in the science of neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to change. It teaches patients to retrain the brain to interpret chronic pain signals through a lens of safety, viewing pain not as permanent structural damage, but as a reversible, over-protective signal generated by the nervous system. By condensing this therapy into a single structured session, led by a PRT-trained social worker, we aim to make it rapidly accessible and highly scalable. This new model is designed to drastically cut down wait times and fit easily within the existing clinic structure. This project will involve 80 patients and will primarily test two things: 1. Feasibility: Can we successfully deliver the four-hour session within the clinic’s daily flow, and will patients complete it? 2. Preliminary Effectiveness: Does this rapid treatment reduce pain interference and improve pain self-efficacy? Success will provide the essential proof-of-concept to integrate this model into TOHPC's standard care. This will ensure hundreds of patients can quickly access this neuroplasticity-based path to significant pain reduction and functional improvement, transforming our ability to deliver timely, non-pharmacological chronic pain relief.