Research projects

Our team specializes in training healthcare professionals by helping them developing the skills that will allow them to promote patient participation in decision making.

Ongoing projects

  • Improving the quality of life of older adults living with neurodegenerative diseases by studying the scaling up of tools supporting care transitions within French-speaking communities in Canada

    Full Project Title

    Improving the quality of life for older adults living with neurodegenerative disease by studying the scaling of tools supporting care transitions within Francophone communities in Canada

    Description

    Uniting for Better Quality of Life and Optimal Care for People Living with Age‑Related Neurodegenerative Disorders and Their Care Partners.

    The AQUILA research project addresses the major challenges posed by population aging and the growing prevalence of major neurocognitive disorders (MNCDs) within Francophone communities across Canada. These populations, living in a linguistic minority context, are particularly vulnerable to dysfunctional care transitions. Such breaks in service continuity—for example, during a return home after hospitalization—significantly undermine the quality of life of older adults and their care partners.

    Objective

    To address this issue, our research program aims to establish a robust methodological framework to improve the planning and coordination of care during these critical transitions. Our approach is firmly grounded in co‑creation, drawing on the expertise of patient partners, care partners, and healthcare professionals to ensure that the solutions developed are relevant and sustainable within the Canadian context.

    In summary, this project aims to improve the quality of life of older adults living with an age‑related neurodegenerative disease and their care partners by ensuring they receive the best possible care as they navigate the Canadian healthcare system.

    Methods

    The project is structured around several interconnected components:

    • Identify best practices that support older adults living with a neurodegenerative disease—and their care partners—during transitions between care settings and living environments. This includes systematically reviewing the scientific and grey literature to identify available knowledge tools and determine how they can be adapted to different Canadian contexts.

    • Select indicators to measure the effectiveness of using these knowledge tools and to ensure rigorous monitoring of their impact within three Francophone minority communities.

    • Collaborate with targeted Francophone communities to implement the identified knowledge tools.

    • Contribute to training and supporting clinical teams so they can provide the best possible care.

    • Study the potential for scaling these knowledge tools to make them accessible to all Francophone communities across Canada in the long term.

    Principal Investigator(s) :

    Co-investigator(s) :

  • Co-construction of an intersectional approach to improve decision-making among migrant women from ethnic and racialized minorities in pre- and postnatal care pathways in Quebec (CoDecide)

    Full Project Title

    Co-construction of an intersectional approach to improve decision-making among migrant women from ethnic and racialized minorities in pre- and postnatal care pathways in Quebec (CoDecide)

    Description

    Migrant women often face significant challenges in accessing healthcare. They do not always have access to the public health insurance plan, may lack understanding of how the Quebec healthcare system works, and may experience inadequate or unwelcoming treatment in certain health and social service settings. These circumstances place women and their babies at increased risk during pregnancy and childbirth. As a result, they are sometimes forced to make difficult decisions that may negatively impact their health, such as remaining without adequate care or returning to their country of origin. Our goal is to support them in better understanding their options and making informed choices during this critical period.

    We will develop an online training program and educational videos for healthcare professionals, migrant women, and community organizations. First, we will collect testimonies from migrant women, healthcare professionals, and community workers through focus groups to understand the challenges women encounter in their pre‑ and postnatal care pathways. Next, we will co‑construct a training program and videos with these participants to provide information on women’s rights related to access to information, respectful care, and informed decision‑making in pre‑ and postnatal care.

    We will then evaluate the training and videos in three clinical settings in Quebec to observe how they influence healthcare professionals’ behaviours, as well as the knowledge of migrant women and community workers. Our project has the potential to improve healthcare services for migrant women in Quebec, and by directly involving them in decision-making processes, it will support better access to pre‑ and postnatal care and improved overall health outcomes.

     

    Objective
     
    To promote more inclusive, respectful, and culturally responsive care for migrant women, thereby contributing to the reduction of health inequities.
     
    Methods

    Phase 1: Environmental Scan and Needs Assessment

    This phase will use focus groups (migrant women / service providers), guided by the Ottawa Decision Support Framework (ODSF), along with a comprehensive literature review to explore decision‑making needs.

    Phase 2: Co‑development

    This phase will draw on the Experience‑Based Co‑Design (EBCD) approach through workshops aimed at creating an online training composed of two modules: a first module shared by both groups, and a second module intended exclusively for service providers. The training will aim to inform migrant women of their right to shared decision‑making (SDM) and to increase providers’ sensitivity to migration‑related factors that influence the ability to practice SDM with migrant women.

    Phase 3: Pilot Evaluation

    This phase will consist of a case study in a clinical setting, assessing the acceptability and effects of the intervention using the DPC‑REACTION questionnaire (pre/post training) to evaluate changes in providers’ intentions regarding SDM. This assessment will be complemented by focus groups with women and community stakeholders.

    Phase 4: Assessment of Implementation Potential

    This phase will evaluate the intervention using the ISSaQ 4.0 questionnaire

    Principal investigator(s) : France Légaré; Anik Giguère

    Co-investigator(s) :

  • Mobilizing Stakeholders in Scaling Up: MOBILISÉ

    Full Project Title
     
    Mobilizing Stakeholders in Scaling Up: MOBILISÉ

    Description

    The La Pommeraie University Family Medicine Group (GMFU La Pommeraie) successfully designed and implemented a continuous quality improvement (CQI) innovation aimed at enhancing communication practices related to laboratory and imaging investigation results. The innovation included several activities, notably stakeholder mobilization. The successful implementation of this innovation has generated interest in expanding it—i.e., scaling it up—to other clinical settings in Quebec.

    Objective

    Strategic objective of the SSA Québec unit addressed by this project:

    • 1.6 Effective Tools: Mobilization of various stakeholders, particularly clinicians, in carrying out SSA projects.

    Specific project objectives: Based on the concrete case of a CQI innovation with a strong “knowledge mobilization” component, our objective was to:

    • Describe the innovation (and its various components) implemented by the innovating team, and distinguish it from the strategies used to implement it.
    • Describe the stakeholder mobilization process used by the innovating team to implement the innovation.
    • Assess the potential for scaling up this innovation in new clinical settings.

                                • Recruit new clinical settings.

                                • Mobilize knowledge within new settings in order to:

                                • Evaluate their potential for scaling up.

    Methods

    Methodology divided into six phases:

    1. Co-planning of the project (including developing the charter and action plan, securing funding, and establishing project teams).
    2. Documentation of the initial implementation process.
    3. Selection of nearby clinical settings for initiation into the scaling-up process.
    4. Training trainers from the selected settings on the initial implementation process and its scaling-up potential.
    5. Evaluation of the scaling-up potential within the selected settings.
    6. Project closure (including development and dissemination of a summary report and a detailed report outlining successes, challenges, and lessons learned during the project).

    Principal Investigator : Dr. France Légaré, SPOR Support unit , Change Management Axis, Université Laval

  • Scaling up Shared Decision Making in the Quebec Health System: Role and Contribution of Public Policy Decision-Makers

    Full project title:

    Scaling up Shared Decision Making in the Quebec Health System: Role and Contribution of Public Policy Decision-Makers

    Description:

    The SOLIDE project aims to better understand how shared decision making (SDM) can be scaled up within health and social services systems, with a specific focus on the role and contribution of public policy decision-makers (PPMs). Although SDM is widely recognized for improving patient experience, health outcomes, system efficiency, and equity, its implementation remains limited and uneven. This project explores how policymakers can support the expansion and institutionalization of SDM through policy frameworks, governance structures, and system-level mechanisms that enable sustainable and equitable scaling.

    Objective:

    To analyze the role and contribution of public policy decision-makers in scaling initiatives related to shared decision making in health and social services, in order to identify their needs, levers of action, and strategies that foster inclusive, responsive, and sustainable integration of SDM across governance levels.

    Methods:

    This study adopts a descriptive qualitative design.

    Data will be collected through:
    • Semi-structured interviews with four categories of participants: patient and citizen partners, researchers, health and social services professionals, and community organization leaders
    • A self-administered sociodemographic questionnaire
    • Document analysis and maintenance of a research logbook to support contextual understanding

    The analysis will be guided by the Scaling Impact framework, examining how public policies and governance mechanisms can support SDM scaling initiatives. A thematic analysis will be conducted with triangulation across multiple data sources to enhance rigor and credibility. 

    Principal Investigator: France Légaré

    Co-investigator(s): Amédé Gogovor, VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable; Valéry Ridde, Université Paris Cité; Andrew Milat, University of Sydney

  • Evolving SSA Mapping

    Full Project Title

    Evolving SSA Mapping: Evolving Mapping of Available Resources to Support the Scaling Up of Innovations in Health and Social Services in Québec

    Description

    In the health sector, scaling up refers to the set of efforts undertaken to extend the positive impacts of an innovation (services, practices, products—new or perceived as such). Scaling up requires the rapid mobilization of human resources (experts and specialists), and material resources (infrastructure, technologies, tools, training, etc.). These human and material resources may fluctuate over time. An evolving mapping of these resources would facilitate scaling up by enabling the identification, localization, and mobilization of resources, improved planning of scaling-up projects and better identification of potential resource needs.

    Objectives

    Strategic objective of the Québec SSA Support Unit addressed by this project

    • 1.7 High-performing tools – Recognition of competencies in SSA

    Specific Project Objective

    To co-design and disseminate an online, interactive, and evolving directory to continuously identify, locate, and classify:

    • Human resources (experts and specialists), and
    • Material resources (infrastructure, technologies, tools, training, etc.)

    available within academic and non-academic settings in Québec, to support the scaling up of innovations in health and social services.

     

    Methods

    The methodology is structured into five phases

    • Phase 1 – Project Co-Planning : Including development of the project charter and action plan, securing funding, and establishing the project teams.
    • Phase 2 – Development and Deployment of an Online Self-Reporting Questionnaire : Designing, validating, and making available an online self-administered questionnaire to collect information.
    • Phase 3 – Ongoing Data Analysis : Continuous analysis of the information collected.
    • Phase 4 – Knowledge Translation : Developing and implementing a knowledge translation plan, including environmental scanning.
    • Phase 5 – Project Closure : Including the development and dissemination of a summary final report, and a detailed final report highlighting successes, challenges, and lessons learned throughout the project.

  • Scaling Up the Peer Support Model

    Full Project Title

    Service Offering for the “Scaling Up of Innovative Practices of the Peer Support Model”

    Description

    As part of the 2024–2026 activity planning of the Québec SSA Support Unit, the Partnership Axis and the RUISSS PP–Université de Montréal Hub submitted a project entitled “Deployment and Scaling-Up Tools for the Peer Support Worker Project.” This project represents an innovation focused on the integration of peer support workers within various care settings. The Partnership Axis and the RUISSS PP–UdeM Hub sought to collaborate with the Change Management Axis – Université Laval Hub to leverage its expertise in the scaling up of innovations. The Change Management Axis – Université Laval Hub has already produced several works related to scaling up and has co-developed a number of scaling-up tools, including: ISSaQ 4.0, a tool for assessing the potential for scaling up; éLARGIE training, designed to build stakeholder capacity in scaling up in general and specifically in the use of the ISSaQ 4.0 tool; and LENGAGE training, focused on engaging citizens in scaling-up processes.

    Objectives

    Strategic objective of the Québec SSA Support Unit addressed by this project:

    • 1.5 High-performing approaches and tools for the implementation of practices and innovations within a learning organization

    Specific Project Objective

    • To offer a service to support the Partnership Axis of the Québec SSA Support Unit and the RUISSS PP–Université de Montréal Hub in the scaling up of innovative practices from the Peer Support Worker Project
      (service delivered by the Change Management Axis – Université Laval Hub).

    Methods

    The methodology is structured into two phases

    • Phase 1 - Train stakeholders involved in the Peer Support Worker Project on scaling-up concepts and tools, and actively engage them in the scaling-up process of the project’s innovative practices.
    • Phase 2 - Provide support to the Partnership Axis of the Québec SSA Support Unit and the RUISSS PP–UdeM Hub to assess the scaling-up potential of selected innovative practices from the Peer Support Worker Project, chosen based on their relevance and effectiveness within the health and social services (SSA) context.

  • Factors Influencing the Completion Rate of Online Training Activities

    Full Project Title

    Factors Associated With the Completion of Online Continuing Professional Development Courses Among Medical Specialists in Québec

    Description

    In a context of continuous evolution of medical knowledge, the Collège des médecins du Québec requires physicians to complete 250 hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) over five years. The Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ) offers its members online courses through the MÉDUSE Learning Management System (LMS). However, despite the proven effectiveness of this modality, completion of certain courses remains problematic, leading to resource losses and potentially compromising the quality of care.

    Objective

    The general objective of the study is to identify factors associated with the completion of online CPD courses among medical specialists in Québec.

    Methods

    This cross-sectional study will cover the period from March 12, 2020, to December 31, 2024, selected due to the increased demand for online training related to the COVID‑19 pandemic. The study population will consist of Québec medical specialists enrolled in at least one online course on the MÉDUSE LMS during this period. Variable organization will be based on an integrative conceptual framework inspired by the theory of self-regulated learning. The dependent variable will be course completion, defined as having viewed all course content and completed the associated evaluation. Independent variables will be grouped into four categories: (1) participant characteristics, (2) course characteristics, (3) socio-environmental factors, and (4) participant behaviors during their learning process. To identify factors associated with completion, generalized estimating equation (GEE) models will be used, specifying a Poisson distribution and an exchangeable correlation structure. Courses will be treated as clustering units to account for correlations among observations within the same course. This approach will provide prevalence ratios and their 95% confidence intervals. Results will be presented according to the recommendations of the "Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE)" guidelines.
     
    Principal Investigator
    • France Légaré

  • Engagement of older adults receiving home care and their caregivers in health decisions, in partnership with clinical teams (ENGAGE)

    Full Project Title

    Engagement of older adults receiving home care and their caregivers in health decisions, in partnership with clinical teams

    Objective

    • Assess the scalability of decision aids (DAs) used in home care.
    • Prioritize these tools based on the decision‑making needs of older adults receiving home care.
    • Adapt the selected tools to ensure their effective implementation within the Québec healthcare system.

    Methods

    An interdisciplinary steering committee (SC), including service users, helped identify and prioritize decision aids (DAs) based on a systematic review, followed by a two‑round eDelphi process. DAs considered important by more than 75% of participants in each round were retained. At the end of this process, the SC selected one DA to prioritize for the Québec context. To update the evidence and adapt this tool, a rapid review of systematic reviews was conducted. The PADA platform was used for the tool’s development. To facilitate its use, we are currently developing a training program based on the Interprofessional Shared Decision-Making (IP‑SDM) model and reflexivity.

    Principal investigator(s): France Légaré; Guy Thibodeau

    Co-investigator(s): Aubin, Emmanuelle J; Ben Gaied, Nouha; Emond, Julie; Falardeau, France; Archambault, Patrick; Blanchette, Virginie; Giguère, Anik; Gogovor, Amédé; Morin, Michèle

  • Engaging women and girls in the Global South in decisions concerning their health and well-being through the implementation of shared decision-making (ENGAGED)

    E

  • Development of decision support tools meeting high quality criteria to facilitate shared and informed decision-making related to the various screening programs and to optimize the use of the Guide to Good Practices in Clinical Prevention, through the SRAP Quebec Support Unit.

    E

  • Factors Associated With the Completion of a Continuing Professional Development Activity Among Healthcare Professionals in Québec: A Cross‑Sectional Study

    Full Project Title

    Factors Associated With the Completion of a Continuing Professional Development Activity Among Healthcare Professionals in Québec: A Cross‑Sectional Study

    Description

    This project is led by the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Shared Decision-Making and Knowledge Mobilization, directed by Dr. France Légaré. It focuses on an online continuing professional development (CPD) training program designed by the Chair, in collaboration with an expert in pedagogical content development for the medical doctorate program, an educational technology advisor from the Faculty of Medicine, and the Vice‑Dean’s Office of Education and Continuing Professional Development (VDPDPC), all affiliated with Université Laval.

    The Chair aims to support the implementation of shared decision-making (SDM) in healthcare, notably through the continuing professional development of healthcare professionals. It has led several initiatives, including a 2010 workshop that brought together decision-makers, researchers, and clinicians to identify CPD needs and define integrated research strategies. The Chair has also developed innovative tools such as the CPD‑Reaction questionnaire, which measures the impact of CPD activities on clinical practice. This project, which focuses on identifying factors associated with the completion of an SDM‑focused CPD activity, contributes to these objectives by generating knowledge that will help improve the design and effectiveness of asynchronous SDM training activities.

    Objective

    To identify factors associated with the completion of a CPD activity on the application of shared decision‑making by healthcare professionals in Québec.

    Methods

    This is a cross‑sectional, analytical, and retrospective study covering the period from April 2023 to June 2024. The study will be reported in accordance with the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) guidelines for observational studies. The study population consists of healthcare professionals who completed a training module on the “Brio” platform. The training is a fully online, two‑hour asynchronous module offered on Brio and titled “Shared Decision-Making for Prenatal Screening and Diagnosis of Trisomies 21, 18, and 13.” It is designed to support the learning pace of healthcare professionals (HPs), who may leave and return to the training platform at their convenience. Each section includes videos, narrated capsules, authentic scenarios, targeted readings, assessments, and reflective practice questions.

    Participants were recruited through multiple strategies: email invitations with targeted reminders, word of mouth, and collaborations with CISSS and CIUSSS institutions. The primary outcome is training completion, defined as finishing all knowledge assessments and reflective exercises associated with each module.

    Independent variables are defined using an integrative conceptual framework combining the cyclical model of self-regulated learning and the COPES model. These variables include participant characteristics, course characteristics, socio‑environmental factors, and behaviors observed during the learning process. Data on these factors and on completion will be extracted from the training database. A sample size calculation was not conducted; however, a post‑hoc power analysis will be performed.

    Principal investigator: France Légaré

    Co-investigator: Jean-Paul Rivest

Finished projects

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