News
2011
November 2011
Issues of Substance 2011 - The Connections Research team made two poster presentations and oral presentations at the recent Issues of Substance Abuse Conference, November 6-9, in Vancouver, BC. The presentations were:
1) Predictors of research use among service providers in Aboriginal addiction programs serving women.
2) Networks among Canadian Agencies Serving Women with Addictions
3) Partnership Patterns of Canadian Addiction Agencies Serving Women
4) Integrated Programs for Mothers with Substance Abuse Issues and Their Children: Parenting and Child Outcomes
5) Sources of Evidence in Addiction Treatment Decisions: The Influence of Lived Experience.
Phase 2 - We are now almost six months into phase 2 or our research. We have recruited 15 agencies from across Canada to participate in a one- year feasibility study of the Knowledge Broker strategy that we developed based on information compiled in Phase 1. Our Knowledge Broker has been traveling to each agency to conduct assessments, collect data, and conduct workshops and individual support for participating staff members. Check out our website over the coming months for more updates!
Recruiting- Connections is now recruiting participants for a unique qualitative study! If you are an executive director or a professional working in an equivalent position, in an addiction agency providing services for women with substance use issues, have personal experiences of addiction and recovery or have a significant other experiencing addiction or being in recovery, you are invited to participate in a research study that will help us explore how your lived experience influence your practice-related decisions. For more information about the study, please read the invitation below: To view invitation click here.
April 2011- Phase 2
We are excited to announce the launch of the second phase of Connections’ research program. To develop a knowledge translation strategy, we used information compiled in Phase 1 from interviews, online surveys, and regional meetings with stakeholders on their needs, preferences, and capacity for using research evidence as well as what they perceive to be evidence and how decisions are made concerning services. We will be recruiting agencies to participate in a one-year feasibility study of the knowledge translation strategy. Invitations to participate in this exciting study have been sent to executive directors of addiction agencies serving women across Canada who participated in Connections’ Phase 1 research. Check out our website over the coming months for more information!
Knowledge Broker Hired
We are pleased to announce that Diane Smylie has joined the team as Connections’ knowledge broker. Diane comes to Connections from the B.C. Centre for Excellence in Women’s Health where she continues to promote trauma-informed mental health and addiction service delivery. Prior to that, Diane was a Director at the Jean Tweed Centre in Toronto where she played a key role in developing, implementing, and evaluating new initiatives for pregnant and parenting women with substance abuse issues and mental health concerns. Diane will be working closely with agencies participating in Connections’ feasibility study.
2010
November 10, 2010 - During the fall of 2010, Connections held networking meetings across Canada with professionals working in the field of women’s addictions. A summary report of the meetings including slides from the events and the reference list are now available.
August 12, 2010 - We now have three publications currently in press based on our findings from the meta-analysis. In brief, these publications look at maternal mental health, maternal substance use, length of stay and completion of integrated treatment programs. For complete article references, please click here.
June 15, 2010 - The Connections Research team will have four presentations at the upcoming Addictions Conference 2010 October 28-31 in Arlington, Virginia. The four presentations are: 1) Modeling the knowledge translation and exchange preferences of professionals working in addiction agencies for women: A discrete choice conjoint experiment.; 2) Use of research evidence in addiction agencies serving women.; 3) The knowledge translation and exchange needs and preferences of service providers in addiction agencies serving women.; & 4) Implementing stakeholder-informed research: Strategies used by a Canadian national knowledge transfer and exchange project.
May 3, 2010 - Our two most recent publications in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction - one on the Canadian survey of services for mothers with substance abuse issues and the other on treatment issues for Aboriginal mothers with substance abuse issues. Click here for more information!
March 30, 2010: Thank you to everyone who participated in the Connections Preferences Survey. We are currently looking at the data gathered from your responses. Look out for more information soon, as well as information about our regional networking meetings. Join our network to stay updated!
February 2, 2010: The Connections Preferences Survey has been launched, and already we have received responses from all over Canada! Thank you to everyone who has responded; we will be sending you your $25 gift card soon. We look forward to hearing from everyone else as well.
February 1, 2010: We are currently recruiting a post-doctoral fellow to join the research team. The application deadline is April 1, 2010. Click here for more information.
January 15, 2010: An article written by the Connections research team, that describes findings from a national survey of addiction agencies serving women, has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. Click here to read more!
January 5, 2010: The Connections Preferences Survey will be sent out to staff at addictions agencies across the country this month. We are looking forward to receiving everyone's input!
2009
November 12, 2009: Connections is excited to be presenting some preliminary data at the Issues of Substance Conference; click here for the presentation abstract. The Connections Advisory Committee will be meeting at the conference to start planning regional workshops for addictions agencies in the Spring 2010.
September 1, 2009: To learn about preferences for receiving information and research findings, Connections will be conducting an online survey with staff in addictions agencies that serve women across Canada in January 2010. We are in the process of contacting agencies to participate. If your agency is interested in having a voice, please contact Ainsley Smith at the Connections office.
April 28, 2009: Article: McMaster Daily News: Improving addictions services for women and their children.
April 27, 2009: The research team and advisory committee launched the Connections research project at an event held at McMaster University. Click here for videos from the afternoon.