Characterizing where, when, and how people with MS receive rehabilitative care in Canada

Start Term
End Term
Funding Amount
$49,728
Affiliation(s)
Queen’s University
Geographic Region(s) / Province(s)
Ontario
Researcher(s)
Dr. Marcia Finlayson
Research Priorities
Life-modifying therapies
Impact Goal(s)
Enhance Well-being

Summary:

  • Rehabilitation services are important for improving the health, functioning, and overall well-being of people living with MS.
  • Dr. Marcia Finlayson and team are developing an approach to understand and describe how MS rehabilitation services and care is provided across various settings in Canada. 
  • This research will provide the knowledge needed to advance MS rehabilitative care in Canada and beyond.

Project Description: 

To advance MS rehabilitation care in Canada, there is a need to identify what ‘usual’ MS rehabilitation looks like. Currently, there is no standard way of describing ‘usual’ MS rehabilitative care in Canada. Dr. Marcia Finlayson and team aim to characterize when, where, and how people with MS are receiving rehabilitative care. Specifically, the team will:

  • Conduct interviews with people living with MS and rehabilitation providers to determine features and variations of MS rehabilitation across six settings (i.e., acute care hospital, rehabilitation hospital, private clinics, nursing home, home care, and return-to-work).
  • Create an online survey with an expert panel of researchers, clinicians, and people affected by MS, which will be deployed to a diverse group of rehabilitation providers to characterize processes in MS rehabilitation care across these settings.
  • Develop an approach and data collection tools to measure usual MS rehabilitation in Canada.

Potential Impact: The findings of this study will lay the groundwork to understand MS rehabilitation services across diverse settings. This knowledge will help to advance MS rehabilitative care in Canada (and beyond) for the benefit of people living with MS. 

Project Status: In progress