Spring 2025 Research Update
by Drs Rutherford, Kehler and Theou
The research portfolio in the School of Physiotherapy is outstanding and continues to grow stronger and more impactful each year. Over the past four months, we’ve seen notable successes in grant capture for two of our most recently appointed faculty members, Dr Adria Quigley (appointed in 2022) and Dr Ellen McGarity-Shipley (appointed in 2024).
Dr. Ellen McGarity-Shipley was recently awarded a CIHR Planning and Dissemination grant funded from the Fall 2024 competition. The grant is for social prescribing research lead by Dr. McGarity-Shipley titled "Co-designing a community-informed social prescribing approach in Nova Scotia to improve health and well-being". The grant is just shy of $40,000 from the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research Institute.
Social determinants of health (SDH) including factors such as income, employment, and food security are some of the most important determinants of our health but are currently over-looked in our healthcare system. Social prescribing, a system of routinely identifying SDH-related challenges and connecting people with meaningful social and community supports, is a way to incorporate consideration of SDH into healthcare practice. In her research, Ellen will work with the Nova Scotian community to design a social prescribing approach for primary care in Nova Scotia.
This CIHR funding will enhance capacity to work with a wide range of community members and organizations to ensure an effective approach is designed for all Nova Scotians.
Dr. Adria Quigley is a successful Co-Applicant of CIHR grant award of $20,000 for research titled Developing a research agenda on improving the geriatric care provided to older adults living with HIV. The proposed meeting will be the first dedicated effort towards addressing the diversity of the aging HIV population in Canada. Key outcomes of the meeting include raising awareness and better understanding of the challenges of caring for older adults living with HIV; forging new research and practice partnerships and agendas; and identifying priority actions and next steps in the detection, management, and care of older adults living with HIV.
Dr. Quigley, as a principal applicant is also part of a team that received a Research Networks of Excellence in Women's Heart and/or Brain Health Grant ($4,983,959, 2024-2029 funded by Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Brain Canada and CIHR) for research title Stroke in Women: Growing Opportunities to realize optimal evaluation, diagnosis and outcomes (StrokeGoRed). StrokeGoRed is the first formal national network focused on stroke in women in Canada. The studies will span the continuum of healthcare and the range of stroke severity and will include patients throughout their lifespan to evaluate sex- and gender-related differences in baseline function, risk factors, biology, access and response to treatments.
You can learn more about their work by visiting their respective faculty webpages Dr. Quigley, Dr. McGarity-Shipley.
Jasmine Fredrich Yap presenting at the 3-Minute Thesis Competition. Photo: Nick Pearce.
Each year, Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Graduate Studies hosts the Three-Minute Thesis competition. This year, MScRR Year 1 student Jasmine Friedrich Yap (Supervisor: Caitlin McArthur) presented her thesis on Snap, Crackle, Pop! Reducing Fracture Risk in Home Care. Jasmine was named a finalist, placing among the top six participants University-wide – an impressive achievement and testament to the strength of our graduate research training.
This year also marked the second annual PT Forum, an exciting and meaningful event for our MScPT Students. The Forum offered an opportunity for students to present their research to attendees, get involved with the profession and engage in meaningful conversations on the role of evidence-based practice to support our future.
A special congratulations goes out to the recipients of the People’s Choice Poster Award: Elianna d’Entremont, Sophie Nicholson, Michel-Etienne Petitpas, and Alyssa Walsh for their project: Humble Pie Anyone? How is Cultural Humility Described in Health Equity Frameworks?
The School of Physiotherapy proudly sponsored this year’s PT Forum keynote address by:
- John R. Sylliboy, Vice-Provost (Indigenous Relations), Executive Director of the Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance, and PhD candidate at McGill University, and
- Katie Gloade, Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing and PhD candidate at Dalhousie University.
Their talk, titled, Etuaptmumk in Practice to Improve L'nu Kids Life Outcomes, invited attendees to reflect on physiotherapy care for Indigenous peoples and learn more about the approach of two-eyed seeing as it is applied to addressing the education and health needs of Indigenous communities in NS.
There are many more inspiring research outcomes, student accomplishments, and community engagements happening in the School of Physiotherapy – far too many to include here! To stay up to date, we encourage you to follow our social media platforms and explore faculty webpages. Please do not hesitate to connect with any of our faculty through the contact information listed on our website for more information.