Research Department

To help meet the health care needs of our communities, our current research areas of focus align with Interior Health’s strategic priorities, including: 

• Clinical trials
• Community engagement
• COVID-19
• Environmental health
• Healthcare workforce
• Indigenous engagement
• Mental health and substance use
• Patient engagement
• Rural and remote health
• Seniors health and long term care

We provide expertise and support to both patient partners and health professionals in all aspects of research, including bridging the gap between knowledge and practice. We offer assistance with:

• Education and capacity building
• Ethical and operational approval processes
• Grant application support
• Knowledge translation and implementation (moving knowledge to practice and policy)
• Patient partner advisory support
• Research question development and study design
• Research navigation
• Student and researcher connections

• BC SUPPORT Unit: a multi-partner organization created to support, streamline and increase patient-oriented research throughout British Columbia. The Interior Regional Centre represents a formal partnership between us and the BC SUPPORT Unit
• Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc): an organization, in conjunction with the Rural Education Action Plan, that seeks to improve the health of rural people and communities of British Columbia. RCCbc collaborates with health authorities, bringing a province-wide focus to common health initiatives and issues
• Michael Smith Health Research BC: The Long-Term Care Quality Initiative (LTC-QI) is a collaborative partnership between Michael Smith Health Research BC, the Ministry of Health, the provincial health authorities, and research and academic communities. The LTC-QI aims to embed research and translate knowledge into evidenced-based best practices in the Long-Term Care (LTC) sector across BC. The work is undertaken by a provincial team, spanning all 5 regional health authorities, adopting a collaborative, complementary and evidence-based approach to enhancing the experiences and outcomes for residents, families, and LTC staff in BC.