Tune in September 10 for season two of In Our VoICES, the podcast that brings you the health data, without the drama. This season, we’re diving into all new topics with trusted experts, scientists, and we’ve invited extra special guests to give voice to the public and patients—because behind every number is a story, and that story matters. Make sure to follow us on your favourite podcast app so that you don’t miss an episode and learn more by visiting our website at ices.on.ca!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Produced, edited and mixed by Will Mcintyre and Pop Up Podcasting
Artwork designed by Stella-Luna Ha
Music licensed through Melodie Music

LINKS:

Be sure to follow and tag ICES on Bluesky, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. To find out more about our organization, visit us at ices.on.ca

Why should healthcare research be done “by us” and not just “for us”?  

Guest host Laura Ferreira-Legere chats with ICES Public Advisory members Jenny Kirk and Jemal Demeke about why lived experience matters and how communities can shape better research. 

Welcome to our guest host, Laura Ferreira-Legere! Laura is Senior Manager of the Public and Community Engagement, Knowledge Translation team at ICES and works closely with the ICES Public Advisory Council.

Joining Laura are two members of ICES’ Public Advisory Council (also known as the PAC). The PAC was formed in 2019 and is made up of a rotating group of members from across Ontario who guide ICES on what matters most for health data research.

Jenny Kirk was a PAC member on our second cohort, from 2021-2024. Jemal Demeke is a current PAC member who joined the group in 2022 as part of our third cohort.

How did the PAC get involved in research?

Early in the PAC’s formation, they identified their participation in health research as a priority. The Applied Health Research Question (AHRQ) program at ICES acted as a mechanism to begin this work, which allows community groups (called “knowledge users”) to access ICES data and analytics to help answer important research questions. The PAC decided to explore mental health service use in Ontario, including understanding the reasons for visits to doctors or Emergency Departments, how service use may vary over time, and most importantly, how social factors like income and housing situation impact where people seek care.

Learn more about the PAC: ICES | Our Organization | Public Advisory Council

Learn more about the research project: ICES | Mental health-related visits to doctors and emergency departments in Ontario: a public-led exploration and analysis

Read more about patient and public involvement in research:

Evaluating patient and public involvement in research

Mapping the impact of patient and public involvement on health and social care research: a systematic review

Patient engagement in care: A scoping review of recently validated tools assessing patients' and healthcare professionals' preferences and experience

EPISODE CREDITS:

Produced, edited and mixed by Will Mcintyre and Pop Up Podcasting
Artwork designed by Stella-Luna Ha
Music licensed through Melodie Music

LINKS:

Be sure to follow and tag ICES on Bluesky, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. To find out more about our organization, visit us at ices.on.ca

Can your local pharmacist help fix the primary care crisis?  

Dr. Mina Tadrous, host of I’m Pharmacy, joins us to explore the data behind expanded pharmacy services in Ontario — and what this shift means for the future of healthcare. 

A note that this episode was recorded during the Ontario provincial election. We also make mention of a few acronyms:

UTI: Urinary tract infection

PPIs: Proton pump inhibitors are a class of medications that reduce stomach acid.

ODPRN: Ontario Drug Policy Research Network

Inspire-PHC: Inspire – Primary Health Care supports Ontario researchers with all aspects of their projects related to primary care.

Our Guest:

Mina is an assistant professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto and the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Pharmaceutical Policy and Real-world Evidence. He is also co-director of Pharmaceutical Policy and Pharmacy Practice at the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN) and ICES adjunct scientist. Mina leads research focused on evaluating drug policies and post-marketing surveillance of medications. He works closely with policymakers and uses large data sets to answer questions about real-world safety and effectiveness and improving the optimal use of medications.

Check out Mina’s podcast:

https://www.pharmacy.utoronto.ca/about/im-pharmacy-podcast-season-four

Read the Research:

Impact of the COVID-19 Controlled Drugs and Substances Act exemption on pharmacist prescribing of opioids, benzodiazepines and stimulants in Ontario: a cross-sectional time-series analysis

Applied Health Research Question (AHRQ) Project (in progress): Evaluating pharmacist scope of practice expansion

EPISODE CREDITS:

Produced, edited and mixed by Will Mcintyre and Pop Up Podcasting
Artwork designed by Stella-Luna Ha
Music licensed through Melodie Music

LINKS:

Be sure to follow and tag ICES on Bluesky, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. To find out more about our organization, visit us at ices.on.ca

Do older women feel seen and heard in healthcare? 

We explore how the Women’s Age Lab is tackling gender gaps in aging — from medication overload to social isolation — and pushing for change. 

Our Guest: 

Dr. Paula Rochon is the Founding Director of Women’s Age Lab, at Women’s College Hospital, Professor in the Department of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and RTOERO Chair in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Toronto. Her career is focused on promoting the health and well-being of older adults, particularly women, and finding new ways to improve their lives. She has published over 300 papers in peer-reviewed journals, is Chair of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Aging Advisory Board, Deputy Editor of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society and was awarded the Eugenie Stuart Award for Best Thesis Supervisor from the University of Toronto, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. She founded Women's Age Lab, the first and only research centre of its kind, to focus on improving the health and well-being of older women. Through decades of experience and leadership, Dr. Rochon is creating a space for collaboration on science-driven health and social change that will improve the lives of older adults, specifically women.

Read the research from Dr. Rochon:

Women’s Age Lab

The impact of age, sex, and gender on polypharmacy and potential prescribing cascades: lessons from five databases

Sex-based trajectories of health system use in lonely and not lonely older people: a population-based cohort study

The impact of sex and gender on prescribing cascades in older adults

EPISODE CREDITS:

Produced, edited and mixed by Will Mcintyre and Pop Up Podcasting
Artwork designed by Stella-Luna Ha
Music licensed through Melodie Music

LINKS:

Be sure to follow and tag ICES on Bluesky, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. To find out more about our organization, visit us at ices.on.ca

Is data the cure for Canada’s mental health crisis?  

In this episode, we pull back the curtain on systemic failures and explore how combining data with lived experience could finally drive real change. Join us as we unpack what it will take to truly transform the system. 

Our Guest:

Dr. Paul Kurdyak joined ICES in April 2009 where he leads the Mental Health and Addictions research program. He is a senior scientist with the Institute of Mental Health Policy Research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and Chair, Addictions and Mental Health Policy at CAMH and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Since 2020, he has held the role of Vice President, Clinical, with the Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence at Ontario Health.

Dr. Kurdyak studies clinical epidemiology and health service utilization. His work provides better understanding for the determinants of and barriers to treatment for mental illnesses; explores the relationship and interaction between chronic medical and mental illnesses; and develops methodology expertise in observational research design as it relates to the study of mental health epidemiology.

Read the research from Dr. Kurdyak: 

Mental Health Dashboard

Payment incentives for community-based psychiatric care in Ontario, Canada

Disparities in access to early psychosis intervention services

EPISODE CREDITS:

Produced, edited and mixed by Will Mcintyre and Pop Up Podcasting
Artwork designed by Stella-Luna Ha
Music licensed through Melodie Music

LINKS:

Be sure to follow and tag ICES on Bluesky, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. To find out more about our organization, visit us at ices.on.ca

From diagnosis to dignity: Join us as we explore how autism research is shifting focus — centering the real-life experiences of autistic people, breaking down barriers in healthcare, and building a future rooted in empathy, inclusion, and understanding. 

Dr. Yona Lunsky is an adjunct scientist at ICES and Scientific Director of the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre and Director of the Health Care Access Research and Developmental Disabilities Program (H-CARDD) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Dr. Lunsky has focused her research on the mental health needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families. She studies psychosocial risk factors for psychiatric disorders and health service utilization patterns in this population.

Dr. Meng-Chuan Lai is a senior scientist and staff psychiatrist at CAMH. He is also an associate professor and co-chair of the Advisory Council for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigeneity and Accessibility in Clinical Care in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Dr. Lai’s research focuses on understanding and improving the mental health and wellbeing of autistic and other neurodivergent individuals, across sexes and genders, as well as their families. His research particularly concerns the experiences of female and gender-diverse autistic people and the relations between neurodivergence, sex differentiation, gender socialization, and mental health.

Read the research from Dr. Yona Lunsky and Dr. Meng-Chuan Lai:  

Hospital use among autistic adults in Canada

Self-harm events and suicide deaths among autistic individuals in Ontario, Canada

Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre at CAMH  

Resources:  

Autistic SPACE: a novel framework for meeting the needs of autistic people in healthcare settings | British Journal of Hospital Medicine  

CAMH Resources: Autism and Mental Health 

EPISODE CREDITS:

Produced, edited and mixed by Will Mcintyre and Pop Up Podcasting
Artwork designed by Stella-Luna Ha
Music licensed through Melodie Music

LINKS:

Be sure to follow and tag ICES on Bluesky, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. To find out more about our organization, visit us at ices.on.ca

What are the "highs" and "lows" of cannabis legalization in Canada?  

From rising cases of psychosis and a puzzling vomiting syndrome to the struggle of spreading accurate public health messages, we unpack the real-world health effects of legalization — made in Canada. 

Please note, this podcast was recorded before the holidays, which is why we refer to holiday dinners in one of our questions.

Our guest:

Dr. Daniel Myran is a public health and family medicine physician and researcher. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Social Accountability at the University of Ottawa, and is an ICES Adjunct Scientist, Investigator at the Bruyère Health Research Institute, and a Clinician Investigator at The Ottawa Hospital. His program of research involves using health administrative data to examine the burden and societal impact of mental health conditions and substance use. Dr. Myran’s primary focus is examining the health impacts of changes in alcohol/cannabis and drug policies and their influence on health inequities. As a secondary area of interest, he uses big data to examine the health of physicians and their practice patterns.

Read the research from Dr. Myran:

Read the Op‐Ed: There are good reasons to be anxious about growing cannabis use in Canada - The Globe and Mail

1. Transition to schizophrenia spectrum disorder following emergency department visits due to substance use with or without psychosis

2. Emergency department visits involving hallucinogen use and risk of schizophrenia spectrum disorder

3. Association between non-medical cannabis legalization and emergency department visits for cannabis-induced psychosis

4. Changes in emergency department visits for cannabis hyperemesis syndrome following recreational cannabis legalization and subsequent commercialization in Ontario, Canada

5. Unintentional pediatric poisonings before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based study

EPISODE CREDITS:

Produced, edited and mixed by Will Mcintyre and Pop Up Podcasting
Artwork designed by Stella-Luna Ha
Music licensed through Melodie Music

LINKS:

Be sure to follow and tag ICES on Bluesky, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. To find out more about our organization, visit us at ices.on.ca

Want to understand more about data, health research, and analytics? We've got you covered in this pilot season of In Our VoICES. Follow the show on your favourite podcast app so that you don't miss an episode!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Produced, edited and mixed by Will Mcintyre and Pop Up Podcasting
Artwork designed by Stella-Luna Ha
Music licensed through Melodie Music

LINKS:

Be sure to follow and tag ICES on Bluesky, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. To find out more about our organization, visit us at ices.on.ca