Embedded Research Program in Healthcare Operations Research: An SFU/VCH Partnership

Abstract: The SFU Operations Research Clinic capstone project course instructors have been in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) since 2018. Each Spring term a cohort of students works on a problem posed by the VCH health authority partners. This successful collaboration has grown into a broader partnership that fosters embedded operations research (OR) at VCH. The Embedded Research Program is one key initiative that brings two SFU faculty and two graduate students to VCH, where they work closely with health system partners on priority operational problems. This structured program and the Operations Research Clinic research projects have generated actionable findings that have informed capacity management and operations at VCH. This experience brought many valuable lessons about the barriers and facilitators of embedding research into health care practice and I will share some key insights in this talk. With the integration of this understanding of what works and what doesn’t, there is potential for further expansion of this SFU/VCH partnership to support health care operations at VCH.

Mathematics

Audience: researchers in the topic

PIMS-CORDS SFU Operations Research Seminar