McMaster Family Medicine

Dr. Gina Agarwal has joined the Quarter Century Club @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social! Yesterday, Dr. Agarwal attended the celebratory lunch and received a McMaster tartan blanket to acknowledge her contribution of 25 Years of Service. Congratulations Gina! @mcmasterfammed.bsky.social

Could the shingles vaccine prevent or delay new-onset dementia? Ontario-based study suggests so A new Ontario-based study is suggesting the shingles vaccine may help prevent and/or delay the onset of dementia more effectively than any existing treatment.

New research using Ontario data found that the shingles vaccine may help prevent or delay the onset of dementia. A study involving DFM researcher Stephenson Strobel and researchers at Stanford University was recently published in @thelancetneuro.bsky.social

Learn more in this news article

Drs Gina Agarwal & Ric Angeles, & the Ateneo de Zamboanga University CHAP-P team are hosting a KT meeting in the Philippines with national, regional, and local policy makers to present the impact of CHAP-P in a geopolitical region & discuss knowledge uptake into the Philippine health system.

DFM researchers explored primary care for depression before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a newly published study. Findings show the resiliency of primary care during the pandemic.

Read the article: bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/1...

@mihoward101.bsky.social

This study assessed the feasibility of using EMR data to evaluate virtual diabetes care in Ontario Family Health Teams during the early COVID‑19 pandemic. It was found that virtual care did not significantly affect key diabetes indicators compared with pre‑pandemic in‑person care. Learn more

Emergency Extrication on the Field of Play

Check out the video series on the Olympics website www.olympics.com/ioc/athletes...

Field-of-Play Emergency Extrication Video Series: co-created by the International Olympic Committee, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, the Paris 2024 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and International Federations - PubMed Field-of-Play Emergency Extrication Video Series: co-created by the International Olympic Committee, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, the Paris 2024 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and International Federations

This article outlines the development of a video series on field-of-play emergency extrication intended to standardize the procedures for the management of an injured athlete. Learn more pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41475976/

📢 New in @FrontPubHealth

Using administrative health data in Ontario, social housing residents had lower uptake of preventive health services, such as cancer screening and flu vaccination, compared to the general public during COVID-19.

🔗https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1729767

Four pillars of sustainable food services in healthcare: a practical approach for healthcare leadership The phrase ‘food is medicine’ has long been used to describe the numerous health benefits conferred by dietary modifications such as the well-known Mediterranean diet, which has been demonstrated to h...

This commentary outlines how health care leadership can reduce their climate impact and improve patient care through transforming their food services to a more sustainable menu. Learn more bmjleader.bmj.com/content/earl...

📢 New Study!

Free legal assistance was given to patients in a primary care office, providing referrals, resources and direction on legal issues. Future iterations may include additional scope/support and inclusion of patient advocate roles.

🔗 doi.org/10.1186/s129...

📢 New in BMC Public Health!

Through interviews, we found older adults prefer one-on-one, in-person interactions with family physicians. Educational brochures can be promoted during patient visits for chronic disease prevention efforts.

🔗 doi.org/10.1186/s128...

Judicious resource managers or administrative intermediaries: A systematic review of family physician perspectives on the administrative process of referring patients to other clinicians in high incom... Family physicians play a key role in coordinating and managing patient referrals to specialist care. While central to patient care, the referral proce…

This systematic review found that the referral process to specialists by family physicians is complex and hindered by fragmented healthcare systems, leading to inefficiencies, unnecessary administrative burdens, and contributing to physician burnout and job dissatisfaction. Learn more

CP@clinic program wins Ontario health innovation award for transforming care for vulnerable older adults  - Family Medicine A McMaster led program designed to keep low-income older adults healthy at home and reduce avoidable 911 calls was recognized with a health system innovation award.  Community Paramedicine at Clinic (...

The CP@clinic program has won the 2025 Ontario Health System Quality and Innovation Award in the Population Health Impact category. CP@clinic helps older adults in social housing communities manage chronic conditions, reduce 911 calls, and maintain independence @vipresearchlab.bsky.social Learn more

Family physician perspectives on managing indirect patient care activities in the electronic inbox: a systematic mixed studies review AbstractIntroduction. Family physicians spend approximately half their professional time on indirect patient care activities (IPCA). Essential to patient c

This systematic review looked at family physician experiences managing the electronic inbox. A key finding was that hospitalized patients, prescription management, and specialist referrals carry a large administrative burden for family physicians. Learn more academic.oup.com/fampra/artic...

Family physician pay inequality: a qualitative study exploring how physician responses to perceived patient expectations may explain gender, race, and immigration status pay differences Background: Pay inequality related to social identity has been observed among physicians, even after accounting for hours worked and specialty. Physician identity factors, such as gender and race, may...

This study explored identity-related income gaps among Canadian physicians. A 4-stage theory was developed to explain this: physician understanding of patient expectations, the nature of the expectations, physician responses to those expectations, and financial implications of those responses.

Thank you to our paramedic service and social housing partners for their commitment to the CP@clinic Program!

@mcmasterfammed.bsky.social

Ellen Amster spoke at the New England Graphic Medicine Summit in Boston! Her talk explored how colonialism shaped Western medicine and how comics uncover these hidden narratives. Learn more www.mcphs.edu/news/new-eng... Photo Credit: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Jasdeep Brar, PhD Candidate supervised by Dr. Gina Agarwal, presented at the Asian Health Literacy Conference in Taiwan on sex/gender differences impacting functional health literacy in chronic conditions & health behaviours of low-income older adults in the Philippines and Canada

PEACH Health Ontario

New PEACH Health Ontario videos have been released! Learn more about PEACH, their backstory, and their guidelines www.youtube.com/channel/UCuG...

It's Child Rights Day! Did you know that in just five Canadian provinces, 1 in 100 children face parental incarceration - 27% more than in Europe. Canada must invest in data collection to protect and support these children #NationalChildDay
@mcmasterfammed.bsky.social
@irwinelman.bsky.social

Myles Sergeant recognized with 2025 Environmental Health Award - Family Medicine Myles Sergeant, a family physician and assistant clinical professor with McMaster University’s Department of Family Medicine, has been recognized with the 2025 Environmental Health Award. He was honou...

Congratulations to Myles Sergeant, family physician and DFM assistant clinical professor, on receiving the 2025 Environmental Health Award! Through his exemplary dedication and leadership, Sergeant inspires and drives change in making health care more sustainable. @cfpc-cmfc.bsky.social

Primary care research takes flight at DFM conference - Family Medicine On October 30, the Department of Family Medicine (DFM) at McMaster University hosted Taking Flight: Celebrating DFM Excellence, a conference showcasing innovative research and scholarship happening ac...

Last week, our Taking Flight conference brought together faculty, staff and trainees to share innovative research in primary care. The event highlighted advancements in medical education, health equity, clinical care and health systems.
fammed.mcmaster.ca/primary-care...

Members of the VIP Research Lab attended the @mcmasterfammed.bsky.social Taking Flight Conference where Dr. Gina Agarwal presented on the Scalability of the CP@clinic Program from Ontario to B.C. and Australia

Nowhere to go: a qualitative study examining the health of people who experience emergency shelter service restrictions in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Introduction Emergency shelters offer temporary accommodation to people deprived of housing. Service restriction is the practice of limiting or denying access to emergency shelters in response to beha...

This community-based research study explored the effects of service restriction on individuals seeking emergency shelter in Hamilton, ON. Service restrictions were found to exacerbate participants’ health issues through increased exposure to violence, infectious diseases, and psychological distress.

Family physicians at the McMaster Family Health Team identified barriers to deprescribing legacy drugs and proposed potential solutions in a pilot project led by Dr. Amanda Ramdyal. Check out the infographic to learn more

How to Age Well? Quality of Life and Polypharmacy in Health Services Research and Clinical Practice While the aging population is well documented and understood, as is the fact that avoiding premature death is important in being able to age well, the concept of aging well is a more elusive idea. In general, the idea of successful aging in health terms means...

This book chapter explores how polypharmacy affects the quality of life in older adults. It emphasizes the importance of person-centered care and deprescribing in managing polypharmacy, highlighting that reducing unnecessary medications can significantly improve well-being in older adults.

Those wishing to promote team-based family medicine should advocate for a balance of government investment and practice-level autonomy over development, supporting provider buy-in, community-appropriate innovation & responsiveness in care delivery doi.org/10.3399/BJGP... @mcmasterfammed.bsky.social

Reproductive and maternal child health experiences of Indigenous women in prison: A scoping review In the context of the over-representation of women who are Indigenous in prisons and historical and structural barriers to health, we undertook a scop…

This scoping review explored the reproductive and maternal health experiences of Indigenous women in prison in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. There is a significant lack of evidence on the reproductive and maternal health experiences of Indigenous women in prison. Learn more

Transforming healthcare: the PEACH Approach to reducing emissions and achieving net-zero The healthcare sector has recognised its significant emissions and climate impact, and is beginning to address emission hotspots. However, implementing necessary changes while working with current str...

This article outlines how PEACH Health Ontario and the ‘PEACH Approach’ were developed to guide healthcare towards a net-zero future. Learn more bmjleader.bmj.com/content/earl...

Read our recent systematic review in the Journal of Cancer Education with Khon Kaen University that highlights 5 key components for effective cancer prevention:

📚 Health education
🤝 Participant engagement
🔔 Reminders
💝 Patient support
😎 Health influencers

🔗 link.springer.com/article/10.1...