McMaster Family Medicine

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
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@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...

📢 New in @annalsofepi.bsky.social

📊 Our population-based panel study reveals key disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Ontario, Canada

🏘️ By end of 2021, 75% of adults in social housing were fully vaccinated vs. 87% in general population

🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.an...

📣The CP@clinic Program, and Dr. Gina Agarwal have been highlighted as one of the CIHR Faces of Health Research 2025!🍁 Check out the story here:https://bit.ly/3HCecy6

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@mcmasterfammed.bsky.social

Interest-holder priorities for health surveillance of people incarcerated in Canada: A qualitative study As a core function of public health, health surveillance for people who are incarcerated could address gaps in knowledge regarding their health status…

This study identified the priorities of interest-holders for health surveillance of people incarcerated in Canada. It was found that the health care themes that were priorities for health surveillance were access, wait times, health care equivalence, preventive care, and medication administration.

‼️New on our CP@clinic Website! Check out the ‘For Family Physicians’ tab to find details about our Community Paramedicine CME course designed for physicians and the link to register 🩺

Click here to find more: cpatclinic.ca/education/

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Meredith Vanstone appointed as the David Braley and Nancy Gordon Chair in Family Medicine - Family Medicine The Department of Family Medicine is excited to announce that Meredith Vanstone has been appointed as the new David Braley and Nancy Gordon Chair in Family Medicine. This prestigious Chair is awarded ...

Congratulations @meredithvanstone.bsky.social‬, newly appointed as the David Braley and Nancy Gordon Chair in Family Medicine at DFM!
A leader in ethical complexity in primary care, she’s shaping the future of family medicine through research, mentorship & policy
fammed.mcmaster.ca/meredith-van...

Congratulations to DFM professor Meredith Vanstone on being named a 2025 University Scholar! Learn more about Meredith and her fellow 2025 University Scholars brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/uni...

DFM researchers explored how diabetes monitoring and management changed in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic in a newly published study. This research paper won NAPCRGs Distinguished Paper Award in 2024. Read the full article here: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40510009/ @mihoward101.bsky.social

Health conditions among women in prisons: a systematic review Despite rapidly rising incarceration rates, the health needs of women in custody are overlooked. This Review aims to summarise the current evidence on the health of women in prisons around the world. ...

This systematic review explored prevalence of health conditions among women in custody worldwide. A key finding is that there is a high burden of mental and physical health conditions among women in custody. Learn more www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Read about CP@clinic’s impact in the 2024 Annual Report!

A few highlights:
2,034 patients helped
18,544 Health Risk Assessments completed
33 Canadian Paramedic Services
122 Paramedic Training Microcredentials issued

Read the whole report here 👉https://cpatclinic.ca/media/2024-Annual-Report-1-1.pdf

🌱 Greening the Wards is here! This new guidebook by @ccghc.bsky.social empowers general internal medicine teams to lead climate action with evidence-based, low-carbon care strategies & real-world examples.

📘 Get your copy:
EN:https://conta.cc/44fyvc3
FR: conta.cc/3Gd8vFZ

“We Can All Learn Together so We’re All on the Same Page”: Impact of a Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care Hospital Course on Hospitalists’ Practice | Palliative Medicine Reports Background: In Canada, access to palliative care varies across jurisdictions. Many health care professionals lack core palliative care competencies. To help build capacities, a pilot education program...

This study evaluated the impact of Pallium Canada’s Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (LEAP) Hospital course on physician attitudes, comfort and care delivery. Participants reported improved symptom and disease management, along with enhanced communication skills following the course.

A qualitative study of the grassroots development of interprofessional primary care teams - PubMed Those interested in promoting team-based family medicine should advocate for a balance of government investment and practice-level autonomy over development, which supports provider buy-in and communi...

This study found that successful transformation to team-based family medicine requires coordinated efforts such as funding, collaboration, and securing resources which ultimately lead to improved patient access, more efficient workflows, and fewer emergency department visits.

Between 2015 and 2022, incarceration rates dropped in Ontario. But Indigenous and Black communities remain disproportionately affected by incarceration—with implications for population health.
New report describes the data fammed.mcmaster.ca/app/uploads/2025/06/Incarceration-report-June-12-2025.pdf