The aim of this study is to determine if a single dose of psilocybin administered with motivational enhancement therapy (MET) can reduce heavy drinking in patients with an alcohol use disorder (AUD).

This observational study aims to create simulations using pediatric manikins to teach pediatric spinal mobilizations. We'll measure the force and duration of spinal mobilizations applied by chiropractors on pediatric manikins. Another objective is to gather feedback from both students and teachers on the effectiveness of using manikins for teaching. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. How much force and for how long do chiropractors apply spinal mobilizations on pediatric manikins?

This is an observational study designed to evaluate the safety and clinical outcomes of the MANTA® Vascular Closure Device (VCD) (the MANTA® Device) in TAVR procedures. The study will enroll participants who are undergoing a TAVR procedure. The purpose of this study is to examine and collect data on outcomes of contemporary MANTA® large bore closure in standard of care (SOC) TAVR procedures with on-label use of the MANTA® device including appropriate patient selection and proper vascular access.

Children experience pain and distress in clinical settings every day. The negative consequences of unaddressed pain can be both short-term (e.g. fear, distress, inability to perform procedures) and long-term (e.g. needle phobia, anxiety). In previous small studies, a humanoid robot has been used to deliver cognitive-behavioural therapy during needle procedures. The results of these early studies have been positive, showing high acceptance among children as well as promising initial clinical results. However, these studies all had critical technical limitations: the robot was remotely operated and used purely scripted behaviour with limited Artificial Intelligence support. This reduced the potential to offer personalized support to children. In this project, the study team aims to address this limitation by developing and evaluating a clinically relevant and responsive artificial intelligence-enhanced social robot.

In Canada, 3 out of 4 Canadians aged 65 and older have at least one chronic condition, while 1 in 4 seniors reported having three or more. Caring for complex patients who usually have multiple chronic conditions (MCC) is one of the biggest challenges facing our healthcare system. For patients, the lack of coordination and continuity of care as they transfer between healthcare settings and healthcare providers (HCPs) often results in a higher risk of readmission, suboptimal and fragmented care plans, delays in required medical intervention, inadequate self-care, and confusion on whom they should contact when they have questions. For the patient's care team, they often have no indication how patients are doing between clinic visits unless the patient can provide a log of their home measurements (e.g., blood pressure). Therefore, they are unable to detect and intervene if their patient's health is worsening between visits. In order to address this increasing need to bridge the current gap in clinical management and self-care of complex patients during their transition from healthcare settings to home care, our team aims to design, implement and evaluate the SMaRT (Safe, Managed, and Responsive Transitions) Clinic, a nurse-led integrated care model facilitated by telemonitoring (TM). Specifically, the SMaRT Clinics aim to meaningfully introduce a nurse (or nurse practitioner) role to improve clinical coordination across patient care teams and reinforce proper self-care education through the use of telemonitoring. This project will be conducted in two phases across four years; Phase I: Design and Development, and Phase II: Implementation and Effectiveness Evaluation. Phase II research activities include enrolling 350 patients with complex chronic conditions in the SMaRT clinics across four study sites. The implementation and effectiveness of the SMaRT clinics will be evaluated through a mix of semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observation, patient questionnaires, and analyses of health utilization outcomes using propensity-matched controls from the ICES provincial database.

Between 13 and 60% of older people who live with Alzheimer's disease (ADRD) in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) manifest vocal behaviours (VB) that may seem inappropriate, e.g. moaning, screaming, calling out. These behaviours may indicate ill-being, disturb others, create feelings of powerlessness in family and formal caregivers, and lead to inappropriate medication. Previous efforts to reduce VB have been largely ineffective. A new approach was developed based on finding the underlying reasons for VB through a partnership between family and formal caregivers. The goals are to reduce VB, enhance older people's well-being, and increase family and formal caregivers' empowerment. The approach was tested in a pilot study of 14 triads comprising an older person living with ADRD, a family caregiver and a formal caregiver. The results were promising; overall, it is feasible to implement the approach in LTCF and it has positive effects on older people, family and formal caregivers. Now the investigators propose to assess the clinical and economic impact of the approach in 20 LTCFs with 108 triads like those in the pilot study. The approach will be implemented in 10 randomly selected "experimental" LTCFs; the other 10 (control group) will continue with their usual practices. The investigators will measure VB frequency and the well-being of the older people before, two and four months after starting the implementation. They will also measure the perceived disruptiveness of VB for family and formal caregivers, their ability to work in partnership and their empowerment relative to VB. The investigators will compare data between the control and experimental LTCFs, and calculate cost-effectiveness based on changes in VB frequency. The proposed three-year project aims to improve the well-being of all involved in LTCF by promoting a better understanding of VB and implementing a solution to optimize care. The investigators believe the findings will provide evidence to justify the wider implementation of the approach in LTCF.

Symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, anxiety and depression are common in patients with IBD, but the cause is unknown. Understanding how these behaviors occur in IBD and their role in symptoms may help improve management of IBD. How IBD leads to changes in brain function remains unclear. Inflammation and dysfunction of blood flow may occur in patients with IBD, which may be linked to these symptoms. Patients with IBD also have an alteration or imbalance of gut bacteria which may play a role in the development of the disease, but the exact mechanism remains poorly understood;as a result, there are limited therapeutic options available clinically to address this issue. An approved therapy, anti-TNF α, may be useful in improving brain and gut activity as well as quality of life. The purpose of this research study is to better understand brain and gut activity in the context of IBD to possibly improve treatments for the disease. In patients taking anti-TNFα therapy as prescribed clinically as standard of care, the investigators will measure brain activity using NIRS; gut microbiome using stool analysis and quality of life using various questionnaires.

A growing population of young women with obesity are developing atypical hyperplasia (pre-cancer) and endometrial cancer. Progestin is the standard treatment for women who wish to preserve fertility, but this approach does not address the underlying cause of endometrial cancer/atypical hyperplasia (obesity); thus response rates are low and recurrence rates are high. Significant weight loss by bariatric surgery, in combination with progestin therapy may result in greater and more durable response rates.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease, causing severe pain due to joint inflammation (synovitis). While total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is commonly performed to reduce pain, 20% of patients are dissatisfied with their outcome post-surgery. This dissatisfaction is caused by persistent pain post-TKA due to synovitis that is not routinely removed during surgery. To address this problem, a synovectomy can be performed during TKA, which involves resecting the inflamed layer of tissue lining the joint, called the synovium, and its associated sensory nerve endings. Since the synovium will regenerate in the months post-surgery, synovectomy only transiently reduces pain after TKA. The proposed study will help ascertain the benefits and effects of synovectomy in patients who are more likely to experience poor satisfaction (driven mostly by pain) post-TKA. This study will include 62 patients undergoing TKA due to end-stage OA who have moderate to severe synovitis, as determined by ultrasound assessment. Patients will be randomized (1:1) to undergo a TKA with synovectomy or without synovectomy. Primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed through patient-reported levels of pain and function, results from physical performance tests, and quality of life (QOL) scores. These measures will be recorded pre- and post-surgery for comparison. Through demonstrating that synovectomy can at least transiently reduce pain post-TKA, this study will provide evidence for the development of medical therapies that target the synovium to slow its regrowth. This will be transformative for the long-term management of joint pain and synovitis post-surgery, thus significantly improving patients' overall QOL.

Replacing diseased hip joints with prosthetic implants in a procedure called total hip arthroplasty (THA) is associated with high rates of patient satisfaction, pain relief, and functional improvement when the implant is appropriately placed. Incorrect implant size or placement may lead to a breadth of negative outcomes, which could result in the need for implant revision. It is difficult to assess the precise orientation of patient hips on the operating table, with one study revealing that only 26% of acetabular cups placed without technological assistance are correctly positioned. Using computer navigation as a guide to achieve optimal implant alignment may improve successful placement rates. The additional incorporation of real-time modeling software may further help realize higher rates of successful implant placement. This study, therefore, aims to investigate a computer navigation system coupled with real-time modeling software to establish the benefit of such technology in the operating room, and further improve positive patient outcomes following THA. We hypothesize that including technological assistance in THAs will yield better patient outcomes compared to surgeries performed freehand.