Medical Student Program Stream

Scientific Lead: Dr. Calvin Ke 

Project Description:  

Cardiovascular disease disproportionately affects racialized populations due to factors such as language barriers, cultural differences, and social determinants of health. Dr. David Campbell’s ACCESS (Assessing Outcomes of Enhanced Chronic Disease Care Through Patient Education and a Value-Based Formulary Study) SMES (Self-Management Education and Support) intervention reduced cardiovascular events by 22% in Alberta. However, this program has not been adapted for Peel Region’s diverse population. This project will adapt, and feasibility test the ACCESS SMES intervention for racialized ethnolinguistic groups (e.g., Punjabi, Black African and Caribbean, Mandarin, Tamil) in Peel Region to address inequities in cardiovascular disease prevention.  

The study employs a mixed-methods approach, beginning with a community-engaged process to adapt and translate the intervention content, followed by feasibility testing over a 6-week period. Feasibility outcomes include acceptability, usability, and patient engagement. Ultimately, the goal is to reduce inequities in health outcomes and improve the management of cardiovascular risk factors in ethnolinguistically diverse populations. 

Student tasks and responsibilities: 

• Contribute to recruiting and engaging community members from multiple ethnolinguistic groups in all stages of the cultural adaptation and translation of intervention content. 

• Maintain close engagement with community organizations to support the recruitment strategy and to inform all research activities. 

• Support the feasibility testing of the intervention by coordinating participant recruitment, distributing study materials, and collecting data. 

• Contribute to preliminary data analysis and synthesis of study findings in the form of a report, conference abstract, and/or first-authored manuscript to inform recommendations for future scale-up and implementation. 

Scientific Lead: Dr. Terence Tang 

Project Description:  

Foot ulcers is a complication of diabetes, which can sometimes lead to infection and amputation. In Ontario, people living in neighbourhoods with low income are much more likely to have amputations compared to those living in neighbourhoods with high income. This is an especially important issue in Peel where diabetes is very common. Multidisciplinary team approach and care pathways to managing diabetic foot ulcers can prevent amputations. While services exist in Peel, there are access barriers. In the final phase of this 2-year project (which included evidence synthesis and interviews with people with lived experiences), we are co-designing change ideas with partners that can address these access barriers based on what we learned from parts 1 and 2.  Co-design will begin in early 2025.  The summer student will be involved in the final phase of co-design and participate in analyzing the data that is generated.  

Student will have the opportunity to: 

• The co-design phase consists of 4 workshops with a working group of community partners, healthcare providers, and people with lived experiences.  The student will participate in the organization of the final workshops by synthesizing learnings from the first 2 components of the project (scoping review and interviews of people and clinicians with lived experiences).  Student will also review output of the first few workshops, plan agenda, and prepare necessary materials for the final workshops.   

• Student will participate in the final workshops.  We anticipate the focus will be on working group members sharing experience about change ideas implemented from co-design and any learnings to take away.   

• Student will participate in coding of the qualitative data generated as well as in analysis with an analysis team.   

• Based on learning from the data, student will participate in designing any data collection activity that may be needed to capture impact of the change ideas. 

• Student will participate in preparation of knowledge translation activities, including with our primary knowledge user (Mississauga Ontario Health Team). 

Scientific Lead: Dr. Ian Zenlea 

Project Description:  

The goal of this project is to co-design type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevention interventions by centering the experiences and voices of Black, African and Caribbean (BAC) family caregivers. The project will be conducted in Peel Region of Ontario. The main objectives are to:  

1. Map existing T2D prevention interventions for BAC communities in Peel Region.  

2. Understand the factors influencing T2D-related health behaviours among BAC family caregivers.  

3. Engage BAC caregivers, service providers, researchers, and clinicians in knowledge exchange activities to co-design community-based, family-focused and culturally sensitive T2D interventions for BAC communities.   

4. Conduct a multi-stage process evaluation to explore the impacts and relevance of the study research activities for BAC caregivers, community research partners and peer research assistants.  

The project will use qualitative and arts-informed visual methods, including Photovoice. The expected outcome is to identify intervention opportunities that can support the health and wellness of BAC families.  

Student tasks and responsibilities will include:  

• Participating in community advisory board meetings, including taking notes, preparing presentation materials and co-facilitating.   

• Developing participant recruitment materials and engaging in the study’s participant recruitment process.   

• Co-facilitating Photovoice workshops.   

• Assisting with data analysis, community report and manuscript writing.   

• Support other type 2 diabetes research projects as needed. 

Scientific Lead: Dr. Ambreen Sayani 

Project Description:  

People who smoke have a 30%–40% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who do not, alongside increased risks for lung cancer and other smoking-related conditions. For individuals with cardiometabolic diseases, smoking further complicates disease management, exacerbating insulin resistance, increasing cardiovascular burden, and impairing overall health outcomes.  

In this project, we will co-design patient-facing prompts that increase awareness of the interconnected health risks of smoking, particularly its impact on cardiometabolic diseases and lung cancer using semi-structured qualitative interviews with purposive sampling from Peel. The tailored prompts developed will be integrated into the STOP (Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients) electronic health portal and delivered to patients seeking smoking cessation services by STOP program practitioners.  

This approach aims to:  

• Strengthen engagement, improve quit rates, and support comprehensive risk reduction for individuals at heightened risk for both lung cancer and cardiometabolic conditions. 

Student tasks and responsibilities: 

• Collaborate with the Investigator and other relevant partners involved in the project.  

• Prepare detailed notes of all interactions with participants.  

• Assist in the analysis of qualitative data (interviews) and the interpretation of results.  

• Support team members with the development of materials for meetings, presentations, and publications. 

Scientific Lead: Dr. Laura Chiavaroli 

Project Description:  

Background/Objective:  

Certain ethnic populations have an elevated risk of diabetes. The Portfolio Diet Program is a validated digital tool to translate the Portfolio Diet as recommended by Diabetes Canada and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society for diabetes and cardiovascular risk reduction. However, it has yet to be assessed in an ethnically diverse community at elevated risk of type 2 diabetes.   

Methods:  

66 adults (equally of South/South East Asian, African/Carribean, Hispanic) from Peel will be recruited to complete a virtual evaluation of the Portfolio Diet Program. Participants will engage with the Program (via the PortfolioDiet.app) for 7 days. An electronic questionnaire will be used to evaluate perceived acceptability, knowledge acquisition, and usability (mHealth App Usability Questionnaire, MAUQ) and 90-minute focus groups will further explore experiences. Quantitative data will be analyzed descriptively to determine knowledge acquisition, acceptability and usability, with subgroup analyses to examine differences by sex, gender and social determinants of health, and qualitative data will be analyzed thematically.  

Student tasks and responsibilities will include:  

• Assist with conducting the quality assurance evaluation, including participant recruitment and coordination, conducting focus groups, collecting data, analyses and interpretation and writing of the report forming the basis of a manuscript.   

• Contribute towards the publication of the work.   

• Attend weekly project meetings to present progress and challenges, with the support of a large team engaged in this project. 

Scientific Lead: Dr. Gillian Booth 

Project Description:  

This summer student project aims to identify best practices for incorporating the needs of equity deserving communities in municipal policymaking, for the purpose of creating healthy and equitable greenspace policies in the Region of Peel. This project will inform the design of a real-world greenspace policy intervention in Mississauga aimed at promoting physical activity and wellness in high diabetes-burdened communities.  

Student(s) will conduct an environmental scan to identify greenspace policies and planning initiatives that: 1) incorporate equity-based principles and 2) incorporate the perspectives of high-need communities or were directly co-designed with community partners.  

The project will provide students with enhanced knowledge of the interplay between neighbourhood geography, the social determinants of health, and community engagement to ensure healthy neighborhood policies incorporate the needs of the people they are intended for. Results will be showcased in a “how-to” guide that will help municipalities and local groups apply effective co-design practices in their own communities. 

Student tasks and responsibilities: 

• Learn about environmental scans, get familiar with research objectives and loose protocol  

• Get familiar with key articles on co-design both in general and in the environmental/park planning space 

• Liaise with research staff and partners in research to ensure understanding of key words and important concepts 

• Develop or refine the search strategy for the environmental scan, in consultation with librarian 

• Conduct literature search  

• Screen data with careful consideration of inclusion and exclusion criteria  

• Develop extraction guide & extract data  

• Review findings and contribute to their interpretation  

• Prepare preliminary summary of findings in both written and oral presentation formats 

Scientific Lead: Dr. Vasanti Malik 

Project Description:  

Background: Dietary intervention is a key component of care for those at risk of developing or living with type 2 diabetes (T2D). With the dramatic rise in food insecurity, a well-known barrier to healthy diets, food banks have an opportunity to intervene beyond food provision by providing knowledge and skills to support healthy eating. Seva Food Bank in Peel has experience delivering cooking and nutrition programs to seniors, newcomers and youth, many of whom struggle with T2D.   

Objective: Our project aims to build formal curriculums for Seva’s programs centred on nutrition education and culinary skills for T2D prevention and management.   

Methods: Modifications to Seva’s senior, newcomer and youth programs will be codesigned with program participants and community partners. Revised programs will be pilot tested for 1 month in relation to changes in diet quality and nutrition knowledge using validated questionnaires. Data will be analyzed quantitatively using a one-group pre-test post-test design.  

Student tasks and responsibilities: 

• Integrate findings from a previous literature review with feedback from previously conducted surveys and focus groups and dietary recommendations from Diabetes Canada to modify Seva’s senior, newcomer and youth programs to meet respective needs of each group.  

• Pilot test one of the modified programs for 1 month including baseline and follow-up dietary and nutrition knowledge questionnaires at 2-weeks and at 4-weeks.   

• Analyze data collected from baseline, 2-week and 4-week dietary and nutrition knowledge questionnaires (using Excel).   

• Summarize results, prepare data visualizations and participate in manuscript writing.   

• Work alongside other students in related projects and attend weekly team meetings to discuss progress and challenges with additional meetings as needed. 

Primary Supervisor: Fatima Campos 

Project Description:  

The goal of this project is to reduce chronic disease risk by fostering healthy behaviours among the South Asian population through faith-based settings (e.g., Gurudwara). The research project team is working with faith-based settings to determine the site’s goals, objectives, and needs to test and implement the South Asian Healthy Living Project.  Members of the project team include community physicians, UofT Researchers, and Peel Public Health staff. 

The project objectives include:  

1. Encourage healthy dietary choices, physical activity, and lifestyle changes in the South Asian community to mitigate diabetes and related conditions like hypertension, hyperlipidemia, fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular disease.  

2. Increase access to healthy eating and physical activity through improved options, infrastructure, and supportive policies and guidelines.  

3. Provide more opportunities for learning about and promoting healthy eating, physical activity, and reducing sedentary behaviours through education and promotional activities.  

Student tasks and responsibilities include: 

• Support the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the South Asian Healthy Living project 

• Support community engagement initiatives with key partners including  faith-based leaders, congregation members, etc.  

• Assist in study design and evaluation methods,  data collection, analysis, and development of reports to diverse audiences 

• Assist with literature searches and  other information, data or resources with librarian support if needed 

• As an active member of the South Asian Healthy Living Project group, participate in other activities as required.