Meet 2021 Summer Studentship Recipient: Clara Moore

Working with our CCENT project as part of the 2021 CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program, Clara Moore focused on data analysis and visualization and assisted with a meta-analysis of CCENT’s 16 measures administered over an 18-month period to capture outcomes such as stress, mental health, and experience of care delivery. 

Here’s what Clara had to say about the summer student experience:

“I am extremely grateful that I was able to gain such valuable new skills through the CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program. Not only did this experience firmly reinforce my passion for patient- and family-centered research, but it also taught me how to engage and collaborate with patients at all points of the research process.

The most important lesson that I took away from this summer was how to create meaningful and authentic partnerships with patients and families. As a researcher it is not enough to simply include a patient or family member as a “partner” on a project. Instead one must carefully consider how a patient-partner can best contribute to the project as an expert and ensure appropriate compensation for their time and knowledge.

As I move forward in my career as a physician, I hope to be able to engage in more patient-oriented research projects. When that day comes, I feel confident that I will be able to authentically include patients and families in each step of the research process and ensure that their expertise is valued in order to produce research that is meaningful and useful for the community of patients that it is intended to serve.”

Meet 2021 Summer Studentship Recipient: Laura Diamond

Working with our CCENT project team as part of the 2021 CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program, Laura Diamond extracted and cleaned data on mental health resource use in parents of high-risk infants four months after leaving the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. “Cleaning” data refers to removing incomplete or invalid entries from a data set. Laura summarized the demographics and mental health service use of these parents and performed a statistical analysis to identify if any markers from the infant’s NICU admission could predict parent use of mental health services after discharge. Laura and the CCENT team are currently summarizing the findings in a manuscript.

Here’s what Laura had to say about the summer student experience:

“I feel extremely fortunate to have participated in the CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program this summer, working with the Coached, Coordinated, Enhanced Neonatal Transition (CCENT) team at the Hospital for Sick Children.

For my research project, I investigated mental health resource use in parents of infants in seven neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Parents of infants in the NICU represent an often-understudied population, despite facing an increased burden of mental illness when compared with parents of full-term, healthy infants. I appreciated the opportunity to spearhead some research in this field, in hopes of ultimately improving the mental health resource access and overall mental wellbeing of this population. Furthermore, with the increase in mental illness associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting this research project this summer only felt more critical.

In addition to conducting the research project itself, I greatly benefited from the CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program. Through webinars and workshops, I became more familiar with the tenets of patient-oriented research (POR) and the benefits that such research can have on patient outcomes and experiences. Specifically, I learned that effective POR involves: 1) engaging patients early, 2) ensuring diversity of perspectives (this may mean involving not just patients, but caregivers, parents, siblings, etc.), 3) ensuring recruitment facilitates the involvement of marginalized and hard-to-reach populations, and 4) maintaining compassion when engaging with patient-partners to ensure they are contributing in safe and meaningful ways. These are lessons that I will carry forward with me on my journey as a future clinician and researcher.”

Meet 2021 Summer Studentship Recipient: Eisha Amjad

Working with our Mega Team project members as part of the 2021 CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program, Eisha Amjad gained experience conducting research study visits, gathering consent from participants, as well as interacting with study participants and families. Eisha also learned about data collection methods and processes and the importance of incorporating patient-partners in the research study.

Here’s what Eisha had to say about the summer student experience:

“The CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship webinars and training modules were helpful in familiarising myself with key concepts such as the basic principles of patient-oriented research, plain language writing, and the barriers to, and enablers of, public participation in research.

I learned a lot about how critical it is to communicate complex and challenging scientific findings in lay terms to attract public attention. Through the carefully constructed group assignments, I developed the skills to work well within a team and consolidate several different ideas and perspectives. I substantially increased my ability to read and scan scientific materials, as well as paraphrase key findings using lay language. This has greatly aided me in my position as a co-op student at SickKids. I’m able to better interact with children and answer their questions about the research study in which they are enrolled. I am confident that the skills and knowledge I have acquired through this program will continue to help me thrive both professionally and academically.”

Meet 2021 Summer Studentship Recipient: Shi Ping (Linda) Lin

Working with our Mega Team project members as part of the 2021 CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program, Shi Ping Lin learned how to conduct research study visits, gather consent from participants, as well as interact with study participants and families. Shi Ping also learned about methods and processes of data collection and the importance of incorporating patient-partners in the research study.

Here’s what Shi Ping had to say about the summer student experience:

“My summer studentship experience working on a CHILD-BRIGHT research project was nothing short of extraordinary! Throughout the term, I had the opportunity to work with an amazing group of researchers, eager participants, and parent-partners. Not only did I arrive at a deeper understanding of what patient-orientated research is and how to engage in active and authentic partnerships with researchers, patients, and health professionals alike, but I was also able to apply it in real time during research assessments.

Through the summer studentship webinars, I was made aware of all the different barriers to patient participation, which made me more mindful when engaging with families. My placement with Mega Team also allowed me to practice administering research measures in a standardized manner in order to collect quality data. Through this experience, I learned how to analyze data and how to exercise sound data maintenance by digitizing a collection of research files. Both the intra- and inter-personal development I’ve had in the past four months allowed me to grow as a person and have more meaningful interactions with others.

I aspire to become a teacher and the summer placement equipped me with the valuable experience of working with children affected by different neurodevelopmental disabilities and how to best care for them. Overall, I’m very thankful for the CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program for the memorable experience and for the connection with all the wonderful people I’ve met in the process.”

Meet 2021 Summer Studentship Recipient: Antonina

Working with the Jooay App project as part of the 2021 CHILD-BRIGHT Summer Studentship Program, Antonina was responsible for data collection and information extraction to be included in the Jooay App, as well as data entry and data analysis using app analytics. Antonina also supported a number of key knowledge translation activities related to the Jooay App.

Here is what Antonina had to say about the summer student experience:

“This summer I had the amazing opportunity to work on the Jooay App research project, led by Principal Investigator Keiko Shikako. The app is a repository of activities that are adapted, inclusive and fun for children with all types of disabilities (as well as their families). This was my first experience working in a lab, so I was lucky that it was in such an interesting and encouraging environment. I learned a lot about the accessibility measures, activities, and organizations that exist in Canada, as well as how much work there is still left to do in that department. There is so much that goes into making a program accessible! Hopefully apps such as Jooay will bring awareness to these existing activities, make them easier to find for people that need them, and encourage more organizations to take accessibility and inclusion into account.

This experience has helped me become acquainted with the research community and lab culture, something that I had very little knowledge of previously. I hope to continue trying to bring awareness to accessibility, for all abilities and in all areas of life, whether it be in future research, work, or everyday life.

This project has also allowed me to participate in the CHILD-BRIGHT webinars, which proved an invaluable experience and insight into the world of patient-oriented research. They made me aware of both the importance of including patients in research and how to do it, considering all the stages of a project that patients can participate in and all the different information they can provide. I will make sure to always keep this in mind for future research.”