The Government of Canada is investing in research to transform health systems. 12 early career researchers received the first Health System Impact Embedded Early Career Researcher Awards with the support of $9.6 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and partners.

These researchers are embedded within health system organizations where they will develop research programs to address the evidence needs of their host organizations and use the evidence they gather to help transform Canada’s health care systems.

Prenatal Screening Ontario Welcomes Dr. Vesnaver 

Prenatal Screening Ontario (PSO) is fortunate to be hosting one of these early career researchers; Dr. Elisabeth Vesnaver joined the team as an Implementation Scientist in 2024.

Dr. Vesnaver is also an Investigator at CHEO-RI and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health. 

Reducing the Evidence-Practice Gap

Evidence-based prenatal care and screening is important for the health of both parent and child, yet we know that a substantial amount of care practices across Canadian health care systems are not consistent with best available evidence. This is known as the evidence-practice gap.

Implementation science is the scientific study of methods and strategies that improve the uptake of evidence-based practices thereby reducing the gap.

Ensuring Access to Evidence-Based Prenatal Screening Practices for Ontarians

New prenatal screening practices will be introduced over the next five years, and Dr. Vesnaver will help BORN and PSO design evidence-based implementation strategies and interventions.  Dr. Vesnaver says tailoring implementation to meet the diverse needs of patients and health care providers is important. She also emphasizes the importance of evaluation, "We need to build our knowledge of what works, for whom and under which conditions, ultimately enhancing access to evidence-based prenatal screening practices for all pregnant Ontarians".