McMaster Health Forum celebrates five years

The McMaster Health Forum is celebrating its fifth anniversary as a leading hub for improving health outcomes through collective problem-solving. During the first five years, the Forum has:

• Registered nearly 10,000 users for Health System Evidence – the world’s most comprehensive, free access point for evidence on how to strengthen or reform health systems, and how to get cost-effective programs, services and drugs to those who need them;
• Launched the Rapid Response program and in the past year responded to four time-sensitive requests from Canadian policymakers and stakeholders for evidence about health system challenges;
• Convened 32 stakeholder dialogues addressing issues such as fostering leadership for health system redesign in Canada, supporting quality improvement in primary health care, creating community-based specialty clinics, and improving end-of-life communication, decision-making and care;
• Implemented a complementary program focused on citizens and convened 10 citizen panels on diverse topics such as improving access to palliative care, meeting the future home and community care needs of older adults, and improving care and support for unpaid caregivers; and
• Drawn on our experience in leading nearly 100 training workshops in more than 30 countries with health system policymakers, stakeholders and researchers drawn from more than 60 countries to launch Health Systems Learning, which offers both online and face-to-face learning opportunities for policymakers, stakeholders and researchers.

“The Forum aims to harness the best available evidence, engage the best people and strive for excellence in all we do,” said Forum director John Lavis. “We look forward to extending the reach and impacts of our innovative initiatives to support evidence-informed policy.”

About the McMaster Health Forum:

The McMaster Health Forum aspires to be recognized as a leading hub for improving health outcomes through collective problem-solving. For concerned citizens and influential thinkers and doers, the Forum harnesses information, convenes stakeholders and prepares action-oriented leaders to meet pressing health challenges creatively.

Building on McMaster’s tradition of evidence-based medicine and problem-based learning, the Forum draws on an unparalleled breadth of synthesized evidence to empower stakeholders to set agendas, take well-considered actions and communicate the rationale for actions effectively. The Forum’s innovative methods have earned recognition at the local, regional, national and international levels, and contributed to its designation as the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Evidence-Informed Policy.

Keep up on all the news and products available from the Forum. Follow @MacHealthForum on Twitter, Facebook or subscribe to the monthly Forum Update e-newsletter.