New provincial research centre brings expertise in healthy aging

MIRA | Collaborative for Health & Aging

A new OSSU Research Centre in Aging, MIRA | Collaborative for Health & Aging, brings together world-class researchers from the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA) and the McMaster School of Nursing’s Aging, Community and Health Research Unit (ACHRU).

The mandate of the collaborative is to build capacity and advance Ontario’s health care system by using an integrated, coordinated, and people-centered approach. The collaborative seeks to strengthen Ontario’s capacity in patient-oriented research and improve health system performance and patients’ experiences by advancing the science of patient engagement and methods and tools in patient-oriented research in aging. By addressing the unique needs of older adults and their caregivers through resources, consultation supports, data access, and technical services, the collaborative will position Ontario as a leader in patient-oriented research in aging.

The collaborative is comprised of five goal groups, each with a distinct focus:

Goal group 1: patient engagement

This goal group aims to advance patient engagement to ensure representation of patient needs, perspectives, and aspirations at all levels of health care decision-making.

Goal group 2: patient-centred innovations

This goal group will support the co-design, implementation, evaluation, scale and spread of patient-centered innovations.

Goal group 3: data-sharing

This goal group intends to coordinate linkage between the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences data and create frameworks to share relevant data in a timely manner with diverse users.

Goal group 4: Collaborations & partnerships

This goal group will promote collaborations and partnerships to connect and integrate activities across the province.

Goal group 5: Capacity-building

Build capacity of system stakeholders to engage in patient-oriented research.

Supports we can provide:

Access to Data Platforms and Services
Methods Support & Development
Health Systems, Knowledge Translation and Implementation
Real World Clinical Trials
Career Development
Consultation and Research Services
Patient Engagement in Research

Areas of Expertise in Aging and Health Systems Research:

Patient and caregiver engagement
Co-design, implementation, evaluation and scale-up of integrated care interventions
Transitional care
Integrated care delivery models
Capacity development
Data platforms and linkages
Knowledge translation

OSSU page

Click here to learn about our governance structure

Click here to learn about our partners