Location

							                           CH&E Seminar Series
                            JENNIFER THORNHILL, Msc
                                Senior Advisor, Knowledge Summaries
                             Canadian Health Services Research Foundation

Title:      Mythbusters: Using evidence to debunk popular myths in Canadian healthcare

Date:       Tuesday, September 16, 2008
            12:15 - 1:15 p.m.

Location: CH&E Classroom, Room #409
          Centre for Clinical Research
          5790 University Avenue

Synopsis: Today’s healthcare policy makers and managers are expected to improve quality of care while demonstrating
 ever-increasing accountability for public sector spending. To do so, they must rely on research evidence as a key factor
in their decision-making process. However, this process can be complicated by conventional wisdoms that run
counterintuitive to the best-available research evidence. Mythbusters is a series of research summaries that reveals
cases where research evidence is contrary to accepted wisdom in Canadian healthcare debates. Developed by the
Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) – an independent, not-for-profit organization that supports the
evidence-informed management of Canada's healthcare systems – this series aims to insert actionable, research-based
messages into high-profile health policy debates. This presentation provides an overview of the CHSRF and its
knowledge exchange activities, with a particular focus on Mythbusters and a frank discussion of the major challenges in
writing research summaries.

Relevant Reads/Links:
Mythbusters ; Myths, "Zombies" and "Damned Lies" Plague Canadian Healthcare Systems:
What's a Researcher to Do? ; Evidence Boost ; Mythbusters Teaching Resource ; Communication
Notes ; Insight and Action ; Harkness Canadian Health Policy Document

Bio: Jennifer Thornhill holds a Master of Science in Medicine in Applied Health Services Research from Memorial University of
Newfoundland. Before enrolling in her masters, Jennifer completed a combined honours degree in journalism and biology from the
University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Currently residing in Ottawa, Ontario, Jennifer works as the Senior Advisor,
Knowledge Summaries in the Knowledge Exchange branch at the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation. Her primary role
involves creating user-friendly summaries of research for health systems policy makers and managers.