Posted • Last updated
Closed
Commitment: Short-term
Connection method: Virtual
Open to Northern Region, patient partners from Prince George
Last updated
Volunteer Opportunity
Do you live in Prince George? The Community Antimicrobial Stewardship program out of the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) is looking for focus group participants to share their experience with antibiotic prescriptions!
Lead Organization/Department
Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), BCCDC
Aim
The Community Antimicrobial Stewardship program out of the BCCDC is aimed at supporting and promoting the wise use of antibiotics in community and primary care. We are partnering with several communities with a relatively high use of antibiotics to better understand the local context, gaps in support and information, and potential strategies to support the community. We are inviting residents of Prince George to take part in a 1.5 hour, online focus group to share their patient experience and ideas.
Some examples of potential focus group questions are:
• Do you have a trusted relationship with a healthcare professional who can prescribe antibiotics?
• What kinds of conditions do you think antibiotics are needed for?
Level of Engagement
This opportunity is at the level of consult on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will listen to and acknowledge your ideas and concerns, and provide feedback on how your input affected the decision.
Eligibility
• Open to patient partners from: Prince George
• Have had an antibiotic prescription (including antibiotic creams, eye drops or oral medication) within the last year, or supported a child or family member with accessing an antibiotic prescription.
• Comfortable using Zoom for virtual meetings.
• Provide consent that the health care partner can conduct audio recording of the focus group to ensure transcription accuracy.
• Please note:
– As connection and relationship building is important to BCCDC, we may like to meet with short listed patient partners as part of our selection process in an informal interview between the volunteer and the health care partner.
– Applicants must have previously attended a PVN orientation session and completed the Patient Partner Commitments form. If you have not attended an orientation session but you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Charmaine Niebergall directly to see if accommodations may be possible.
– As required by the October 14, 2021 Public Health Order released by the Provincial Health Officer, proof of vaccination is required to access any in-person meetings at a Northern Health site. Proof of vaccination can be provided by way of a Vaccination Passport or Vaccination card, along with government issued photo ID. For patient partnership activities that are virtual only (via Zoom, video conference, phone, etc.), proof of vaccination is not required.
Logistics
• Number of vacancies: 8
• Date/Time: 1.5 hour long, on Wednesday September 28th, 2022.
• Location: Virtually using Zoom
• Commitment: One time
Reimbursement
No out-of-pocket expenses are anticipated for this engagement opportunity. However, if you meet the eligibility criteria but have concerns about your ability to participate, please contact Charmaine Niebergall cniebergall@bcpsqc.ca to see if support options are available. We are always seeking to better understand and reduce barriers to participation.
Background
The Community Antimicrobial Stewardship program out of the BCCDC is hosting an Antibiotic-Use Focus Group for those in the local health area of Burns Lake/Prince George who are older adults or parents of young children. Our program is aimed at supporting and promoting the wise use of antibiotics in community and primary care. Antibiotic prescribing rates per population in BC are declining overall, however there are large regional variations. Rather than taking a ‘one size fits all’ approach, we are developing a project that will tailor our program messaging and interventions to work with local health areas.
We are beginning by partnering with several communities with a relatively high use of antibiotics, and engaging with local community members and, in separate focus groups, local providers. The purpose of this engagement opportunity is to better understand the local context, gaps in support and information, and potential strategies to support the community. Participation in this engagement opportunity will consist of an introductory call and attending one focus group with 6-8 other patient partners. With the patient partners’ permission, anonymous quotations may be used in publications and/or presentations.
