NMD4C: The Neuromuscular Disease Network for Canada

The network is excited to share that on behalf of the NMD4C Knowledge Translation team, Drs. Cynthia Gagnon and Homira Osman have had a poster presentation accepted for inclusion at the Knowledge Translation Canada (KT Canada) 2022 Virtual Scientific Meeting.

The poster presentation “A Network’s Approach to Adapting Knowledge Translation Strategies for Neuromuscular Diseases” focuses on the barriers and facilitators to knowledge translation (KT) for neuromuscular diseases, describing how some of these were amplified during the pandemic, and providing examples of effective KT activities that have improved access and uptake of information which raise standards of care and research, with particular focus on the application of the knowledge-to-action framework to address the needs and challenges of Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Alongside the specific example of the knowledge-to-action framework in SMA, the key messages from the poster include:

Collaboration between clinicians, academics, researchers, patient partners is critical for planning, delivering, and implementing KT activities that intend to influence clinical and policy change.

A pan-Canadian network can fulfil an important role of knowledge broker and can help to address the limited, fragmented, and emerging evidence and clinical expertise.

The use of multi-faceted strategies for knowledge dissemination is important: webinars, social media, newsletters are effective ways to maximize engagement, reach and uptake of knowledge.

The full poster will be available on the KT Canada website after the event, so check back to see the full content!

KT Canada’s Virtual Scientific Meeting 2022

The KT Canada Virtual Scientific Meeting is held entirely online, running from May 4^th to May 6^th, 2022, with the theme “Developing and evaluating tailored dissemination strategies for different audiences: What have we learned from dissemination science during COVID-19?”. The presentations include 15-minute live oral presentations, and pre-recorded poster presentations. The full agenda is available on the KT Canada Scientific Meeting website; if you are interested in attending this virtual event, you can register online.

The goals of KT Canada are to improve how research results are communicated, develop a consensus on KT terminology and methods for measuring success, evaluate various KT approaches and to find ways to ensure that KT efforts have a lasting impact across the continuum of care by engaging health professionals, community members and various health decision-making groups.

NMD4C Knowledge Translation Strategy

The NMD4C KT strategy focuses on the development, dissemination, and implementation of KT products (including clinical care guidelines) tailored to various audiences with the objectives in pursuit of raising the standard of care for NMD and improving access to NMD therapies across Canada. More information about the NMD4C KT working group is available on the KT page of our website.