番茄社区

Dr. Tarek Amer and Dr. Jordana Wynn are Assistant Professors at the 番茄社区 and IALH Research Fellows. They are conducting a study entitled Object Visual Attention Study to understand how attention guides our visual system to process everyday objects.

What does participation in this study involve?

Participants will be asked to look at various pictures of objects on a computer screen and make judgements about them while their eye movements are recorded using a remote eyetracking system.

Participation requires 1 to 1.5 hours of time. Participants will be compensated $25.00 plus transit costs.

Eligible participants must: 

• Be 65 years of age or older
• Speak English fluently
• Have normal or corrected-to-normal vision (no bifocal lenses)
• Have no severe visual impairments (i.e., a prescription of +/- 5.00 or higher)
• Have no history of psychiatric or neurological disorder or head injury

For more information, or to participate, please contact uvic.mva.lab@gmail.com or 250-472-5014. 

See the study flyer.

Elizabeth Borycki, Professor in UVic's School of Health Information Science and IALH Research Fellow is conducting a study that explores the use of technology for health and wellness. 

Importance of this Research

Technologies for Health and Wellness are becoming increasingly used in providing healthcare. To better understand how technologies for health and wellness affect our information needs, affect how we think (i.e., cognition) and take care of our health and wellness, the research team will interview citizens, caregivers and individuals who use these technologies in the home, work, community, and clinic contexts.

What is involved? 

• Completing two questionnaires (a demographic questionnaire and eHealth literacy questionnaire)
• Taking part in an interview (by video or phone call)
• This will take 30 to 60 minutes of your time

Eligible participants must:

• Be over the age of 18
• Use technologies for health and wellness
• Be able to read, write and speak English

Particpants will receive a $25 coffee card for their time. 

See the study flyer.

If you would like to learn more about this study, you may contact:

Elizabeth Borycki, Professor, School of Health Information Science,
email: emb@uvic.ca 

Sasha Zinovich, Research Project Manager,
email: AnalystIHT1@uvic.ca

Lois Holizki, Research Coordinator,
email: CoordinatorLDIH1@uvic.ca 
250-472-5432

Dr. David Kennedy is an Assistant Professor in UVic's School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education and an IALH Research Fellow. He is a trained physiotherapist with over 25 years of clinical practice experience. His research interests include stroke, pain and improving public understanding of pain through education. 

Dr. Kennedy and Graduate Student Sophia Mastrangelo are seeking individuals to participate in a pain science study investigating individuals’ perceived pain, and perceived damage experiences under different conditions. Specifically, how painful sensations can increase or decrease using topical creams. The goal of this study is to contribute to the field of pain study by furthering their understanding of what controls the pain experience and how it can be managed. 

What is involved? 

• Online: Particpants will be asked to complete online components via RedCap (a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases). This will include a consent form, a demographics survey and COPI-A questionnaire (A questionnaire on concept of pain).  
• In-person: In this session the researcher will apply topical creams to see how they impact pain in the individual. 
• Debrief: After data collection is concluded, particpants will be provided with information about the full breadth of the study, including particpation impact. 

Particpants will be eleigible to enter 1 of 2 $50 Amazon Gift Cards. 

Who is eligible to particpate? 

Eligible particpants must be: 

• Healthy adults aged 19-65 
• Able and willing to attend an in-person session at the 番茄社区

Contact:

If you would like to participate in this study or have any questions, please contact:

Sophia Mastrangelo (Grad Student): Email: sophiamastrangelo@uvic.ca or

David Kennedy (Assistant professor, EPHE, UVic): Email: davidkennedy@uvic.ca 

See the study flyer

Zoe Gilson is a student in the Department of Psychology and an IALH Student Affiliate. Zoe is recruiting participants for a feasibility study looking at the use of a psychoeducation mHealth app aimed at promoting cognitive health in later life.

What is a mHealth app?

An mHealth app is a mobile application that stores health information, provides health recommendations, and allows individuals to access health related educational tools. The mHealth app used in this study will teach you about modifiable lifestyle factors, such as diet, physical activity, intellectual activity, social connectedness, minimizing stress, and sleep habits that may promote cognitive health in later life.

About the study:

The aim of this study is to test interventions for age-related cognitive health with adults experiencing subjective cognitive concerns (i.e., subtle declines in cognition that a person has noticed in themselves) and gain meaningful feedback about the intervention process from participants after it has been completed. The research team hopes to use this feedback to improve the useability of the app and feasibility of the intervention.

Who can particpate in this study? 

To participate in this study, individuals must: 

• Be 55 Years of age or older
• Live in Canada
• Own a smartphone
• Be experiencing subjective cognitive concerns (feel that memory or reasoning has changed) in the last two years

Who is conducting this study? 

Principal Investigator: Dr. Theone Paterson, Psychology and IALH Research Fellow

Co-investigators:  Dr. Jonathan Rush, Psychology and IALH Research Fellow and Dr. Sam Liu, Exercise Scinece, Physical and Health Education and IALH Research Fellow

Graduate Students: Zoe Gilson and Morgan Schaeffer, Psychology and IALH Student Affiliates

For further information, please contact Dr. Theone Paterson at the 番茄社区 at coghealthstudy@uvic.ca.

 This study has been approved by the Research Ethics Board at the 番茄社区.

 See the study flyer

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with an estimated 69 million people acquiring a TBI each year, yet accessible and effective interventions for reducing symptoms of TBI are lacking. The UVic Christie Lab and Victoria Brain Injury Society are partnering to investigate the effects of a cognitive training intervention on recovery in moderate to severe TBI survivors. 

Jamie Morrison is a Masters Student in the Division of Medical Sciences at the 番茄社区 and an IALH Student Affiliate. She is seeking individuals to participate in a study that will examine functional, biological, and cognitive outcomes before and after 10 sessions of cognitive training with the hopes of better understanding recovery options for those navigating the complexities of Traumatic brain injury (TBI).

What is involved? 

Participants will be randomized to either the intervention or control group for 5 weeks. Blood and saliva samples will be collected at the 番茄社区 and a virtual cognitive assessment will be performed before, after, and one-month after the intervention period. All participants will have the opportunity to engage in the cognitive training intervention upon completion of the study. See the study overview. 

Eligibility criteria:

To participate in this study, interested individuals need to:

1. Be 19 years of age or older
2. Have a self-reported history of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury
3. Be able to meet at the 番茄社区 campus for blood/saliva collection.

Who is conducting this study? 

• Jamie Morrison, MSc Student, Division of Medical Sciences; IALH Student Affiliate
• Taylor Snowden-Richardson, PhD Student, Division of Medical Sciences; IALH Student Affiliate
• Dr. Brian Christie, Professor, Division of Medical Sciences; IALH Research Fellow
• Dr. Jodie Gawryluk, Associate Professor, Psychology; IALH Research Fellow
• Danielle Peros, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 番茄社区
• Dr. Sandy Shultz, Fluid Biomarker Analyst, 番茄社区

If you are interested in learning more please contact Jamie at jamiemorrison@uvic.ca Subject line: Brain Injury Study

Tess Carswell is a graduate student at the 番茄社区 and an IALH Student Affiliate. Her research aims to improve quality of life and healthcare outcomes of people with lower limb amputations (LLAs) by studying differences between males and females in this population and differences between people with LLAs and those that are able-bodied (i.e., without an amputation).

What is involved?
Tess is running a research study and she's looking to recruit people with below-knee amputations and people who are able-bodied (i.e., without amputations) to participate. The study involves completing standard walking assessments in a motion capture lab at the 番茄社区. Walking assessments include level and sloped walking trials, which see participants walking over force plates while cameras record their movement.Participation is maximum 4 hours spread over a single day. Participants will be compensated for their time.

More information about her research and the study can be found here:  

This study will be supervised by Dr. Josh Giles, Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering and IALH Research Fellow. This study has been approved by UVic's Human Research Ethics Board (HREB). 

Contact:

• Tess Carswell: tmrc@uvic.ca
• Josh Giles: jwgiles@uvic.ca 

Taylor Snowden-Richardson, a fourth year PhD year student is recruiting participants for a study exploring how concussions impact long-term brain health. To be eligible, participants must:

• be between 50 and 90 years of age
• have normal or corrected vision
• have low weekly aerobic activity (defined as less than 1 hour per week)
• be physically able to engage in 30 minutes of aerobic walking at a time.

Individuals with or without a history of concussion are invited to participate. Individuals who have had a concussion are eligible to participate if they have had at least one concussion a minimum of 1 year prior to study intake.

The study is being conducted in collaboration with IALH Research Fellows Dr. Brian Christie (Division of Medical Sciences) and Dr. Jodie Gawryluk (Department of Psychology and Division of Medical Sciences). It involves the use of Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRIs), blood and saliva collection and cognitive assessments as well as a 12-week intervention program. For more information, contact brainlab@uvic.ca using the subject History of Concussion Study.

Caregivers are often overlooked as care team members, and while individuals with dementia are living at home they bear significant responsibility. As a result, negative physical and mental health outcomes can occur, creating a barrier to efficient implementation and the use of smart technology in the home to support caregiving. Masters Student and IALH Student Affiliate Evangeline Wagner is seeking participants for a study entitled Understanding the Needs of Caregivers Involved in At-Home Care Using SmartHome Systems for Patients with Dementia.

To be eligible, participants must:
• a non-medical caregiver of an individual with dementia who is living at home
• over the age of 19 and
• able to read, write and speak in English

What is involved?

Participants will be asked to complete some questionnaires and participate in an interview. The tasks will take about 30 minutes to complete.

For more information or to participate, please contact Evangeline Wagner at evangelinemwagner@uvic.ca or her supervisor Elizabeth Borycki at emb@uvic.ca. 

CanAssist at the 番茄社区 is dedicated to helping people with disabilities improve their quality of life, with a focus on promoting independence and inclusion. CanAssist often requires people to test new technology prototypes and provide feedback on their effectiveness. This testing is done on a voluntary basis and there is no cost. In most cases, families testing a technology can continue to use the solution for as long as it continues to be useful.

For technology testing opportunities, please visit the .

Are you interested in participating in health research in BC, but don’t know how to get involved? REACH BC connects volunteer participants with researchers in the province who are conducting clinical trials or other studies focused on health-related issues. Through the confidential and secure REACH BC platform, interested individuals are asked to provide information about themselves, their research interests, any health conditions they may have, and their contact information. Once registered, they will be sent information about potential research opportunities. Volunteers can then connect with research teams to ask any questions they may have about a research study and to let researchers know if they’re interested in participating. For more information on health research studies currently underway in BC, go to . For more information on becoming a volunteer for health research in BC through REACH BC, go to