Greetings
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the June issue of our newsletter. Thank you for taking the time to peruse its contents as we have a number of updates to share.
The CPCRC is close to having official not-for-profit status. In the meantime, we are getting closer to launching our website, recruiting for the first few Work Stream roles, preparing our third Governance Board meeting, accepting nominations for our 2026 Awards, organizing our Science and Learning Symposium, supporting research projects and offering learning sessions.
Please do not hesitate to reach out with suggestions or questions to admin@cpcrc-ccrsp.ca.
As always, thank you for co-building our momentum!
-CPCRC Team
What have we been up to?
Recruitment for Work Stream Leads
As we continue to build out the organizational structure of the CPCRC, we recently issued a call for 3 Work Streams: PBRLNs, Patient/Person-with-lived-experience Engagement and Data Science. Thank you to all who applied. Interviews are in progress. The call-out for the next 3 Work Streams (Research & Innovation, Clinical Trials and Building Capacity) will take place this winter.
Science & Learning Symposium | Toronto| October 22nd, 2026
Join us for the CPCRC Science & Learning Symposium. We are excited to gather as a community in Toronto this year, just ahead of the Trillium conference for a day of keynotes, learning and sharing, workshops and celebrating past achievements. We will be spotlighting the 8 CPCRN kick-off projects which are near completion and ready to share learnings, particularly as these relate to scaling and spreading primary care innovations. Our objectives are to:
- Mobilize knowledge that informs and transforms practice, clinical care and decision-making for better and more equitable health outcomes.
- Learn from cross-jurisdictional PHC research projects that aim to scale and spread evidence-informed innovations to multiple jurisdictions.
- Gather ideas and feedback from the primary care community on where CPCRC can add value and particular projects CPCRC can lean into with regards to developing the primary care information infrastructure and future research.
Hotel prices are high at this time of year in Toronto. We have negotiated a special rate with the Holiday Inn ($299 + tax) which is very close to our Symposium venue. We have a small courtesy block which is almost full but the hotel has assured us they will add rooms if they see the demand.
CPCRN & CPCRC Awards
The CPCRN will be presenting its 2026 Engagement and Mentor Awards in October at our Symposium. At this time, the CPCRC will be presenting its inaugural Researcher of the Year Award. Deadline for nominations: Friday September 18th, 2026. Details here
Capacity Building Spotlight
CPCTN Update
The Canadian Primary Care Clinical Trials Network (CPCTN) welcomes an inaugural cohort of primary care scientists (clinicians and early career researchers) to their Trialist Training Program which focuses on core elements of clinical trials. This program has been designed to:
- Equip participants with practical skills in clinical trial design and conduct;
- Build confidence to participate in or lead randomized controlled trials;
- Provide structured guidance from initial idea through to study proposal;
- Offer one-on-one mentorship and support throughout from an experienced clinical trialist.
The program will run from July-October 2026.
CPCRC 2026 Learning Series – Recordings
- 9 June 2026 Trainee Learning Session: PASSERELLE, Canada’s National Bilingual Hub for Capacity Development in Patient-Oriented Research | Panelists: Annie LeBlanc, Yvonne Pelling, Emilie Grenier | Recording here
- 17 June 2026 Learning Session: Caring Together in Primary Care: Walking Toward People’s Own Goals |Panelists: Antoine Boivin and Ghislaine Rouly | Recording here
CPCRC 2026 Learning Series – Upcoming
- Our colleagues at Réseau-1 Québec will be leading our Fall Learning Sessions (September 23rd, October 28, date in early December to be confirmed) focusing on systems level initiatives in primary care in the areas of quality improvement, measurement of quality and performance, and innovations.
- 22 September 2026 Trainee Learning Session: Primary Care EMRs: Unlocking a Modern Data Goldmine |Panelists: Mylaine Breton, Jennifer Rayner and Sabrina Wong | click here to register
- 2 December 2026 Trainee Learning Session: Introduction to CPCTN | Panelist: Andrew Pinto | Click here to register
2026 Enriched Primary Care Research Experiences: TUTOR-PHC Fellows
CPCRC welcomed a new cohort of TUTOR Fellows. They have joined a number of colleagues to learn and contribute to different projects.
Patient Partner Spotlight
From Saskatchewan to Limerick: Learning and Sharing Engagement Experiences
The SK-PBRLN Engagement Specialist, Brenda Andreas, and Director, Dr. Vivian Ramsden, recently attended the 11th Annual Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Summer School at the University of Limerick in Ireland. This provided an opportunity to connect with international researchers, patient partners, and community leaders who are advancing patient and public involvement in health research in Ireland. At the event, Brenda and Viv facilitated Plenary #1 where they had the opportunity to speak about Saskatchewan and Canadian perspectives on patient engagement, while learning from international colleagues and emerging practices in PPI. Their participation reflects SK-PBRLNs ongoing commitment to strengthening relational equity and fostering meaningful partnerships with patients, families, and communities in primary care research.
Community of Belonging
A Community of Belonging virtual gathering was hosted by the CPCRN Patient Council on June 2nd with the Patient Partners from our CPCRN funded projects. It was a welcome exchange of different experiences and perspectives, as well as an opportunity to share the future direction of the CPCRC with everyone. They look forward to continuing to foster and grow this Community of Belonging as transition to CPCRC continues.
PASSERELLE Training Inventory
Looking for learning opportunities in patient-oriented research (POR)? PASSERELLE’s POR Training Inventory brings together training and learning activities from across the SPOR ecosystem and organizations interested in patient-oriented research to support capacity development and improve access to available learning opportunities. This resource can help you identify training opportunities aligned with your interests and learning needs.
Expériences Magazine
The new Expériences Magazine, produced by the QC SPOR Support Unit, has just been published. This issue focuses on care-givers and peer assistance by patient navigators.
Research Spotlight
PRIME Project Dashboard
Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC) and CPCRC are partnering to equip primary care delivery teams across the country with research and quality improvement supports to help them implement innovative solutions to improve primary care access and quality. CPCRC has started to engage delivery teams across the country that are implementing a variety of innovations.
CIHR Catalyst Grant Partnership
Congratulations to Dr. Carolyn Steele Gray, the nominated principal applicant, and team for a successfully funded Catalyst Award grant which aims to establish a national and international group of experts and interest holders across the system to advance adoption of digital health tools to enable the advancement of integrated primary care models. She is partnering with the CPCRC to advance the work which involves conducting an environmental scan, convening a summit to develop implementation guidance, and establishing working groups to put the plan into action.
PaRIS OECD International Data Set
The OECD publicly released the international PaRIS-OECD Cycle 1 dataset this past May 2026. Should you have any questions regarding this data set, please contact us.
Get Involved
The CPCRC is working with Dr. Aaron Drucker on a new clinical trials initiative for eczema (atopic dermatitis) called Online Trials for Eczema in North America (OTEN). OTEN, based at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, is a fully online randomized trial program to evaluate low-risk, patient-led lifestyle interventions for atopic dermatitis. The first trial will assess whether avoiding dietary dairy has an effect on eczema among adults.
The ask of PBRLNs:
- CPCRC Networks/PBRLNs will help you identify the number of adults with eczema and will provide a draft recruitment message.
- Share a short recruitment message (via email) with potentially eligible patients.
- Display/share a study flyer in your clinic.
- Estimated time: <5 minutes of your time. Once they have the study link, patients can proceed through the trial from start to finish without any physician visits or assessments.
The benefit for clinics within PBRLNs:
- Support for your patients who may have questions about dairy and eczema.
- At the end of the trial, if dairy avoidance is effective, you will have access to patient-facing materials on how to avoid dietary dairy.
The benefit for patients:
- Ease of participating in a trial online.
- An understanding of how dairy affects eczema.
Why does this matter?
- Most eczema trials focus on medications, but research on diet and lifestyle triggers is limited. OTEN is designed to answer these questions.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at admin@cpcrc-ccrsp.ca.
Canadian Patients Perspectives on Sharing Data
This survey, being conducted by the Ottawa Heart Institute seeks perspectives on sharing individual-level data collected during a) clinical care and b) participation in research studies. Having specific data from Canada on patient preferences for how data is shared, what data is shared, and to whom, is critical to implementing data sharing policies and practices in a way that best serves the Canadian community. If interested in participating, please access survey below.
Research Study Opportunity for Patients with Type2 Diabetes
Medical student Parker Graves is working with a research team at the University of British Columbia, supervised by Dr. Femke Hoekstra in the Department of Medicine. Their team is conducting a study exploring how individuals with type 2 diabetes understand and think about diabetes remission after engaging with educational resources. They are asking clinics to display a recruitment poster in waiting rooms and patient-facing areas to share the study opportunity and invite them to be in touch with the research team. This study has been approved by UBC’s Behavioural Research Ethics Board.
Optimizing Potassium Management in Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome: Potassium Management Practices Survey
You’re invited to take part in a survey (10-12 minutes) and contribute to a needs assessment on potassium management practices among multidisciplinary health care providers. By taking part, you will be helping UBC researchers to understand better the issues and challenges faced by providers in managing outpatient potassium levels. Thank you for your participation!
Regional Networking, Science & Learning Opportunities
PriFor 2026 Conference | 11 – 12 September 2026 | St. John’s, NL
- The Primary Healthcare Partnership Forum: Team Based Care
Recent Comments