Participate

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 https://www.reachbc.ca/studies. For more information on becoming a volunteer for health research in BC through REACH BC, go to https://www.reachbc.ca/volunteers

See the brochure here.

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 University of Victoria 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 University of Victoria 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 University of Victoria 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, University of Victoria
• Dr. Sandy Shultz, Fluid Biomarker Analyst, University of Victoria

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

Mariko Sakamoto is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Victoia and an IALH Research Fellow. She is interested community members from around British Columbia to engage in a study focusing on caregiving and dementia.

The goal of the study is to capture and share the realities of dementia caregiving, while generating insight and support for the caregiving and dementia community. Caregiver participants will record their daily interactions, events, and thoughts that occur in relation to caregiving activities and will share these recordings with one another in bi-weekly supportive storytelling sessions. Select audio recordings will be developed into a podcast series for the public that highlights first-hand experiences and relationships of caregivers to those living with dementia. 

Both dementia caregivers and people living with dementia are welcome to participate.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Caregiver participants will be required to be a current unpaid caregiver to a family member or friend with physician-diagnosed dementia and must be living with their respective care recipient
• Caregiver participants can include spouse, parent, sibling, and other caregiving relationships.
• Participants living with dementia can include individuals living with any type (ie: Alzheimer's, vascular, mixed) and stage of dementia (ie: newly diagnosed, moderate, long-term advanced dementia).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Caregivers of people living with dementia whose care recipient no longer lives with them (ie: resides in a long-term care home).
•  Care recipients living with chronic conditions that do not include dementia

If you are interested in joining this study, or would like more information, please email Mariko Sakamoto (primary investigator) at audiodiaries@uvic.ca. 

Taylor Snowden-Richardson, a fourth year PhD year student and IALH Student Affiliate 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. 

Dr. Tarek Amer and Dr. Jordana Wynn are Assistant Professors at the University of Victoria 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 2 to 2.5 hours of time. Participants will be compensated $30.00 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.

CanAssist at the University of Victoria 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 CanAssist website.