Our Research

Since 2008, our team has studied 800,00 adults with COPD and over 2 million children and adults with asthma in Ontario using routinely collected health administrative data, surveys and census data. Under my leadership through the Canadian Respiratory Research (CRRN) and Ontario COPD Population Health Network this was expanded to include air quality data, clinical data through linkages with the population-based Canadian COPD study (CanCOLD) and some structured EMR data.

Quality Care

We study how well people with respiratory disease are being managed and treated to ensure they have the best care and best health possible. Our quality of care work has more directly supported COPD programs in hospitals and health districts across Canada.

Safety and Effectiveness

the safety and effectiveness of long-acting bronchodilators and other respiratory disease medications have contributed valuable new knowledge to the management of COPD and Asthma-COPD overlap syndrome and are cited by high-profile clinical practise guidelines such as those developed by The Medical Letter. This success has contributed to Canada’s status as a world leader in respiratory disease research.

Burden of Disease

The team's studies on burden of disease has alerted an international audience of decision makers, physicians, researchers and the general public of the huge impact of disease. One notable paper showed that one in four people will be affected by COPD over their lifetime. This work was used by members of provincial parliament to petition the passing of the Lung Health Act, which is a commitment to prevent and improve the care of people with lung disease through the formation of an Ontario Lung Health Advisory Council.

CanBREATHE

Canadian Best Respiratory Research Evaluation and Analyst Team of Health Experts

 Our research team uses data from millions of Canadians to learn more about respiratory disease and how to manage it. Our goal is for people with lung disease of all backgrounds to benefit from evidence-based care and research that addresses their unique characteristics, to improve their health and quality of life and reduce strain on our health care system.

Select Publications

2019

Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in Preventing Hospitalizations in Older Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Annual influenza immunization is recommended for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by all major COPD clinical practice guidelines. We sought to determine the seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) against laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations among older adults with COPD.

2019

End-of-life care in individuals with respiratory diseases: a population study comparing the dying experience between those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer

We conducted this population-based study to: (i) describe the health service use and costs in the last 90 days of life, as well as place of death among individuals with chronic lung diseases such as COPD and/or lung cancer; (ii) identify predictors of receiving home
palliative care; and (iii) assess benefits associated with palliative care in these populations. Our findings from a large population-based study suggest that home palliative care services were underutilized in both COPD and lung cancer populations, and that increased
use of home palliative care services in the last three months of life has the potential to reduce costs and influence the place of death.

2019

Effectiveness and Safety of Inhaled Corticosteroids in Older Individuals with COPD and/or Asthma: A Population Study

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are established medications for the management of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), two common chronic airway diseases. However, there is still uncertainty with respect to their use in some areas, specifically for asthma in older adults, for people with concurrent asthma and COPD and for some people with COPD given their association with pneumonia. We set out to compare the effectiveness and safety of ICS in older adults with asthma, COPD or features of both in a real-word setting.

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