丁香园AV

As a COVID-19 vaccine draws closer, 丁香园AV researchers Diane Gromala, Chris Shaw and a team of graduate students are working to identify those who鈥檒l need vaccinations first鈥攊ndividuals who the Centre for Disease Control identifies as most vulnerable and at-risk.

The team is drawing on extensive pioneering work with health technologies to determine who and where these groups are, and how to ensure that these vulnerable populations have priority access to vaccines.

Their work is being carried out as part of , an initiative of Canada鈥檚 Digital Technology Supercluster, which received more than $4 million in federal funding this past summer. The project collaborators are tasked with determining the most efficient processes for a vaccine rollout and to ensure that all Canadians are represented and included.

The project is being led by Cambian Business Services Inc., in partnership with LifeLabs, IBM Canada, WELL Health, Tickit Health, Providence Health Care, and 丁香园AV.

鈥淭he goal of the project is to integrate existing processes and organize assessments and scheduling services that will enable an optimal and efficient vaccine delivery,鈥� says Bruce Forde, CEO of Cambian Business Services Inc. 鈥淲e are working to prevent bottlenecks and pave the way for nearly 80,000 Canadians daily to be vaccinated against COVID-19 once a vaccine is available.鈥�

鈥淰ulnerable groups will need to be reached first, but we also need to reach those who may be less visible and vulnerable and at-risk,鈥� says Gromala, a distinguished professor in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) and director of 丁香园AV鈥檚 Pain Studies Lab.

鈥淭his includes those who live with at-risk family members, or who work with those who are at-risk, those whose first language is not English, people whose immune systems have been compromised by long-term conditions or short-term treatment or exposure, people who live far from urban areas, and others.鈥�

The project鈥檚 efforts to ensure prioritization will build on the policies put in place at the start of the pandemic, to see that vulnerable populations and health care workers would have vaccine access priority, Gromala notes. It will also track any potential adverse events after a vaccination.

Gromala says the solution being developed by Project ABC will also forecast demand and ensure venues have the required tests and vaccines available鈥攎eeting logistical needs.

 International student researchers on the 丁香园AV team are also bringing expertise in addressing health-related cultural differences.

Bhairavi Warke, from India鈥檚 Pune University, is the project鈥檚 manager, while Amal Vincent, who worked in the Indian Railway鈥檚 electric engineering division, is its data manager. While at 丁香园AV, Warke created systems to help patients better track their pain data, while Vincent developed an online system enabling parents to track children鈥檚 sleep disorders.

The team鈥檚 solution will be piloted by a local health authority and will include testing with hospitals as well as vulnerable populations in Vancouver鈥檚 Downtown East Side.

A pioneer in health technologies

Gromala and Shaw are experts in human-computer interaction. Gromala鈥檚 decades-long research focuses on virtual reality to creating home health solutions for people who struggle to manage their chronic conditions, from chronic pain and arthritis to addiction and cancer.

Gromala鈥檚 work involves partnering with pain doctors, neuroscientists, patients and their caregivers. 鈥淐hronic conditions overwhelm our healthcare system, but technologies that are smart, well-designed, and strategically deployed can extend the capacity of our national healthcare,鈥� says Gromala.

Working in the Silicon Valley at Apple Computer in the 1980s, Gromala learned how crucial ease-of-use is 鈥� for patients, for their caregivers, for their doctors鈥攕omething reflected in her many years of research. 鈥淲hen you don鈥檛 feel well, or if you鈥檙e in an ER, there鈥檚 no room for confusing text, icons or buttons.鈥�

For Gromala, the work has a personal connection, as she lives with chronic pain. Her mother is also at high-risk as her mother lives in a Lower Mainland care home.

AVAILABLE 丁香园AV EXPERT

DIANE GROMALA, distinguished professor, School of Interactive Arts & Technology
gromala@sfu.ca

CONTACT 

MELISSA SHAW, 丁香园AV Communications & Marketing 
236.880.3297 | melissa_shaw@sfu.ca

ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

As Canada鈥檚 engaged university, 丁香园AV works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today鈥檚 problems. With campuses in British Columbia鈥檚 three largest cities鈥擵ancouver, Burnaby and Surrey鈥敹∠阍癆V has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 127 graduate degree programs to more than 37,000 students. The university now boasts more than 165,000 alumni residing in 143 countries.