Drug Effectiveness
POPi measures and evaluates pharmaceutical outcomes, produces evidence, and makes recommendations to decision makers for improved clinical and public policy medication use. Within the scope of this theme, we also provide expertise in clinical pharmacology, pædiatric pharmacology, personalized medicine, pharmacogenomics, and population therapeutics.
Current programme of research:
Reducing asthma admissions to the emergency department by providing patients and physicians strategies to reduce attacks.
Synopsis: This project describes the burden of asthma in paediatric patients. Burden indicators include the use of general practitioner (GP), specialist, hospital, emergency department (ED) services, intensive care unit admissions, repeated users of ED and hospital services, as well as the use of asthma medications. The second part of this project investigates a strategy to reduce upper respiratory tract infection triggered asthma exacerbations, and repeated ED visits.
Read about it: See the publications tab for related articles.
Optimality of medication use in patients with asthma
Synopsis: A substantial number of patients receive suboptimal asthma drug therapy. The objectives of this study are: (1) to identify patients who did not use asthma medications in accordance with the most recent published asthma treatment guidelines; and (2) to determine the association between patients' optimal/suboptimal management and their utilization of healthcare services. By quantifying optimality of asthma therapy, clinicians will be able to design and implement more patient-focused interventions for high-users of health services with suboptimal therapy.
Read about it: See the publications tab for related articles.
Safety of long-acting beta agonists (LABAs)
Synopsis: Safety concerns regarding LABAs arose shortly after their introduction. There have been several prospective randomized clinical trials, retrospective analyses of manufacturers' trial data, and meta-analyses designed to assess the safety of LABAs. Unfortunately, concerns with sample selection, concomitant medication use and research methodology have reduced the internal and external validity of these studies. This project will address the limitations of previous work on LABA safety. Using existing comprehensive LABA use and health outcomes data for the entire asthma population of British Columbia, we will provide detailed information on the safety of LABA use in adults and children over time.
Read about it: Coming soon!
Innovative Research Leading to Optimal Outcomes
