This project is one of two projects supported through the 2025-2026 Health Research BC-Victoria Hospitals Foundation Health Equity Grants, co-funded by Island Health, Michael Smith Health Research BC, and Victoria Hospitals Foundation.
This project seeks to improve access, navigation, and experience for Indigenous patients, people with disabilities, children, and older adults by addressing infrastructure gaps in clinical care at the Victoria Peripheral Nerve and Spasticity Clinic.
Only physicians are funded at the clinic, without embedded allied health, navigation, or clerical support. In response, the team has relied on research activities and innovation to bridge missing elements of care. Many of these gaps are related to geographical discrimination and disparity (because the clinic isn’t located on the mainland). Simply accessing care is challenging because the clinic isn’t included in the electronic scheduling system. These challenges disproportionately affect our patients with disabilities, as we require additional and unfunded clinical staff to provide excellent and equitable care.
From a research and learning perspective, limited staffing and paper-based processes constrain our ability to capture patient outcomes, experiences, and system-level insights. Through structured interviews with physicians, staff, partners, and patients, this project will identify high-impact gaps and develop practical, patient-informed recommendations to support clinical, operational, and research improvements.