Broadening Connections and Building Research Capacity

It has been a busy Fall season so far. POPLAR data managers have been working alongside ICES' Data Quality and Information Management team to get POPLAR data, including the Community Health Centre data, ready for research. POPLAR already has a few research projects lined up with various focuses, including primary care use among newly attached patients, wait times in primary care, and chronic pain in women.  

Conversations with family doctors, nurse practitioners, and other primary care clinicians have continued in Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Southwestern Ontario, and Northern Ontario. POPLAR's seven Practice-based Learning and Research Networks (PBLRNs) have been working hard to promote POPLAR in their respective regions, and it's clear the word is getting out. As previously noted, the main goals of these conversations are to inform the primary care community of the work PBLRNs do in their region, increase awareness of the POPLAR Database at ICES, and encourage more physicians and clinics to contribute data to the database.

POPLAR networks attended the Trillium Primary Health Care Research Day in Toronto on Friday, October 23, 2026. This event, which is hosted annually by INSPIRE-PHC, showcases primary care research within Ontario and across Canada, features expert speakers on hot topics or pressing issues in primary care, highlights research priorities, and provides networking opportunities for clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders. As with previous years, it was a fantastic space for POPLAR to reconnect with existing partners and ignite new collaborations.

Per usual, if you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact the POPLAR team at info@poplarnetwork.ca.

We look forward to connecting and collaborating as we forge ahead on this journey of primary care system enhancement and health improvement in Ontario. 

Sincerely,

POPLAR Executive