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Project Protech is very proud to share this link and you all here. Protech’s Nominated Principal Investigator professor Josephine Pui-Hing Wong is spotted on the Government of Canada’s website!
The New Frontier in Research Fund (NFRF) was set up by the Canadian Government to support leading-edge, rapid-response research in the evolving battle against COVID-19. Protech is very proud to be listed in the original 15 projects. The fund was subsequently expanded to deal with the increasing challenges of the pandemics. PROTECH is now honoured to be among the the 49 fantastic research projects. At the same time, that means we have a greater responsibility to our communities. We will continue our work to reduce further the impact of the pandemic on the Chinese-Canadian community. We have extracted the section about PROTECH to share with you.
Josephine Wong, Ryerson University
PROTECH Pandemic Rapid response Optimization To Enhance Community-Resilience and Health
News about emerging pandemics often brings out fear and anxiety in the public domain. The 2003 SARS crisis in Toronto showed that this type of stigma can lead to crushing harm on the health, psychological, social, and economic well-being of affected communities. Recent public responses to the COVID-19 outbreak have again reflected blame, fear, and racism against Chinese Canadian communities. Building on the lessons learned during the SARS pandemic, Josephine Wong at Ryerson University and her team are working to promote collective community resilience using a cutting-edge, three-component model to mitigate harms in the face of the pandemic.
The Pandemic Rapid Response Optimization to Enhance Community Resilience and Health (PROTECH) uses an online resource hub to provide accurate and timely COVID-19 information, along with recommendations for coping with fear and anxiety. The hub also features online group training (PACER) with live video meetings and pre-meeting e-learning to help reduce stigma/stress and promote resilience among affected groups, e.g., those who have lost loved ones or tested positive, healthcare providers experiencing stress or burnout, and community leaders. The team of clinicians, researchers and leaders from the public, arts, and business sectors will seek out key opinion leaders and community influencers to mobilize the Chinese community and other affected communities. Through town halls, focus groups and surveys they will examine the effectiveness of PROTECH and how it can best support affected groups to stay well despite challenges.
Update
The team has now curated information and resources through their community consultations, and has built the online technological infrastructure to deliver their Live-Chat and PACER online training. On May 4, 2020, PROTECH was launched through an online media conference, rolling out the resource hub ahead of schedule thanks to the commitment of the team, collaborators and volunteers, all while managing the challenges of COVID-19. The project was featured on CBC’s The Current, where Dr. Kenneth Fung discussed the impact of the pandemic on Chinese Canadian communities and how PROTECH is supporting those communities to manage the social and mental health challenges of COVID-19. The PROTECH Facebook page includes media coverage and interviews.
You may visit the NFRF page to learn more about the funding program and the 49 funded research projects.
