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BORN Ontario

The Better Outcomes Registry & Network (BORN Ontario) is a Canadian research network based in Ottawa, Ontario. Its purpose is to collect and organize data on perinatal, newborn and child wellbeing in the Province of Ontario.

History

In 2010, members from the Council of Medical Officers of Health (COMOH) and the Association of Public Health Epidemiologists in Ontario (APHEO) submitted a discussion paper to BORN Ontario to advocate for public health unit access to the BORN Ontario registry data for population health assessment and surveillance of reproductive health in Ontario. As a direct result, APHEO representatives engaged with BORN Ontario to identify the mechanism for access to BORN Ontario data for PHUs and relevant data elements for public health.[1]

Relationship with China

In 2012, David Dai, Secretary-General of Bethune Medical Development Association of Canada, had a dinner meeting with Mari Teitelbaum, then-director of BORN Ontario; Dr. Shi Wu Wen and Mark Walker, senior scientists and professors at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and University of Ottawa; Stephen Chan, CEO of Dapasoft; and Michael Lonsway, President of Dapasoft. The possibility of helping China set up their own version of BORN was discussed.[2]

COVID-19

In response to the declared COVID-19 pandemic, BORN was asked to sit on the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health (PCMCH) Maternal-Neonatal COVID-19 Task Force responsible for developing provincial recommendations to guide care.[3] BORN is also represented within the CanCOVID-PREG network,[4] having contributed to research on SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the BC Women's Health Foundation.[5]

BORN also participated in The Confidence Project, a propaganda initiative led by McMaster University intended to promote COVID-19 vaccines to vulnerable populations.[6]

Organization

BORN is administered through the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) and “is active in every region of the province.”[7] It is housed in the Centre for Practice-Changing Research, a research facility jointly run by the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and CHEO Research Institute.[8]

Team

Name Position Affiliation(s)
Alexander Barron Pediatric Medical Advisor[9] Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA), International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
Eyal Cohen Pediatric Medical Advisor SickKids Research Institute
Dan Collins Program Manager PM Experience
Shelley Dougan Executive Director COVID-19 Immunity Task Force
Merryn Douglas Manager of Health Networks Arnprior Regional Health, Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa
Ian Joiner Manager of Health Outcomes Ottawa Hospital
Heather Keegan Manager of Prenatal Screening Oxfam Canada, World Vision Canada
Monique Lugli Vice President of Child Development and Community Services Santis Health, Office of the President of the Treasury Board of Canada
Mark Walker Scientific Director Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa
Mélanie Daboud Regional Coordinator[10] -
Kaamel Hafizi Regional Coordinator -
Moya Johnson Fertility Coordinator -
Rebecca Johnston Regional Coordinator -
Catherine Lombardo Regional Coordinator -
Maxine Vigneault Prenatal Screening Ontario Coordinator -
Jennifer Mercer Regional Coordinator -
Allison Wood Regional Coordinator -
Aislinn Conway Investigator[11] CHEO Research Institute
Daniel Corsi Scientist Population Health Research Institute (PHRI)
Dina El Demellawy Investigator Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM)
Deshayne Fell Scientist Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG), Canadian Association for Immunization Research, Evaluation and Education (CAIRE)
Nathalie Lepage Investigator Newborn Screening Ontario
Grace Maio Investigator Queen's University, University of Ottawa

Funding

BORN is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.[7:1][12]

Partnerships

In addition to its host and funders, BORN's key partners include:[13]

  • Association of Ontario Midwives
  • Canadian Neonatal Network
  • Champlain Maternal Newborn Regional Program
  • Dapasoft
  • eHealth Ontario
  • Health Quality Ontario
  • Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES)
  • Newborn Screening Ontario
  • Ontario Hospital Association (OHA)
  • Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health
  • Public Health Ontario (PHO)
  • Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
  • Southwestern Ontario Maternal Newborn Child and Youth Network
  • TARGetKids!

BORN's website additionally directs guests to a series of external resources, including:

  • Alberta Perinatal Health Program
  • Canadian Congenital Anomalies Surveillance Network
  • Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)
  • Canadian Perinatal Programs Coalition (CPPC)
  • Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System (CPSS)
  • CANImmunize
  • Council of Canadian Academies (CCA)
  • DoulaCARE
  • MotHERS Program
  • Ontario Midwifery Program (OMP)
  • Perinatal Services BC
  • Reproductive Care Program of Nova Scotia (RCP)
  • University of Saskatchewan Perinatal Education Program

On their Staff Directory page, BORN lists contact information for a number of external entities:[14]

  • Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors
  • Canadian Down Syndrome Society
  • Centre for Effective Practice (CEP)
  • Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
  • Support Organization for Trisomy (SOFT)
  • Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association of Canada (SBHAC)

OMama

BORN hosts OMama, a website and mobile phone application that provides mothers and families information on pregnancy resources in Ontario.[15] OMama was launched in November 2015 with support from eHealth Ontario, and is a partnership with eSolutionsGroup, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, Best Start by Health Nexus, Ontario Public Health Association, Association of Ontario Midwives, Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health, Baby Friendly Initiative and Strategy, the Infant Hearing Program and the Ontario College of Family Physicians.[16]

  1. Public Health. (2022, September 13). BORN Ontario. https://web.archive.org/web/20221018172753/https://www.bornontario.ca/en/about-born/public-health.aspx#History-of-Partnership-with-Public-Health ↩︎

  2. The possibility of BORN China was discussed. (2012, May 31). Bethune Medical Development Association of Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20221108014330/https://www.bmdac.ca/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48:the-possibility-of-born-china-was-discussed&catid=1:article&Itemid=4 ↩︎

  3. Bisnaire, L. (2020). BORN 2018-2020 Biennial Report. BORN Ontario. https://www.bornontario.ca/en/publications/resources/Documents/annual-report-j_47511589-6.pdf ↩︎

  4. Results from Canada’s 1st National, Peer-reviewed Study on COVID-19 in Pregnancy. (2022, May 4). BORN Ontario. https://web.archive.org/web/20220522084749/https://www.bornontario.ca/en/news/results-from-canada-s-1st-national-peer-reviewed-study-on-covid-19-in-pregnancy.aspx ↩︎

  5. McClymont, E., Albert, A. Y., Alton, G. D., Boucoiran, I., Castillo, E., Fell, D. B., Kuret, V., Poliquin, V., Reeve, T., Scott, H., Sprague, A. E., Carson, G., Cassell, K., Crane, J., Elwood, C., Joynt, C., Murphy, P., Murphy-Kaulbeck, L., Saunders, S., & Shah, P. (2022). Association of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy with maternal and perinatal outcomes. JAMA, 327(20), 1983–1991. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.5906 ↩︎

  6. Partnerships. The Confidence Project. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.11.07-092849/https://confidenceproject.ca/partnerships/ ↩︎

  7. About BORN. (2022, September 13). BORN Ontario. https://web.archive.org/web/20221018172712/https://www.bornontario.ca/en/about-born/about-born.aspx#Mission ↩︎ ↩︎

  8. Paterson, J., & Vienneau, A. (2011, December 14). Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and CHEO Research Institute open new research centre dedicated to improving health and patient care. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. https://web.archive.org/web/20221018173321/https://www.ohri.ca/newsroom/story/view/226?l=en#:~:text=Called the Centre for Practice,of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). ↩︎

  9. Executive Team. (2022, September 13). BORN Ontario. https://web.archive.org/web/20221018172808/https://www.bornontario.ca/en/about-born/executive-team.aspx ↩︎

  10. Coordinator Team. (2022, September 13). BORN Ontario. https://web.archive.org/web/20221018172759/https://www.bornontario.ca/en/about-born/coordinator-team.aspx ↩︎

  11. BORN Ontario. CHEO Research Institute. Retrieved October 19, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20221019022045/https://www.cheoresearch.ca/research/areas/born-ontario/ ↩︎

  12. Bisnaire, L. (2022, September 13). 2020-21 BORN Annual Report. BORN Ontario. https://web.archive.org/web/20221018173755/https://www.bornontario.ca/en/publications/2020-21-born-annual-report.aspx#Read-More- ↩︎

  13. Partnerships. (2022, September 13). BORN Ontario. https://web.archive.org/web/20221018172920/https://www.bornontario.ca/en/about-born/partnerships.aspx ↩︎

  14. Staff Directory. BORN Ontario. Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20221018172728/https://www.bornontario.ca/Modules/contact/search.aspx?s=gzyzez7QxwumqjwReGz9VgeQuAleQuAl ↩︎

  15. Find Pregnancy and Birth Resources. (2022, September 13). BORN Ontario. https://web.archive.org/web/20221018172918/https://www.bornontario.ca/en/about-born/find-pregnancy-and-birth-resources.aspx ↩︎

  16. About Us. (2022, September 23). OMama. https://web.archive.org/web/20221018182247/https://www.omama.com/en/About-Us.asp ↩︎