The 2023-2024 year has been exceptionally busy for BORN as we led several key provincial initiatives aimed at facilitating and improving care.

One of our significant efforts has been preparing for the provincial implementation of Fetal Blood Group Genotyping (FBGG) testing. This year's report explains how these innovative tests for RhD-negative pregnancies work and how they can enhance care quality and system efficiency. 

Another major focus this year has been Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) surveillance. According to Ontario Health models, the Ministry of Health’s expanded RSV prevention program could reduce infant RSV hospitalizations by 83% and decrease hospital stays by 37%. To assess the real-world impact, robust surveillance is essential. BORN was uniquely positioned to contribute by integrating new RSV-related data elements into the BORN Information System. Read about our efforts and an Ottawa family’s harrowing experience with RSV, which nearly claimed their infant son’s life.

Building a Paediatric Diabetes Registry (PDR) has also been a critical priority. The PDR will capture data about the characteristics and health of the 7000+ children and youth with diabetes and receiving care across Ontario. These data are crucial to help us to better understand, monitor, and address discrepancies in paediatric diabetes care and health outcomes across Ontario. Watch the PDR video in this report to learn more from a Paediatric Endocrinologist and young person living with diabetes.

Additional report videos provide updates on other impactful initiatives, including preliminary work re: preeclampsia screening, efforts to ensure the safe administration of the high-alert medication, oxytocin, and our ongoing work to promote health equity, diversity, and inclusion across our organization.

Thank you to our many partners who have made this work possible - perinatal clinicians, administrators, policy makers and researchers - and especially to our data contributors.  We all have different, but vitally important roles to play as parts of a learning health system.

 

Alicia St. Hill

Executive Director,

BORN Ontario