Interconnected conditions between the heart and brain pose challenges for research, care, and the health system.
Building on decades of research in stroke rehabilitation, community-oriented models of care, and health care system integration, newly appointed researcher Dr. Michelle Nelson, Senior Investigator at Bruyère Health Research Institute, is seeking solutions that are as intertwined as the brain and heart themselves.
With funding support from the Brain-Heart Interconnectome’s Academic Recruitment Program, Dr. Nelson has launched the Care in Common Living Lab to address the gap between expectations of integrated care and the often-experienced reality of fragmented care delivery.
Dr. Nelson's work bridges the spaces between clinical care and daily life—recognizing that rehabilitation and community reintegration for people with heart-brain conditions requires coordination across hospital, home, and community settings. Through Care in Common's living lab approach, her research takes place in real-world contexts, co-designing implementation solutions alongside healthcare providers, community organizations, industry partners, and individuals with lived experience who know what's needed most. This collaborative model examines how social determinants influence cardiovascular and neurological health, creating frameworks that extend integrated care beyond traditional clinical boundaries to improve experiences and outcomes in Canada and globally.
"There's so much knowledge and commitment already present in our healthcare and community systems,” said Dr. Nelson. “Through Care in Common, we're working alongside partners to channel that collective wisdom into integrated care approaches for people with heart-brain conditions—where social determinants and health outcomes are deeply connected. By building implementation capacity together, we can help organizations align their strengths and support better coordination and experiences. I'm inspired by what we can achieve when we combine our efforts and recognize that none of us are as smart as all of us."
While Dr. Nelson’s current program is grounded in stroke populations, these are strategies she believes can help foster continuous care across the spectrum of health and social care services for patients experiencing other co-occurring health and social concerns.
About Bruyère Health Research Institute
Bruyère Health Research Institute conducts world-class research to maximize quality of life and shape the future of health care. As part of an academic sciences centre, our research supports evidence-based care with a focus on memory, aging in place, and long-term care, palliative care, rehabilitation and recovery, and social accountability.
About the Brain-Heart Interconnectome
The Brain-Heart Interconnectome (BHI) is a ground-breaking interdisciplinary research program aimed at accelerating prevention, detection, treatment and care of brain-heart disorders, supported by a $109 million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF).