Virtual health communities for Canadians

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 63, No. 1, January February 2021, Page 26 News

Researchers with the UBC Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management (CCDPM) have teamed up with digital health company Curatio to provide Canadians with virtual health support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stronger Together is a project that uses a social networking health app to connect patients with free online evidence-based health resources, in-app coaching, peer-to-peer support, and private social health communities designed for patients who are managing a health condition during COVID-19, along with caretakers and parents who may be feeling a lack of support during the pandemic.

In addition to contributing expert content, CCDPM researchers will assist with program evaluation for the platform’s nine different public communities (cardiovascular health and well-being, disability and physical activity, stroke recovery, keeping mentally strong with multiple myeloma, respiratory health and well-being, prostate cancer, 4+2 diabetes reversal, plan to move your kids, and parenting during COVID-19). Patients may access the health communities to connect with others on a private secure network to reduce feelings of isolation and vulnerability during the pandemic.

Individuals may register for free at www.curatio.me/strongertogether. By joining the platform, participants will assist researchers in learning how to best offer virtual health support and contribute to Curatio’s program development.

Stronger Together is supported by an investment from the Digital Technology Supercluster, which brings together private and public sector organizations to address challenges facing Canada’s economic sectors including health care, natural resources, manufacturing, and transportation.

. Virtual health communities for Canadians. BCMJ, Vol. 63, No. 1, January, February, 2021, Page(s) 26 - News.


Above is the information needed to cite this article in your paper or presentation. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally accepted citation style for scientific papers:
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7.

About the ICMJE and citation styles

The ICMJE is small group of editors of general medical journals who first met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

An alternate version of ICMJE style is to additionally list the month an issue number, but since most journals use continuous pagination, the shorter form provides sufficient information to locate the reference. The NLM now lists all authors.

BCMJ standard citation style is a slight modification of the ICMJE/NLM style, as follows:

  • Only the first three authors are listed, followed by "et al."
  • There is no period after the journal name.
  • Page numbers are not abbreviated.


For more information on the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, visit www.icmje.org

BCMJ Guidelines for Authors

Leave a Reply