Information for Researchers

Advancing 
Long-Term Care Research Through Data

OnSPARK supports collaborative, quality improvement-aligned research through real-time, structured electronic health record (EHR) data. Access is granted only to projects co-developed with LTC homes (the health information custodians [HICs]), aligned with their priorities, and approved through ethics and governance.

OnSPARK does not entertain project proposal that can be facilitated through existing provincial platforms (e.g., ICES).

Researchers are encouraged to develop relationships with network homes. Stay tuned for facilitated opportunities to connect with our network homes!


Why Use OnSPARK Data for Research? 
  • Access to Canada’s Largest LTC Dataset – Covering 90,000+ residents with 6+ billion data points.
  • Near Real-Time Data – Unlike traditional research databases with long delays, OnSPARK facilitates timely, structured, and linkable data.
  • Collaborative Research Environment – Researchers must partner with LTC homes in the network to ensure that studies directly benefit the sector.
  • PHIPA-Compliant & Ethically Governed – Data use is strictly regulated to protect resident privacy while maximizing research impact.
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Key Purposes of OnSPARK Research

OnSPARK’s research platform supports two main categories of LTC research

Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER)

Must be home-prioritized and QI-aligned.

Research examples:

  • Impact of staffing models on resident outcomes
  • Medication safety and deprescribing in LTC
  • Effectiveness of infection prevention measures



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Clinical Trials Research

Must be pragmatic, embedded in care, and co-designed with HICs.

Research examples:

  • Evaluation of new pharmaceutical interventions for LTC residents
  • Testing new models of care delivery in real-world LTC settings
  • Personalized medicine approaches using AI-driven analytics
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Eligibility for research applications

OnSPARK screens all research applications for eligibility and feasibility as part of the review process.

Eligible projects: 

  • Must directly address operational or QI priorities, with signed support from one or more network LTC homes.
  • Must demonstrate a clear need for EHR data beyond what is available from provincial or national research data centers.
  • Requires ethics approval and full review by governance structures.

What OnSPARK Does Not Support

  • Research without LTC home partnership.
  • Hypothesis-free data mining
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Research and Data Process 

Step 1: Contact Us

  • Contact us for guidance on templates and REB.

Step 2: Submit a research proposal

  • Submit a proposal with LTC home(s) letters, REB approval (provisional is fine), and a KT plan.

Step 3: Application review & approval

  • Reviewed by Platform Co-Leads and Data Governance Advisory Committee (DGAC). Requires formal approval from LTC homes, and data use agreement.

Step 4: Data access & collaboration

  • Data access is monitored and project results are returned to homes.