IHSPR News: e-Newsletter - Summer 2007

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In this issue


Message from Dr. Colleen M. Flood, Scientific Director

Welcome to our first issue of the 2007 IHSPR News, the CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research's (IHSPR) tri-annual e-newsletter. In this issue, I am delighted to inform you of our major initiatives since the Institute transition last Fall and of our new research priorities and funding opportunities. We feature information on the Institute's research priorities for 2007, which stem in large part from the recently completed Listening for Direction III national consultation process, highlight new funding opportunities that were launched in July, and showcase the success of CIHR's second Workshop for Health Reporters, this time featuring health services and policy research. The newsletter also includes some important announcements of a new IHSPR Rising Star Award for students, recent funding decisions, noteworthy research highlights on the part of your fellow health services and policy researchers, and upcoming opportunities to meet the IHSPR team at Town Hall meetings across the country.

I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of myself and the IHSPR Advisory Board, to thank you for your support throughout the transition period. Assuming office in September 2006, my first job was to put together a new team because the shift of location from Vancouver to Toronto meant that we could not retain existing staff. This has taken time but we now have a talented and dedicated group of people at IHSPR, and I introduce the team to you in more detail at the end of this letter.

The new team at the Institute has worked hard to continue the tremendous work of Dr. Morris Barer, the inaugural Scientific Director of this Institute, and his team at the University of British Columbia, and to set new research priorities and strategic directions for IHSPR that are crucial to strengthening Canada's health care system and to improving the health and quality of life of all Canadians. You will note in the July 2007 Funding Opportunities (which are described in detail below) that IHSPR has focused funding in three primary areas of research - Access to Appropriate Care across the Continuum, Drug Policy, and Health Information - and has endeavored to focus on ensuring support for researchers along their entire career trajectory, commencing in graduate training (with the new Rising Star award and with a number of new Fellowships), as they gain research experience (with the new Applied Chairs and Emerging Teams, described below), through to the culmination of their career, whether as a decision maker, a tenured Professor, or Senior Scientist or another kind of research leader in the health field.

As well as supporting research excellence, IHSPR is focused on moving health research into action and demonstrating the value and impact of the health services and policy research conducted by our strong and diverse community of researchers. To achieve these goals, within a very limited strategic budget, IHSPR is committed to supporting knowledge translation (KT) initiatives that will result in the timely translation of relevant research knowledge. We view partnerships, both within Canada and abroad, and the media, as key inputs into our KT initiatives.

I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce to you the Toronto-based IHSPR team.

Bernadette Mount, our Executive Assistant, joined IHSPR from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. She oversees the Toronto office, and is the friendly face you see when you come into IHSPR and will direct your query to the best person.

Tony Chin, Senior Program Officer, joins us from Australia where he previously worked as a Senior International Projects Manager for the University of Sydney's Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific. Tony is taking the lead on the Health Information portfolio, but please also feel free to get in touch with Tony regarding financial questions or cross-Institute initiatives.

Meghan McMahon, Senior Projects Officer Communications and KT, is in charge of the communications and KT initiatives. If you have stories to tell about the results of your research, or would like to highlight your research through the media, Meghan is your contact person. She has worked previously as a research intern at the UBC-Centre for Health Services and Policy Research and at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

In addition to our Toronto-based team, we also have staff based in Ottawa.

Ellen Melis, Assistant Director, brings to IHSPR close to five years of invaluable experience working at the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) where she first worked as the lead for the joint CHSRF / CIHR health services and policy research capacity-building program CADRE and in the last two years as the manager for program support, overseeing the grants and awards, partnerships, evaluation, IT and information services portfolios. Ellen works tirelessly on the partnership front to leverage few research dollars into bigger opportunities for our research community. Please get in touch with Ellen if you would like to learn more about partnership opportunities with IHSPR. And, if at any point you need me but are unable to reach me, Ellen will be able to address any IHSPR query.

Michèle O'Rourke, Associate, Strategic Initiatives, has been with CIHR since 2001, where she started as a Project Officer in the Knowledge Creation Programs Branch, and with IHSPR since 2003 as an Associate, where she leads the Institute's strategic initiatives and is in charge of evaluation.

The IHSPR team is a dedicated and friendly bunch and, if you have not already done so, I encourage you to get to know us. We look forward to working with you over the coming years. Please find contact information in the Contacts section of this newsletter, or on our website.

We hope you enjoy reading IHSPR News, and welcome your comments or suggestions for future inclusions.

With warmest regards,

Dr. Colleen M. Flood
Scientific Director

New Funding Opportunities: July 2007

Each year, CIHR's Institutes make decisions, in consultation with their Advisory Boards and informed by their own priority-setting process, about how to allocate strategic funding, whether to launch Priority Announcements, and which mix of investments in funding tools and areas of research will maximize the use of research dollars and contribute most to improving the health of Canadians and their healthcare system. This year, IHSPR and its Institute Advisory Board have used the Listening for Direction III national consultation process, along with other sources of information, to inform its own process of defining priority research themes for the July 2007 launch of new Funding Opportunities. To build research capacity and a body of knowledge that can contribute to improving the healthcare system and the health of Canadians, IHSPR has focused investments in three priority areas of research: Access to Appropriate Care across the Continuum; Health Information; and Drug Policy. Details on these priority research themes can be found online at CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research July 2007 Funding Opportunities. Recognizing that not all health services and policy researchers conduct research within these three broad areas, IHSPR has also allocated a number of funding tools for research that falls under any of the 11 Listening for Direction III research themes.

The following were launched in July:

Funding opportunities are available in the following priority areas:

  • Access to Appropriate Care across the Continuum
  • Health Information
  • Drug Policy
  • Themes identified in the "Listening for Direction III" national consultation exercise
  • Other priority areas, including Health Services for Genetics Diseases, Patient Safety, and Chronic Disease Prevention and Management

Please note that while at the time of writing this newsletter the Listening for Direction III themes have not yet been finalized, 11 preliminary research themes are available at Listening For Direction's webpage . Applicants will not be penalized for working from this draft. The final report will be published online as soon as possible.

For full details of all IHSPR sponsored July 2007 funding opportunities, including application deadlines, visit the IHSPR homepage.

Funding Opportunities

Applied Chairs in Health Services and Policy Research
Announced under IHSPR's Strategic Initiative, the purpose of this funding opportunity is to support mid-career health services and policy researchers (5-10 years experience) who conduct policy-relevant research, are dedicated to the exchange of this research with decision makers, and train and mentor students, Fellows, junior faculty and others seeking career opportunities in this field similarly committed to applied health services and policy research.

IHSPR, together with its partners, will fund Applied Chairs in the strategic priority areas of: Access to Appropriate Care across the Continuum, Health Information, and Ontario Drug Policy, as well as the special interest areas of Patient Safety and those identified in the national consultation Listening for Direction III exercise.

The letter of intent deadline is October 15, 2007. For more information, please visit Applied Chairs in Health Services and Policy Research.

Emerging Teams in Applied Health Services and Policy Research
Announced under IHSPR's Strategic Initiative, this funding opportunity is designed to further strengthen Canadian research activity and capacity by supporting Emerging Teams conducting high-quality applied health services and policy research and providing superior training opportunities. Eligible teams will consist of at least three independent investigators who will form an integrated and effective research team, ideally interdisciplinary in nature and spanning across regions and universities. IHSPR, together with its partners, will fund Emerging Teams in the strategic priority areas of: Access to Appropriate Care across the Continuum, Health Information, and Drug Policy, as well as additional health services priority areas such as Health Services for Genetic Diseases and those identified in the Listening for Direction III exercise.

The letter of intent deadline is November 1, 2007. For more information, visit Emerging Teams in Applied Health Services and Policy Research.

Priority Announcement: Fellowships in Health Services and Policy Research
This priority announcement is intended to increase the supply and build the capacity of excellent researchers in Canada who successfully lead, participate in, and translate outstanding health services and policy research in thematic areas deemed important through national consultations. Relevant research areas include Ontario Drug Policy, Public Involvement and Citizen Engagement, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, and themes identified in the Listening for Direction III national consultation exercise.

The application deadline is October 1, 2007. For more information, visit the Fellowships in Health Services and Policy Research.

Taking action through research: Partnerships for Health System Improvement
IHSPR has recognized that to better understand the issues at the heart of the Canadian healthcare system, policy and decision makers must have access to informed and timely evidence. The Partnerships for Health System Improvement (PHSI) initiative is designed to support teams comprised of both researchers and decision makers interested in conducting applied health services (including public health), health systems and policy research useful to health system managers and/or policy makers. Successful teams include at least one decision maker as an applicant that is likely to be able to make use of the results of the research, and conduct projects of up to three years in length in areas identified as high priority in the Listening for Direction III national consultations. Teams are supported with funding from CIHR and a variety of partners including, but not limited to, provincial health research foundations, provincial governments, and the CHSRF. This year, approximately $3 million is available from CIHR and partners for this program subject to availability of funds and the conditions attached to them.

The letter of intent deadline is October 1, 2007. For more information, visit Partnerships for Health System Improvement.

Funding Decisions

Synthesis Grant: Timely Access to Quality Health Care
IHSPR, in partnership with Canada's Provincial and Territorial Ministries of Health, funded eight research projects in 2005 to inform the establishment of medically acceptable wait times in select clinical areas. In December 2005, this research helped to establish the first-ever national benchmarks for wait times. In June 2006, IHSPR, in partnership with the Conference of Provincial / Territorial Deputy Ministers of Health and Health Canada, launched a second funding opportunity to help bring more evidence to bear on the issue of wait times. This synthesis grant, "Timely Access to Quality Health Care," was designed to fund pilot projects in areas where new knowledge regarding the relationship between wait times and health had been deemed a priority, and to fund research syntheses in identified priority areas relevant to improving access to appropriate health services. IHSPR is pleased to announce that nine projects received funding under the synthesis grant "Timely Access to Quality Health Care."

Partnerships for Health System Improvement
In August 2006, CIHR and its partners funded 15 teams under the second annual Partnerships for Health System Improvement (PHSI) competition. Teams were funded across the country from British Columbia to Newfoundland, and topics ranged from priority setting in seniors' care, knowledge transfer in the ICU, improving infection control practices, to retaining locally trained medical graduates in certain provinces. The funding contributions for this second competition, including cash and in-kind contributions from CIHR and all partners, totaled an investment of CAD $4,775,461 over a three-year period.

For a complete list of the 15 funded PHSI applications, please visit Partnerships for Health System Improvement website.

New Emerging Team Grant: Access to Quality Cancer Care
The Institute of Cancer Research, in partnership with CancerCare Manitoba, Cancer Care Nova Scotia, the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health, the Institute of Gender and Health and IHSPR, is pleased to announce the results of the Team Grant: Access to Quality Cancer Care competition. This funding opportunity was designed to fund outstanding research that, through an integral requirement for knowledge translation, would provide evidence to improve access to quality cancer care, from prevention to palliation.

Operating Grant: Pandemic Preparedness
The CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity (III) in collaboration with IHSPR, the Institute of Population and Public Health, Ethics Office, Knowledge Translation Branch, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems are pleased to announce the results of the "Operating Grants: Pandemic Preparedness" competition. This funding opportunity was intended to further strengthen Canadian influenza research in preparation for a potential pandemic outbreak by funding two year projects to conduct critical research on disease control, prevention measures and health system preparedness.

Research Community Development Funding Program
IHSPR ran a special competition of the Research Community Development Funding Program in October 2006. This program was intended to support health services and policy research initiatives that contribute to the goals and objectives outlined in our strategic plan. Thematic research areas identified for priority investment are highlighted in Listening for Direction II.

For a complete list of funded projects, please visit IHSPR Research Community Development Funding Decisions.

FYI Students and Trainees: News and Opportunities

Rising Star Award
The CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research is dedicated to supporting innovative young researchers and to recognizing excellence in health services and policy research and KT conducted by Canadian graduate students (MA, MSc and PhD) and post-doctoral fellows. We are pleased to announce the launch of a new IHSPR student award: "Rising Star Award".

The Rising Star Award is intended to recognize the research excellence and knowledge translation initiatives of upcoming health services and policy researchers at an early stage in their career.

Through this award, IHSPR will recognize, on an annual basis, up to five (5) Canadian graduate students in all fields and disciplines related to health services and policy research. Awards are granted based on a health services and policy research article published (during the past 12 months) in a peer reviewed journal as first author, and/or demonstration of innovative and successful KT initiatives. Applicants need not be a CIHR grantee. Each awardee will receive a certificate of excellence and an award of $1000 (preferably used to present research at a scientific meeting), and will be profiled on the IHSPR website and in an IHSPR newsletter.

The application deadline is December 15, 2007. Stay tuned to the IHSPR homepage for upcoming details.

CAHSPR Conference and Student Poster Competition
The Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR) annual conference took place this year from June 12-14 in Toronto. The theme was "Leading, Linking and Listening: Knowledge Exchange at the Frontiers of Health Services and Policy Research." Among others, the conference included plenary speakers Roy Romanow, Stephen Schoenbaum, and Michael Rachlis. This year, IHSPR endeavored to meet and connect with health services and policy researchers that attended the conference from all across Canada. In a concurrent session, Dr. Colleen M. Flood, Scientific Director, and IHSPR staff discussed the upcoming July launch of IHSPR's new funding opportunities, research priorities and knowledge translation initiatives. And, in a concurrent session presented by CHSRF and IHSPR, Dr. Flood discussed the implications of the 3rd pan-Canadian Listening for Direction consultation for Canada's healthcare researchers and how it helps shape future research directions at IHSPR.

IHSPR also co-sponsored, with CAHSPR, the annual Poster Forum. Together, Dr. Flood and IHSPR's inaugural Scientific Director, Dr. Morris Barer, presented student awards to three up-and-coming researchers for their outstanding posters:

Prize Student name University Poster title
1 Michael Law Harvard University Is Newer Always Better? Re-evaluation of the Benefits of Newer Pharmaceuticals
2 Lindsay Hedden University of British Columbia Provider continuity of care in survivors of childhood cancer: a cohort analysis
3 Rebecca Gewurtz University of Toronto Making qualitative research useful for decision-makers: A meta-synthesis approach
Dr. Colleen M. Flood (Scientific Director, IHSPR), Michael Law, Lindsay Hedden, and Dr. Morris Barer (Former Scientific Director, IHSPR). Absent from photo is Rebecca Gewurtz.
Dr. Colleen M. Flood (Scientific Director, IHSPR), Michael Law, Lindsay Hedden, and Dr. Morris Barer (Former Scientific Director, IHSPR). Absent from photo is Rebecca Gewurtz.

IHSPR congratulates these students and wishes them all the best with their future research endeavors. IHSPR and CAHSPR would also like to extend sincere thanks to the three poster competition judges: Kim McGrail, Dale McMurchy, and Craig Larsen.

Priority Announcement: Fellowships in Health Services and Policy Research
For more information, please see above: New Funding Opportunities: July 2007.

Summer Institute 2007
The joint Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) - Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) annual Summer Institute brings together top graduate students, post-doctoral Fellows, researchers and decision makers from across Canada, and from a variety of disciplines, for a unique, four day training opportunity. Designed to provide a complementary learning experience to what students are already receiving through their academic institutions, this year 30 graduate students were accepted from 120 applications from across the country.

Marking the 6th anniversary of the Summer Institute initiative, this year's Summer Institute was hosted from June 24-27 in Banff, Alberta, by the Population Health Intervention Research Centre at the University of Calgary. Dr Penny Hawe heads up the PHIR Centre. Her team designed and hosted the 2007 Summer Institute with support from IPPH and IHSPR, the Canadian Institute for Health Information's Canadian Population Health Initiative and the Public Health Agency of Canada, and with input from faculty at universities across Canada. This year's Summer Institute topic was Population Health Intervention Research (PHIR): Creating New Ways Forward.

Over four days, students participated in five types of teaching sessions and group work. Students also had ample networking opportunities, including a chance to meet Ian Potter, Assistant Deputy Minister of the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada. Knowledge translation and intervention research - getting research evidence into practice - were central themes at this year's Summer Institute. It appears that this was appreciated by the students: Andrea Smith, a MSc student in Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University, commented, "For me, a key lesson was the importance of involving policy makers and other vested parties early on in a research program. Too often, knowledge translation appears merely as an add-on, something to be done after the research is completed. Yet so many more avenues for applying research arise when policy makers are engaged early on in the research process."

Other students echoed Andrea's enthusiasm for the Summer Institute. Catherine Mah, a PhD student in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, remarked "The CIHR Summer Institute was a remarkable opportunity to connect with fellow scholars and established researchers in a rigorous workshop setting. I found the small group work particularly rewarding. I very much look forward to sustaining and building upon relationships founded at the Institute through future research collaborations. I have returned from the Institute invigorated about my own research and newly optimistic about my plans for an academic research career."

The Summer Institute is an annual event co-hosted by IPPH and IHPSR. Next year's theme will centre on Knowledge Translation. Please stay tuned for further news.

The CIHR Summer Institute Graduating Class On Population Health Intervention Research

The CIHR Summer Institute Graduating Class
On Population Health Intervention Research
Banff, 24th-27th June 2007

For more information on PHIRIC, the Population Health Intervention Research Initiative for Canada, visit their website.

For more information on the IPPH-IHSPR Summer Institute, please contact Michèle O'Rourke at morourke@cihr-irsc.gc.ca or visit CIHR's IPPH-IHSPR Summer Institute.

CIHR-IHSPR Workshop for Health Reporters

CIHR and IHSPR recently held a special media workshop in Toronto on the subject of health services and policy research. Fourteen freelancers and health reporters from media outlets such the Toronto Star, CBC Radio, Canadian Press and The Globe and Mail heard presentations by 9 of Canada's leading experts in health services and policy research.

2nd CIHR Journalist Workshop – Wait times, Drug advertising, Public-Private Funding and other Hot Button Issues

Presentations focused on a series of key health policy issues, including direct-to-consumer advertising of drugs (Dr. Steve Morgan), and the use of information technology to improve the safe and effective use of prescription drugs (Dr. Robyn Tamblyn); public-private financing of health care systems (Dr. Mark Stabile); the importance of building Canada's health information system (Dr. Charlyn Black and Dr. Robert Reid); health policy ethics (Dr. Nuala Kenny); wait times policy (Dr. Tom Noseworthy); collaborative partnerships between researchers, and decision-makers and the media (Dr. Patricia Martens); and the role of the courts in Canadian Medicare (Dr. Colleen M. Flood).

Based on feedback from a survey of workshop attendees and a post-workshop scan of the media, it appears that the event, CIHR's second media workshop, was a success! "As usual the CIHR workshop was a great resource, and got all of us thinking about health policy stories. It's always a treat to be in the same room with the top Canadian brains in the field," commented one reporter. IHSPR will strive to continue to help to facilitate and build connections between health reporters and health services and policy researchers.

Please visit CIHR-IHSPR Workshop for Health Reporters: March 26 and 27, 2007 and 2nd CIHR Journalist Workshop - Wait times, Drug advertising, Public-Private Funding and other Hot Button Issues for complete overviews of the Workshop for Health Reporters. If you have questions regarding the workshop or are interested in working with IHSPR to build connections with the media, please contact Meghan McMahon at meghan.mcmahon@utoronto.ca or 416-978-5172.

Note: CIHR Expert Contacts Database for Journalists
The CIHR Expert Contacts Database is an information source that gives journalists quick and direct access to numerous health research experts across the country. If you are unable to find the expert you are looking for, please contact David Coulombe, CIHR Media Specialist, at mediarelations@cihr-irsc.gc.ca. Check out the Expert Contacts Database webpage.

Town Hall Meetings

The first three of six IHSPR Town Hall meetings scheduled for 2007 were held at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, and Dalhousie University during the Spring of 2007. These community outreach and information awareness meetings provided an opportunity for the health services and policy research communities in the Toronto, Hamilton and Halifax areas to meet IHSPR and CIHR staff, as well as Institute Advisory Board members, and to learn about IHSPR's upcoming research priorities, funding opportunities and future directions. The meetings also highlighted the importance of KT and IHSPR's initiatives in this area. Pierre Chartrand, VP of Research at CIHR, and Richard Snell, Deputy Director of Knowledge Creation Programs at CIHR, provided a comprehensive overview of the peer- and merit-review processes. Suzanne Lawson, an IHSPR Institute Advisory Board member and active leader in the Voluntary Health Organization (VHO) sector, provided a lively and engaging presentation at the Toronto meeting on the advantages for researchers of forming partnerships with VHOs.

Surveys of Town Hall attendees revealed strong support for the events. "I thought the meeting was great and extremely informative," commented one researcher. Others said, "Thanks for arranging such an informative session. I found the time well spent and learned a lot," and "This was an incredibly useful workshop for me as a doctoral student interested in health services and policy research." Four upcoming meetings are planned for Saskatoon, Regina, Vancouver and Edmonton. Please check out the Upcoming IHSPR Town Hall Meetings webpage for further details.

Setting research priorities: Listening for Direction III

Consultations for Listening for Direction III, the third round of a national consultation process aimed at identifying the short- and long-term needs of policy makers and managers in the health care system, were conducted coast to coast across the country from February to April 2007. In total, nine consultation workshops were held with a diverse range of participants including policy makers, managers, researchers, and representatives of health-related organizations (i.e., non-governmental organisations and voluntary health organisations). Led by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation and IHSPR, Listening for Direction III also included the following six partner organizations: The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH - formerly CCOHTA), the Canadian Healthcare Association, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, Health Canada, and Statistics Canada. The priorities and needs that emerge from the national consultation process are translated into research themes for future applied health services and policy research and synthesis questions.

Preliminary results of the consultation are now available, as is a list of the preliminary research themes and their descriptions.

IHSPR Research Highlights

Wait times update: IHSPR publishes article on rapid response wait time research synthesis initiative in Healthcare Policy
In the most recent issue of Canada's Healthcare Policy journal (citation below), IHSPR's former Associate Director, Diane Watson, Scientific Director, Morris Barer, and staff Heidi Matkovich and Michelle Gagnon, report on the CIHR rapid and responsive wait time research synthesis initiative that "supported eight Canadian teams to synthesize evidence to inform the development of benchmarks"1. The authors also shed light on the factors that made this KT process a success. To learn more about the CIHR rapid-response wait time initiative and the factors that contributed to the success of the KT process, please read the article:

1. Watson D.E., Barer M.L., Matkovich H, M.L. Gagnon. Wait Time Benchmarks, Research Evidence and the Knowledge Translation Process. Healthcare Policy. 2007; 2(3): 56-62

For more information on the IHSPR wait time synthesis initiative, please visit CIHR Helps Address Health Care Wait Times.

Those without access to Healthcare Policy but would like to subscribe to the journal can visit Longwoods Publishing and click on "subscriptions."

Divvying up the funding pie: Dr. Brian Hutchinson reflects on resource allocation and the share of funding for health services research within CIHR in Healthcare Policy
Dr. Brian Hutchinson, Editor-in-Chief of Healthcare Policy, examines research funding trends at CIHR between 1999/2000 and 2005/06 and explores tough questions like "How are allocation decisions made? What is the 'right' distribution of research funding among the theme areas? Who should decide? On what grounds?" And importantly, "What share for health services and policy research?" To read the full editorial, please visit Divvying Up the Funding Pie: What Share for Health Services and Policy Research? or read:

Hutchinson B. Diving up the Funding Pie: What Share for Health Services and Policy Research? Healthcare Policy, 2007; 2(4): 1-12

Direct-to-consumer advertising and drug expenditures: Canada Beware!
Dr. Steve Morgan, a CIHR-funded researcher, examines recent trends in direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) and expenditures on prescription drugs in the United States, in order to illustrate the impact that brand-oriented, consumer-targeted advertising activities could have on Canadian health care expenditures. Dr. Morgan's article is featured in inaugural issue of Open Medicine, the new peer-reviewed, independent, open-access journal.

To read Dr. Morgan's article, please visit Direct-to-consumer advertising and expenditures on prescription drugs: a comparison of experiences in the United States and Canada.

IHSPR researcher, Dr. Robyn Tamblyn, featured in CIHR Research Profile: Safer Health Care at the Click of a Button
To read the full Research Profile on Dr. Tamblyn, please visit the CIHR May Research Profile.

Research Community Development Funding Program
In order to attain goals and objectives outlined in IHSPR's 2005-2008 Strategic Plan, IHSPR has designed a range of funding opportunities, including workshops, to engage and support the health services and policy research community in meeting this ambitious strategic agenda. Successful applicants are required to provide IHSPR with a final report of the workshop or community development activity within three months of completion of the funded activity.

In this issue of IHSPR News we highlight one of the workshops hosted: Dr. Paul Masotti from Queen's University received IHSPR support for a Workshop on the Occurrence of Adverse Events Experienced by Patients as they Transition into and out of Homecare and Acute Care Settings. The workshop took place in October 2006 and brought together 31 healthcare professionals with diverse expertise in areas ranging from community care, acute care, primary care, patient safety, health policy, to vulnerable healthcare populations, as well as health services researchers. The workshop aimed to identify and rank common adverse events (AEs), identify and rank important research questions, and to develop research networks. According to Dr. Masotti, participants reached a group consensus that adverse events should be ranked according to the following criteria: (i) degree of harm to client; (ii) frequency of occurrence; (iii) cost to system of the adverse event; and (iv) cost and effectiveness and potential to prevent and avoid reoccurrence. Participants also collaborated to develop a future research agenda in the important area of adverse events in community care. To learn more about the workshop and how it enabled researchers to partner together to develop a research agenda, as well as the knowledge translation activities that enabled the group to translate key findings to targeted audiences, please read:

Masotti P, Green M, Shortt S, Hunter D, and K Szala-Meneok. Adverse Events in Community Care: Developing a Research Agenda. Healthcare Quarterly. 2007; 10(3) 59-65.

CIHR News

Introducing the new CIHR Funding Opportunities Database
Over the last two years, CIHR has made a number of developments to standardize and improve the functionality around presenting CIHR's funding opportunities to the research community. In response to requests to offer more searching and browsing capabilities, Dr. Pierre Chartrant, VP of Research, is pleased to announce the launch of the CIHR Funding Opportunities Database.

Upcoming Changes for Applicants to Operating Grants, New Investigators, and Doctoral Research Awards Programs

Applicants to the Operating Grants, New Investigators and Doctoral Research Awards programs will be required to use ResearchNet to electronically submit their applications. The system will be available for applicants to begin completing their information by the end of June 2007 for the Fall 2007 competitions. For more details regarding the upcoming changes for applicants to these three awards programs, please visit the CIHR website.

Dr. Alan Bernstein, President of CIHR, announces plan to resign in October
To read a message from the President, please visit Message from the President of CIHR, Dr. Alan Bernstein.

Events

iHEA 6th World Congress: Explorations in Health Economics
The International Health Economics Association (iHEA) 6th World Congress - Explorations in Health Economics, took place from July 8-11th, 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Approximately 1600 delegates attended the conference, and over 40 fantastic presentations were delivered by Canadian health services and policy researchers. We would like to congratulate all the Canadian and CIHR-supported researchers that presented at the conference, and thank those that stopped by the IHSPR booth for information or to meet IHSPR's Communications and KT Officer, Meghan McMahon. For more information on the conference and list of presenters, please visit the iHEA website.

The iHEA World Congress is a biennial conference. Stay tuned for information on the 2009 iHEA congress in Beijing, China, and the 2011 iHEA congress in Toronto, Ontario.

For complete information on upcoming events, conferences, workshops and other activities of interest, please visit IHSPR's Calendar of Events page, which is updated regularly.

We want to hear from you!
IHSPR would like to hear from you. We are always looking for opportunities to showcase the excellent work of the health services and policy research community. IHSPR can also assist researchers highlight research findings through extensive media and other audience networks. Contact Meghan McMahon at meghan.mcmahon@utoronto.ca or 416-978-5172 if you have research discoveries or stories from your CIHR-funded research that you would like to share.

Stay up to date
We are in the process of updating our list service. To receive IHSPR Newsletters, Research Spotlights and information concerning upcoming funding opportunities, please send an email to info.ihspr@utoronto.ca indicating that you would like to join the IHSPR list service.

IHSPR Mandate
IHSPR is dedicated to supporting outstanding research, capacity-building and knowledge translation initiatives designed to improve the way health care services are organized, regulated, managed, financed, paid for, used and delivered, in the interest of improving the health and quality of life of all Canadians.

IHSPR Contacts

Staff transitions:

IHSPR - Ottawa
Danièle St-Jean will be working full time as the CIHR Program Advisor, International Relations, as of August 8th, 2007. Danièle has made invaluable contributions to IHSPR and has been a joy to work with. We wish Danièle all the best in her new position.

Michelle Gagnon has joined the Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) as Assistant Director. Michelle also commenced a PhD program in Population Health at the University of Ottawa in September 2006. We would like to thank Michelle for all her dedication and hard work with IHSPR over the last few years, and we wish her all the best at IPPH.

Kim Gaudreau has joined IPPH as Associate - Strategic Initiatives. We wish her all the best at IPPH and thank her for all her hard work and valuable contributions to IHSPR over the years.