CIHR's IHSPR-IPPH Summer Institute

Space, Place and Health

McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario
July 9-11, 2009

Application Guidelines and Processes

We are pleased to announce the 8th annual Summer Institute to be hosted by McMaster University and the Centre for Research on Inner City Health at St. Michael's Hospital. The major funders of the Summer Institute are the Institutes of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) and Population and Public Health (IPPH), along with the Canadian Institute for Health Information's Canadian Population Health Initiative (CPHI) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). Dr James Dunn, CIHR-PHAC Chair in Applied Public Health is the chair of this year's planning committee.

The past several years have witnessed a rapid growth in research on geographical aspects of health and health care. While there is a long history of this kind of research, the growth of activity and especially its proliferation into social epidemiology, population and public health and health services and policy research in the 1990s and 2000s has been unprecedented. This is evident in such developments as: the growth of studies investigating 'neighbourhood effects', the rapid expansion in the use of geographical information systems and spatial analysis (to document patterns of health care access, for example), as well as the increasing number of disease and health care atlases. There are a wide range of other geographical methods and theoretical approaches that are just beginning to be applied to health research that trainees will also have an opportunity to learn more about.

The proposed Summer Institute would provide trainees with a significant opportunity to improve their conceptual and theoretical understanding of the opportunities and constraints offered by geographical methods and theoretical approaches, as well as introduce them to a wide variety of new analytic techniques and potential sources of data for research on 'space, place and health' and their application in policy and practice settings. Ethical dimensions will also be explored.

The objectives of the Summer Institute are:

1. to introduce trainees to key geographical concepts such as space, place, and scale and demonstrate their utility in population health and health services research;
2. to introduce trainees to some key methodologies in geographically-informed health research, including:
   1. geographical information systems/science (GIS)
   2. multi-level modeling
   3. systematic social observation of characteristics of places
   4. spatial analysis and modeling
   5. spatio-temporal data collection tools and modeling
3. to discuss the potential implications of this research for policy and practice
   

The CIHR IHSPR-IPPH Summer Institute 2009

We invite applications from students in graduate training and post-doctoral fellows with an interest in space, place and health (care) in the HSP and PPH research communities. Applications from any relevant discipline will be considered. A limited number (30) of spaces are available for this event that will bring together researchers, students, practitioners and decision makers from across Canada and from the USA and the UK. An application review committee will select students based upon research interests, relevant professional and voluntary experience, range of disciplinary backgrounds, academic qualifications and resumes.

Eligibility:

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Applicants must currently be enrolled in a PhD program or hold a postdoctoral fellowship at a Canadian university. Preference will be given to PhD and postdoctoral students. However, Masters students may be considered if they are in the final stages of their Masters degree (that is, they have completed their research project and analyses and are in the final writing stages of the thesis).
2. Preference will be given to students who are:
   1. Participants in a CHSRF/CIHR (CADRE), or other CIHR training program, or who are affiliated and/or involved in CIHR-IPPH funded centres for research development. 
   2. Funded by a national or provincial research award (e.g., from CIHR, SSHRC, CHSRF, MSFHR, AHFMR, FRSQ, NSHRF, MHRC etc.).

   Students who do not fall into either of these categories may still apply and will be considered based on space availability and the criteria above.

3. Applicants must be Canadian citizens or have landed immigrant status.
4. Applicants must have research interests and a thesis topic (where relevant) in the designated theme of this year's Summer Institute. Applicants from any relevant discipline will be considered.
5. Applicants must be committed to attending the entire Summer Institute. 
6. Applicants must not have attended any of the seven previous Summer Institutes funded by IHSPR or IPPH.

Travel Expenses:

The Summer Institute will cover the following costs:

• Lowest price economy air ticket from applicant's home to Hamilton, ON (domestic flights only).
• Accommodation will be arranged and paid for by the organizers for three nights (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) at McMaster University. 
• All meals during the three days of the summer institute will be provided - starting with dinner on Thursday, July 9th and ending with lunch on Sunday, July 11th.  
• Bus/taxi fares from the airport to McMaster University, and back, will be reimbursed, and while every effort will be made to ensure that bussing to and from the University will be available to students, some students may have to make their own bookings with various services available at Pearson International Airport. Details on this will be provided later to successful applicants.

The participant is responsible for any incidental transportation or expenses beyond that which is outlined above.

Application:

Please fill in the application form online at CIHR. This must be completed on or before May 8th, 2009. As well, a copy of your most recent transcript must be faxed to Kim Gaudreau on or before May 8th, 2009. Kim's fax number is 613-954-1800. If you encounter any problems with the fax transmission, you can also reach her by phone at 613-957-6128, or by email at kim.gaudreau@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

The application includes the following information:

• Contact information
• Academic background, as well as other information such as health-related employment experience
• Current academic status (including current transcript)
• General research/thesis interests - this includes both the topic area and the methodology
• Training expectations and contributions
• Voluntary and practice experience relevant to the Institutes focus
• Name and contact information of your supervisor

For more information regarding the application submission process, please contact Kim Gaudreau.

Selection Procedure:

An application review committee will select 30 students, based upon eligibility criteria, including research interests, range of disciplinary backgrounds, academic qualifications and résumés, complete application information, and geographical distribution. Applicants will be contacted as to whether or not they are accepted on or before May 15th, 2009.