2008-2009 CIHR-IHSPR Article of the Year Award Recipient
Recognizing ground-breaking health services and policy researchThe CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) is pleased to announce Dr. Meredith Lilly as the inaugural recipient of the CIHR-IHSPR Article of the Year Award. This new award is intended to acknowledge published research that has significantly contributed to the advancement of the field of health services and policy research in Canada.
The CIHR-IHSPR Article of the Year Review Committee selected Dr. Lilly's article, "Labor Market Work and Home Care's Unpaid Caregivers: A Systematic Review of Labor Force Participation Rates, Predictors of Labor Market Withdrawal, and Hours of Work," based on its relevance to health services and policy research and the extent to which the article contributed to the advancement of health services and policy research in Canada by showing a clear impact on policy.
In addition to a $5000 cash prize, Dr. Lilly will receive recognition of her accomplishment at the upcoming Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research Conference, to be held in Calgary in May 2009.
About the Winner
Dr. Lilly completed her PhD in Health Services Research in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto in 2008. She has expertise in health services evaluation, health economics, and health care settings. During her graduate studies, Dr Lilly was a recipient of a CIHR Doctoral Research Award and a fellow of the CIHR's Strategic Training Initiative in Health Care, Technology and Place (HCTP) at the University of Toronto. Her dissertation research focused on the labour force participation of family caregivers in Canada and was supervised by Dr. Peter Coyte, with mentorship from Drs. Audrey Laporte (University of Toronto) and Pat Armstrong (York University). After completing a postdoctoral fellowship under Dr. Armstrong's mentorship, Lilly accepted a faculty position at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in 2009. This joint position between UBC and the Interior Health Authority is designed to encourage research collaboration and knowledge translation activities between the two organizations. Her current research is focused on the transitions of frail, elderly patients between health care settings.
Her paper co-authored with Audrey Laporte and Peter Coyte entitled "Labor Market Work and Home Care's Unpaid Caregivers: A Systematic Review of Labor Force Participation Rates, Predictors of Labor Market Withdrawal, and Hours of Work" was published in the Milbank Quarterly in December 2007. It focuses on the labour force participation of caregivers internationally and highlights three conclusions: first, caregivers are equally as likely to be in the labor force as noncaregivers; second, caregivers are more likely to work fewer hours in the labor market; and finally, only those heavily involved in caregiving are significantly more likely to withdraw from the labor market than noncaregivers.
Lilly believes that two concepts from the paper have had the greatest influence on recent policy development initiatives. First, caregiving is a choice, and individuals can be influenced to choose caregiving if governments help mitigate the costs and potentially negative workplace consequences associated with the caregiving role. Second, most working-aged caregivers are also labour force participants; in the context of future labour shortages, combining employment with caregiving will become more commonplace. Governments can both facilitate and expedite a process of workplace accommodation through labour policy and legislation.
Dr. Lilly has shared her findings with both academic colleagues and government decision makers. Most recently, she worked closely with policymakers in the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's Long Range Scenario Planning Unit on their "Caring-About-Caregivers" strategy. This group consulted with over 150 diverse stakeholders on the future of family and community caregiving to develop a robust strategy in anticipation of future needs in Ontario. Leadership in the group has indicated that Dr. Lilly's research helped frame the core business case, inspired 3 of the 23 policy options outlined in its strategy, and has been critical to the strategy's overarching employment theme of Caring While Competing in the global labour market.
To learn more about Dr. Lilly's research, please e-mail her at meredith.lilly@ubc.ca.
Inquiries pertaining to the IHSPR Article of the Year Award can be addressed to Stephanie Soo at stephanie.soo@utoronto.ca.