IHSPR Newsletter - July 2012

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Message from Dr. Robyn Tamblyn, IHSPR Scientific Director

Welcome to the July edition of the CIHR-Institute of Health Services and Policy Research newsletter. I continue to be amazed and encouraged by the quality and amount of work taking place on key issues in our field.

In January CIHR-IHSPR and its partners launched a multi-year Signature Initiative to fund research that supports the delivery of high-quality, Community-Based Primary Healthcare (CBPHC) across Canada. CBPHC covers the broad range of primary prevention (including public health) and primary care services within the community. Application pressure was very high for this funding opportunity from researchers spanning the country, demonstrating the significant need for support in CBPHC research in Canada.

The continued success of the Evidence Informed Healthcare Renewal (EIHR) strategy has also seen the launch of several new and exciting funding opportunities and projects. Some of these include:

  • Science Policy Fellowship in partnership with the European Observatory, aims to help bridge the gap between science and policy making;
  • Healthcare Renewal Policy Analysis that will support a Canadian research team to draw on an existing international body of work to illuminate choices for Canadian policy and decision makers and foster further development of comparative health policy analysis research; and
  • Creation of a new EIHR Portal, to serve as the premier site for linking policy and decision makers with evidence/information on healthcare system renewal, transformation, and innovation.

The pages that follow provide an update on more of the latest successes achieved within the IHSPR community. This newsletter will celebrate the members of our community and their important work as well as highlight funding opportunities that will perpetuate research excellence in our field. I encourage you to provide us with ideas for upcoming newsletter showcases and let us know about successes within your local community.

Dr. Robyn Tamblyn, IHSPR Scientific Director

Upcoming Events

Researcher Showcase: Dr. Debra Morgan

Access to Care for Dementia in Rural Communities – The Rural and Remote Memory Clinic

Dr. Debra Morgan is a professor at the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Morgan is also an Applied Chair in Health Services and Policy Research funded by CIHR and the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation.

Since 2004, Dr. Morgan has led the development and evaluation of the Rural and Remote Memory Clinic in Saskatoon for Saskatchewan residents living with dementia. By 2040, 1.1 million Canadians are expected to be living with some form of dementia, about 250, 000 of them in rural areas. In association with the University of Saskatchewan, the clinic provides suspected dementia sufferers living in rural areas the ability to schedule a CT scan, relevant tests and appointments with dementia specialists – essentially, the examinations required to produce a solid diagnosis and treatment plan – all in one day.

The aim of the program is to reduce the amount of time rural families are required to spend travelling to and from appointments in urban areas, as well as the stress, cost and inconvenience related to frequent travel. The clinic's interdisciplinary team consists of a research nurse coordinator, neurologist, physical therapists, and a neuropsychology team. In addition to the day-long session, the clinic uses Saskatchewan's telehealth system at local hospitals to conduct pre-clinic assessments and post-visit follow-ups, which take place via cameras that link participants to each other via television screens.

"One of our goals was to increase access to early assessments and diagnosis, primarily for early onset, early stage, and atypical dementias," says Dr. Morgan.

"Without a multidisciplinary team as well as access to neuroimaging and memory tests, it can be difficult for a local family doctor to make this diagnosis. Although getting the diagnosis can be overwhelming, it's important for people and their caregivers to know what they face, especially if patients are still capable of participating in decision making about their future."

"Many (patients and families) describe being in a kind of limbo, waiting to know what's going on. They want answers. Then they can start planning and getting on with things. Once a family gets a diagnosis, they return home but stay in touch with the doctors and staff at the clinic via scheduled telehealth appointments, phone calls and occasional visits to the clinic. Patients and family members have expressed high satisfaction with the combination of clinic visits and telehealth appointments rather than relying only on videoconferencing."

Dr. Morgan believes the clinic is a model that could serve rural residents suffering from any chronic health condition that is complex and difficult to diagnose and manage. She hopes other health-care professionals will consider setting up similar clinics to serve rural families.

The Rural and Remote Memory Clinic also engages a team of researchers on various dementia related researcher projects. As an example, Dr. Morgan is also involved in a study focusing on caregivers of dementia patients and their experiences and roles in caring, both pre- and post- diagnosis.

For more information about the Rural and Remote Memory Clinic visit their website.

Congratulations!

Dr. Moira Stewart selected as a Distinguished University Professor at Western University

CIHR-IHSPR is proud to congratulate Dr. Moira Stewart on her appointment as Distinguished Professor at Western University. This prestigious award acknowledges the tremendous contributions of Dr. Stewart to the HSPR community in service, teaching, research and training of future generations of leaders in the field.

A professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Dr. Stewart holds the Dr. Brian W. Gilbert Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Primary Health Care. Under her leadership, the Centre for Studies in Family Medicine, a multidisciplinary centre focused on the enhancement of family medicine and primary health care practice through research, has grown in funding and scope, currently encompassing 10 researchers and attracting more than $8 million in grants on a yearly basis.

Considered an international leader in research methods in primary health care (PHC), Moira Stewart's flourishing research program has created a first-in-Canada database using the international standard of classification of primary care coding within an electronic medical record.

Dr. Stewart is currently leading the Transdisciplinary Understanding and Training on Research - Primary Health Care (TUTOR-PHC) Program, supported by a CIHR Training Grant that is co-funded by the Canadian Health Services and Research Foundation, with the aim to improve the evidence-base for primary health care. The program's innovative curriculum fosters the development of primary health care research skills as well as interdisciplinary theory and process practices. TUTOR-PHC features an onsite symposium, online workshops and discussion groups and involves researchers from across Canada. Participants will gain practical skills and independence in their work, by increasing the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary focus of their PHC research.

Dr. Stewart is also a lead on several other CIHR-IHSPR sponsored research projects including investigating patient-centered ca re with chronic diseases, and optimizing electronic medical records for improved chronic disease management. Her outstanding leadership and dedication to her work is appreciated by students and researchers across the country.

"Dr. Stewart is an innovative leader in this field and her passion to improve primary health care is reflected through her successful work." said Dr. Robyn Tamblyn, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research. "We are extremely proud to support this important research."

For more information about the TUTOR-PHC Program visit their website.

IHSPR Rising Stars and Article of the Year!

From L to R: Dr. Michael Law, Dr. Robyn Tamblyn, Dr. Maria Chiu. Dr. Janet Squires, Dr. Chaim Bell at CAHSPR 2012 in Montréal, QC.

The Rising Star Award recognizes health services and policy research excellence and knowledge translation innovation among leading graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in Canada. IHSPR is pleased to announce two recipients of the 2012 Rising Star Awards.

Dr. Janet Squires is a postdoctoral fellow in the Clinical Epidemiology Program of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on using knowledge translation to increase the uptake of evidence-based practice by healthcare professionals (specifically, by nurses and physicians) to improve patient outcomes. Her research themes include: designing and evaluating theory-based knowledge translation interventions; understanding the role of context in knowledge translation; methodological developments and measurement in knowledge translation; and, systematic reviews and global knowledge syntheses.

Dr. Maria Chiu is a post-doctoral fellow with Public Health Ontario. Maria completed her PhD in Health Sciences from the Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto in January 2012 under the supervision of Dr. Jack Tu. Her research interests are related to ethnicity and chronic disease prevention. Maria's doctoral thesis found striking differences in diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk across ethnic groups living in Ontario.

The CIHR-IHSPR Article of the Year Award recognizes published research that has significantly contributed to the advancement of the field of HSPR in Canada. This year, IHSPR is pleased to announce two winners whose articles demonstrated outstanding research in our field.

Dr. Michael Law is an Assistant Professor in the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research at the University of British Columbia. He completed a PhD in Health Policy at Harvard University, a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, and has received several awards, including the 2011 Labelle Lectureship at McMaster University, a CIHR New Investigator Award, and a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Award. His research focuses on pharmaceutical policy and includes studies on drug coverage changes, direct-to-consumer advertising, generic drug prices and the affordability of prescription drugs. Access Michael's article at: Law MR, Cheng L, Dhalla IA, Heard D, Morgan SG. The Effect of Cost on Adherence to Prescription Medications in Canada. Published online January 16, 2012.

Dr. Chaim Bell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto. Chaim holds a PhD in clinical epidemiology and health services research and an MD from the University of Toronto. His research interests include clinical epidemiology/health services research, patient safety, quality of care, medical errors, continuity of care and cost-effectiveness analysis in health policy. The complete reference for Chaim's article is: Bell CM, Brener S, Gunraj N, Huo C, Bierman AS, Scales D, Bajcar J, Zwarenstein M, Urbach DR. Association of ICU or hospital admission with unintentional discontinuation of medications for chronic diseases. JAMA 2011; 306:840-847.

Funding Opportunities

e-Health Innovations: Supporting More Efficient Population and Person-Centered Healthcare

The e-Health Innovations funding opportunity will support Canadian investigators to conduct research that will improve processes and/or outcomes related to efficiency and access in the following relevant research areas:

  • Patient-e-Heath
  • New Generation Health Professional
  • Timely Detection and Intervention

This opportunity will be launched in 2012. Stay tuned for more information!

CIHR Open Operating Grant Program

The CIHR Open Operating Grant Program (OOGP) provides operating funds to support research proposals in all areas of health research, including randomized controlled trials.
This opportunity will be launched in 2012. Stay tuned for more information!

Attention: Renewed Canadian Common CV

The renewed Canadian Common CV (CCV) was implemented on June 19, 2012 for all CCV subscriber agencies, including CIHR. All CIHR applicants who submit their applications on or after June 19, 2012 will be required to use the renewed Canadian Common CV (CCV).

More information, including CIHR-specific instructions and/or guidelines, was provided through the "CIHR Funding News" electronic communique and on the CIHR website in June. General information about the renewed CCV for all subscribers can be found their website.

Pop Quiz!

  1. In the next Newsletter I am going to:
    1. A. Flip to the quiz section and submit my results
    2. B. Read the newsletter front to back
    3. C. Be excited about HSPR
    4. D. All of the above
  2. While waiting for my next IHSPR newsletter I am going to:
    1. Apply for funding opportunities
    2. Study for the quiz
    3. Contact IHSPR with news in your HSPR community
    4. All of the above

Did you know there were 1012 Tweets from May 28 - May 31st 2012 at the CAHSPR Conference in Montréal, QC!

Stay tuned for the next IHSPR Innovator to find out how well you know Health Services and Policy Research! You will have a chance to be entered in a raffle to WIN WIN WIN!

Contact Us

CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research
3666 McTavish, Second Floor
Montréal, QC, H3A 1Y2
Tel: 514-398-5736
Email: info.ihspr@mcgill.ca