The Health Research Fund is administered by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research on behalf of Alberta Health and Wellness.
(From 1997 Competition)
| Total Projects Funded: | 17 |
| Total Commitment: | $1,268,248 over two years |
| EDMONTON | |
| Can treating panic disorder in affected asthmatics reduce the severity of asthma attacks? | |
| A significant number of asthmatics also suffer from panic disorder which can make asthma symptoms worse. This project will determine the effectiveness of asthma education and treatment for panic attacks. | |
| Title: | “The Asthma-Panic Project” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Teresa Davis, Faculty of Nursing, U of A |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2000 |
| Do community-based asthma education programs work? | |
| Seven percent of Albertans have asthma, a figure that rises to more than 10 percent when only children are considered. This research project will develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based education program for adults and children with asthma. | |
| Title: | “A Comprehensive Community-based Intervention for Asthma” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Patrick Hessel, Department of Public Health Sciences, U of A |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2001 |
| Can exercise improve the quality of life of colorectal cancer patients? | |
| The research is studying the effects of exercise on the quality of life and physical fitness of post-operative colorectal cancer patients. Researchers will try to determine if this type of therapy can positively effect the physical, social and emotional life of cancer patients. | |
| Title: | “Physical Exercise and Quality of Life in Colorectal Cancer Patients” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Kerry Courneya, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, U of A |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2000 |
| Can intensive neonatal care help seriously ill infants recover and leave hospital quicker? | |
| Very low birth weight infants are cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit at considerable risk to the infant and at considerable cost to society. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the neonatal individualized developmental care assessment program (NIDCAP), an innovative method for providing this care that may lower stress on these infants. | |
| Title: | “Impact of Developmental Care in NICU” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Katherine Peters, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Faculty of Nursing, U of A |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2001 |
| What health risk factors should be stressed in prevention programs for at-risk teens? | |
| This study will analyze physical (smoking, drinking, drugs) and emotional (depression, anxiety, stress) health risk behaviors in older teens from different ethnic backgrounds. Five thousand Alberta youths will be asked to participate in the research by completing a survey on health behaviors. | |
| Title: | “Investigation of Health Risk Behaviors in Ethno Culturally Diverse Youth” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Brenda Munro, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics, Department of Human Ecology, U of A |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2000 |
| Is an interactive game a good tool to help young children deal with their asthma? | |
| This study will evaluate whether the Roaring Adventures of Puff (RAP), an interactive game that uses books and puppets, is a good means of helping young kids and their parents manage asthma. Three hundred and sixty children with asthma will be randomly selected to participate in the study. | |
| Title: | “The Evaluation of Asthma Education Program for Elementary School Children with Asthma” |
| Principal Investigator: | Ms. Shawna McGhan, Alberta Asthma Centre, Edmonton |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2000 |
| Do people with Alzheimer's Disease or vascular dementia, dementia caused by a loss of oxygen to the brain, get depressed? | |
| Depression is more common in the elderly who suffer dementia than in those without it. This study will follow patients with vascular dementia and AD for a one year period to find out if patients with vascular dementia get depressed more often than patients with AD. | |
| Title: | “Longitudinal Study of Depression in Alzheimer's Disease and vascular dementia patients” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Stephan Newman, Department of Psychiatry, U of A |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2001 |
| FORT McMurray | |
| Can working with speech and language pathologists (SLP) in the classroom help children with speech and language delays? | |
| This research project will evaluate two approaches to language improvements; one where children with identified language delays are taken out of the classroom to work with a SLP on an individual basis, and one where an SLP works with children within the classroom. | |
| Title: | “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Classroom Collaboration” |
| Principal Investigator: | Ms. Jodi Higdon, Speech-Language Pathologist, Northern Lights Regional Health Services, Fort McMurray |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2000 |
| LETHBRIDGE | |
| How can the aboriginal community help First Nations women with alcohol or drug addictions in their recovery? | |
| This research project will analyze critical events in women's lives and investigate culturally appropriate interventions that can be used in their recovery. | |
| Title: | “First Nations Women, Addictions and Recovery” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Virginia McGowan, Coordinator, Addictions Counselling Program, Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 1999 |
| SLAVE LAKE | |
| What are the risk factors for HIV/AIDS in the Keeweetinok Lakes Regional Health Authority? | |
| There is a need to identify behaviors which put aboriginals at risk for HIV/AIDS so prevention programs can be planned and put in place. This project will determine risk factors for HIV/AIDS to be used in designing an effective prevention and control program for this population. | |
| Title: | “HIV/AIDS Sexual Health Behaviors” |
| Principal Investigator: | Ms. Pamela Brockway, Regional Health Researcher, Keeweetinok Lakes Regional Health Authority, Slave Lake, AB |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2000 |
| CALGARY | |
| Does lack of sunlight cause Vitamin D deficiencies? | |
| This research project is part of a larger study of osteoporosis among 9000 Canadian women and men over 25 funded by MRC. This study of 300 Calgarians will investigate whether there are seasonal causes linked to Vitamin D deficiencies and bone density loss. | |
| Title: | “Serum 25 - Hydroxy-Vitamin D Levels and Bone Density” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. David Hanley, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, U of C |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2000 |
| Can an in-home care program for pregnant women with health problems lessen hospital costs and help reduce risks to mother and baby? | |
| This study aims to investigate the effects of in-home care of health problems in pregnant women on mother and baby. The project will also determine whether these women would receive the same or better care in a hospital setting. | |
| Title: | “Perinatal - Outcomes of Home-based Antenatal Care for High Risk Pregnancies” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Ursula Dawe, Calgary Regional Health Authority Foothills Hospital, Calgary |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2001 |
| What everyday factors affect the health of mid-life women? | |
| This study is the second and third stage of an initial study of the perceived health needs of mid-life women. Stage II will broaden the base of the initial study with a more diverse group of women. Stage III will try to find patterns and common threads in data generated from Stages I and II. | |
| Title: | “WHEALTH: The Alberta Mid-life Women's Health Project, Stages II and III” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Lynn Meadows, Department of Family Medicine, U of C |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2000 |
| Can a sex education program for women who have undergone cancer therapy help them to improve their sex lives? | |
| Problems related to sexual health have been increasingly recognized in women treated with gynecological cancers. This study will assess whether an educational program to resolve sexual dysfunction is more helpful to patients than providing them with brief information during radiation treatment. | |
| Title: | “Sexuality and Gynecological Cancer” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. John Robinson, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, U of C |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2000 |
| Can nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) be used to help treat congestive heart failure? | |
| Congestive heart failure is a major clinical and public health problem. This study will investigate whether nasal CPAP, a device used to treat sleep apnea, can improve the survival rates of patients with congestive heart failure and Cheyne-Stokes respiration (a type of cardiac asthma) during sleep. | |
| Title: | “Effectiveness of nasal CPAP in treating congestive heart failure in patients with Cheyne-Stokes respiration during sleep.” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. John Remmers, Department of Medicine and Physiology and Biophysics, U of C |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2001 |
| Can computer enhanced mammograms better detect tumors? | |
| This study will further test recently developed methods for computer enhanced mammography images to distinguish between benign and malignant tumors. These imaging techniques could lead to earlier diagnosis of breast cancer. | |
| Title: | “Computer-aided enhancement and analysis of mammograms for the diagnosis of early breast cancer” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Rangaraj Rangayyan, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, U of C |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2000 |
| Can self-help booklets help problem gamblers with their addiction? | |
| Problem gambling is a rising problem in Alberta. This research project will test the effectiveness of self-help intervention in helping problem gamblers cope with and cure their addiction. | |
| Title: | “Minimal Self-help Interventions with Problem Gamblers” |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. David Hodgins, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, U of C |
| Anticipated Project Completion Date: | 2000 |