Alberta Innovates- Health Solutions

EDMONTON

1. Do people who have pinched spinal cords fare better when they have surgery?
In spinal stenosis, the spinal canal narrows and pinches the spinal cord and nerves. Dr. Crites Battie wants to get a better picture of the condition’s prevalence in Alberta and get a sense of why surgical rates to treat it have increased.
Title:	The Alberta Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Study: Prognostic Factors and Outcomes”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Michele Crites Battie, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	Calgary Health Region, University of Calgary, Alberta Health and Wellness
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

2. How do kidney disease patients, their caregivers, and doctors shape ethical decisions about care?
Kidney disease patients, their caregivers, and their physicians can be faced with some very difficult ethical decisions in the course of care. Dr. Davison will survey each of these groups about their values and preferences on these issues.
Title:	Reclaiming Medical Ethics for the People: Lay Versus Professional Preferences Relating to Ethical Difficulties in the Management of End Stage Renal Disease”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Sarah N. Davison, Department of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	University of Calgary, Capital Health Authority
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

3. Does an intervention program help new fathers interact with their infant children?
Good father-infant interactions have been linked to many improvements in emotion control and language development in children. Dr. Magill-Evans will assess the effects of providing fathers with feedback from trained professionals, on their interaction with their babies.
Title:	Fathers and Babies: Effects of a Brief Intervention on Father’s Skills and Sense of Competence”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Joyce E. Magill-Evans, Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	University of Calgary, Capital Health Authority
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

4. What are the benefits of patients receiving physical and occupational therapy in their homes?
Dr. Laura May will evaluate the addition of therapy assistants to the provision of home-based physical and occupational therapy in the Capital region. She will compare waiting times, cost of care and patient outcomes between groups of patients who received care from therapy assistants and those who did not.
Title:	Utilization of Therapist Assistants in Home Care: Impact on Health Outcomes and Costs of Care”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Laura A. May, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	Capital Health Home Care
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

5. What kind of support do low-income women need to stop smoking?
Low-income people have less social support than other income groups and women are among those at greatest risk for poverty. In this study, Dr. Stewart will create and study a network of peers and professionals to provide support to low-income women smokers.
Title:	Support Intervention for Low-Income Women Smokers”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Miriam Stewart, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	B.C. Centres of Excellence in Women’s Health, Canadian Women’s Health Network
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

CALGARY

6. How do we measure the success of programs for people with schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is the most disabling of all psychiatric disorders. Dr. Addington will develop and test a number of ways of measuring the success for the various types of treatment for schizophrenia.
Title:	Developing and Testing a Set of Performance Measures for Testing in Schizophrenia Services”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Donald Addington, Department of Psychiarty, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary
Affiliated institutions / organizations:
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

7. How can seniors’ quality of life be improved?
As part of a working partnership, Dr. Austin is hoping to understand the community factors that contribute to the quality of life of seniors.
Title:	The Elder Friendly Communities Project: Understanding Community Development and Service Collaboration to Enhance Seniors’ Quality of Life”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Carol Austin, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	City of Calgary, Calgary Health Region, Calgary Family Services, United Way of Calgary
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

8. What is the best way to track heart attack rates and trends in Canada?
Historically, records of acute myocardial infarction or heart attack have relied on administrative hospital data. Dr. Ghali wants to find a more accurate means of tracking and screening for heart attacks.
Title:	Health Surveillance for Acute Myocardial Infarction in Canada: A Comparison of Administrative and Laboratory Data Case Definitions”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. William Ghali, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Calgary
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	Alberta Health and Wellness, Calgary Laboratory Services
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

9. Can we reward health regions for keeping people healthy?
In Alberta, funding is currently allocated to health regions without any reward for improvements in population health. Dr. Lu will explore the concept of rewarding regions for healthy populations using diabetes as a case study.
Title:	How Can We Pay for Population Health Improvement? The Application of Risk Adjustment Models in Alberta”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Mingshan Lu, Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Calgary
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	University of Alberta, Calgary Health Region, Harvard Medical School, Boston University
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

10. What is the level of complementary and alternative medicine use among Chinese Canadians?
Dr. Quan will compare the use of complementary and alternative medicines by Chinese Canadians and Caucasian populations in Alberta. The information will be used to help provide culturally sensitive approaches for health services.
Title:	Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Chinese Canadians”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Hude Quan, Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	Calgary Health Region
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

11. How effective is treatment for young adults with eating disorders?
Dr. Reimer will investigate the quality of life of adolescents who have undergone treatment for eating disorders as a means of measuring treatment effectiveness.
Title:	“Development, Validation and Field Testing of A Quality of Life Measure for Adolescents and Young Adults with Eating Disorders”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Marlene Reimer, Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	Alberta Mental Health Board, Calgary Health Region
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

12. What influences peoples’ efforts to control their weight?
Research has shown that parents play a significant role in establishing a child’s eating and activity patterns. Dr. Watson wants to study the role of both the family and social environment in establishing these patterns and attitudes.
Title:	Societal and Family Influences on Weight Management”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Lorraine Watson, Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	Calgary Health Region
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

13. Can sleep apnea be treated by family physicians just as well as by sleep specialists?
Dr. Whitelaw is looking for cheaper and more efficient methods of treating patients with obstructive sleep apnea—through family physicians rather than the time and expense of seeing a specialist.
Title:	Managing Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Family Practice”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. William Whitelaw, Respiratory Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	Calgary Health Region
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

LETHBRIDGE

14. Why does physical activity decrease when young adults begin college or university?
Physical activity decreases steadily with age but the most dramatic decrease occurs between adolescence and young adulthood. Dr. Steven Bray will try to identify what barriers first year Univerity students experience to getting regular physical activity.
Title:	Physical Activity in Transition: Tracking and Identifying Determinants of Physical Activity Involvement During Transition to Post-Secondary Education”
Principal Investigator:	Dr. Steven Bray, Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Lethbridge
Affiliated institutions / organizations:	Alberta Centre for Active Living
Anticipated project completion date:	2005-06-30

RED DEER