Health Research Projects Funded in 2004
Projects Approved June 2004:
Anticipated Completion Dates for Projects: June 30, 2006
| Total Projects Funded: 17 |
| Total Commitment: $1.8 million over two years |
EDMONTON
| 1. What kind of rehab services do children with cerebral palsy receive? | |
| Asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) are among the most common chronic diseases in Canada. Dr. Andrew Cave wants to know if a patient education program will help improve quality of life for these patients and decrease their use of the healthcare system. | |
| Title: | ''Respiratory Educators in Primary Care'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Andrew J. Cave, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | iCAN - Child Asthma Network, Calgary COPD and Asthma Program (CCAP), Asthma Education in Primary Care, COPD and Asthma Network of Canada (CANA), Alberta Asthma Centre, Alberta Strategy to Help Manage Asthma (ASTHMA) project, University of Calgary, Capital Health, Calgary Health Region, David Thompson Health Authority |
| 2. How do we help children with developmental motor disabilities make a successful transition to adulthood? | |
| Dr. Johanna Darrah wants to determine the factors that predict employment status and psychosocial maturity in people with developmental motor disabilities such as cerebral palsy. | |
| Title: | ''Transition to Adulthood - The Journey of Persons with Developmental Motor Disabilities'' |
| Principal Investigator: | "Dr. Johanna M. Darrah |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | Department of Physical Therapy |
| 3. How can computer technology best be used to help nurses on the job? | |
| Dr. Anna Ehrenberg will assess the needs of nurses for on the job decision-making and develop and pilot a computerized tool combining electronic patient records with clinical practice guidelines. | |
| Title: | ''Knowledge Representation and Evidenced-based Nursing in Electronic Health Records: Exploring Decision-making Processes and Developing Decision Support for Nurses'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Anna Ehrenberg, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | Capital Health |
| 4. Can a public health education campaign change public perceptions about back pain and reduce work-related disability? | |
| A recent mass media campaign in Australia emphasized that most cases of back pain get better rapidly with the maintenance of normal activity. Following the campaign, first-time workers' compensation back claims declined by over 15% and related medical costs decreased by 20%. Dr. Douglas Gross will evaluate a similar campaign in Alberta run through the support of the WCB. | |
| Title: | ''Alberta Back Pain Initiative Study: Evaluation of a Population Based Social Marketing intervention for the Prevention of Disability Associated with Back Pain'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Douglas P. Gross, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta, Alberta Health and Wellness |
| 5. What is the best therapeutic approach to treat depression? | |
| Dr. Anthony Joyce will evaluate the effectiveness of three approaches to the treatment of chronic depression: 1) medication only 2) medication plus psychotherapy and 3) medication followed by the addition of therapy. | |
| Title: | ''Chronic Depressive Illness and Comorbid Personality Disorder: An Evaluation of Three Treatments'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Anthony S. Joyce, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | |
| 6. How can we reduce complications for patients with catheters? | |
| Patients with long-term internal catheters often experience complications. Dr. Katherine Moore wants to determine whether washing the bladder out with an acidic solution called Suby G can reduce some of these complications. | |
| Title: | ''An Evaluation of Bladder Washouts with Suby G or Saline Versus Catheter Changes Alone in Patients with Long-term Indwelling Catheters'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Katherine N. Moore, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | University College London, University of Virginia, University of Southampton, Capital Health |
| 7. How effective is bed rest in preventing preterm birth? | |
| Dr. Beverly O'Brien and Co-Investigator Ann Sprague want to determine the current practices of obstetricians, midwives, and family physicians in recommending activity restriction or bed rest for women at risk for preterm birth. | |
| Title: | ''Activity Levels for Women at Risk for Preterm Birth - A Survey of Canadian Care Providers'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Beverley A. O'Brien, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta Ann Sprague, Doctoral Candidate, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | University of Ottawa, University of Manitoba |
| 8. Can information technology be used to improve care for hemodialysis patients? | |
| Dr. Marcello Tonelli will test an electronic tool connected to a patient database for assisting with the management of care for hemodialysis patients. | |
| Title: | ''Electronic Decision Support for Improving the Care of Hemodialysis Patients in Alberta'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Marcello A. Tonelli, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | Northern Alberta Renal Program, Southern Alberta Renal Program |
CALGARY
| 9. Does a public education program help people recognize the symptoms and get treatment for early psychosis? | |
| The Early Psychosis Public Education program is designed to help the public recognize the symptoms and access treatment for a first episode of psychosis. Earlier treatment reduces the impact of the negative outcomes that occur prior to help seeking and may have an impact on aspects of longer term outcome. | |
| Title: | ''Effect of a Psychosis Public Education Program: Population Impact and Clinical Outcome'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Donald E. Addington, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | Calgary Health Region |
| 10. Can physical activity help protect prostate cancer patients from the side effects of hormone therapy? | |
| Prostate cancer patients are increasingly treated with androgen deprivation treatment (ADT). However, ADT can have a great many side effects such as fatigue, depression, anemia, weight gain, and loss of muscle strength. Dr. Nicole Culos-Reed is investigating the effects of physical activity in protecting patients from these side effects. | |
| Title: | ''Project PALS (Prostate Activity Living Series): A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Physical Activity Program for the Treatment of Androgen Deprivation Syndrome in Men with Prostate Cancer'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Nicole S. Culos-Reed, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | |
| 11. What is the prevalence of chronic kidney disease among the elderly? | |
| Dr. Brenda Hemmelgarn will determine the level of chronic kidney disease among Alberta residents over 66 years of age and will assess access to care based on age and geographic location. | |
| Title: | ''Chronic Kidney Disease Among the Elderly in Alberta: Prevalence and Access to Care'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Brenda Hemmelgarn, Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | University of Alberta, Alberta Health and Wellness, Northern Alberta Renal Program, Southern Alberta Renal Program, Institute of Health Economics, Alberta Kidney Disease Network |
| 12. What methods of screening for colorectal cancer do Albertans prefer? | |
| There are a number of screening methods for colorectal cancer yet patient and physician preference is used to recommend one over another. Dr. Elizabeth McGregor will establish which methods Albertans prefer and why. | |
| Title: | ''Identifying and Reconciling Preferences for Colorectal Cancer Screening: Shaping the Future of Colorectal Cancer Screening in Alberta'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Elizabeth S. McGregor, Alberta Cancer Board |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | University of Calgary, University of Alberta, McMaster University, Calgary Health Region |
| 13. Can spirituality help with the symptoms of depression? | |
| Growing evidence suggests that spirituality may play a role in mental health. Sabine Moritz will study the effects of an 8 week home study programme addressing spiritual issues on a group of patients diagnosed with depression. | |
| Title: | ''Spirituality Teaching Programme for Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Sabine Moritz, Canadian Institute of Natural and Integrative Medicine |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | University of Calgary |
| 14. Does severe low blood sugar in pregnant diabetic women affect their babies? | |
| Dr. Daniele Pacaud will examine the intellectual functioning, attention, memory, language, and other neuropsychological functions of children born to mothers with type 1 diabetes who experienced severe hypoglycemia during pregnancy. | |
| Title: | ''Assessment of Consequences of Maternal Severe Hypoglycemia During Pregnancy in Women with Type 1 Diabetes on Offspring's Neuropsychological Functioning'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Daniele Pacaud, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | |
| 15. Is Alberta prepared to respond to a public health threat? | |
| Dr. Alan Shiell will examine and assess the preparedness of Alberta's health system to deal with public health threats such as West Nile virus or SARS. | |
| Title: | ''Public Health Preparedness and Responsiveness in Alberta: An Inter-organizational Relations Study of Public Health Preparedness and Response Networks'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Alan M. Shiell, Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | Capital Health |
| 16. Can we predict a child's risk of developmental problems due to the mother's alcohol use? | |
| Dr. Suzanne Tough hopes to develop a test to identify infants at risk for health and development problems related to maternal alcohol use. She will examine the relationship between a baby's level of a particular marker of prenatal alcohol exposure (fatty acid ethyl esters) and developmental difficulties at 18 months. | |
| Title: | ''The Association Between Level of Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters in Meconium and Child Development" |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Suzanne C. Tough, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | Alberta Children's Services, Calgary Health Region |
| 17. What is the best way to provide women with information about complementary therapies for menopause? | |
| Many women are turning to complementary and alternative therapies, such as herbs, vitamins, and plant estrogens to cope with menopausal symptoms. Dr. Marja Verhoef wants to determine the best ways to educate the public on the risks and benefits of these therapies. | |
| Title: | ''Complementary and Alternative Treatments for Menopause: Needs and Recommendations for Effective Information Transfer'' |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Marja J. Verhoef, Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary |
| Affiliated institutions / organizations: | Integrative Health Institute, Calgary Health Region (CHR), Canadian Health Network's Complementary and Alternative Health Care affiliate (CHN CAHC affiliate), the CAMera Network(CAM Education and Research Network of Alberta), Grace Women's Health Centre. |