AIHS congratulates the Alberta researchers successful in CIHR’s Partnerships for Health System Improvement competition
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has announced the results of the 2011-2012 Partnerships for Health System Improvement (PHSI) competition. The program aims to strengthen Canada’s healthcare system by supporting research that targets the important health concerns of Canadians and that can be used to improve healthcare systems and delivery.
Of the 27 projects supported nationally, Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions provided partnership funding for three Alberta initiatives:
- Evaluating Self-Management and Educational Support in Extremely Obese Patients Awaiting Multidisciplinary Bariatric Care (EVOLUTION) - Extremely obese people (9% of Canadians) are at increased risk for health problems and early death. However waiting lists are very long for appropriate care for these patients. Dr. Raj Padwal, a researcher at the University of Alberta, will evaluate a self-management program for the patients waiting to receive specialized care for obesity.
- New Graduate Nurse Retention: A National Study of Factors Influencing New Graduate Nurses' Job and Career Transition in the First Two Years of Practice - Heavy workloads and stressful work environments contribute to turnover rates as high as 57% within the first two years of practice for new nurses. University of Alberta researcher Dr. Greta Cummings will study the worklife experiences of new graduate nurses in Canadian healthcare settings in the first two years of their careers to examine factors that cause new nurses to leave the profession.
- Working with Parents to Prevent Childhood Obesity: A Primary Care-based Study - Childhood obesity is an urgent public health issue with roughly one-quarter of Canadian children overweight. University of Alberta researcher Dr. Geoff Ball will work with an Edmonton primary care network to develop a program to involve parents in preventing childhood obesity.