Major Grant for Community Care Team Research Program
Professors Raisa Deber and Paul Williams of HPME have been awarded a CIHR Team Grant of $2.5 million for a program of research on the balance of care in home and community services and health human resources. The team is made up of an international, interdisciplinary group of researchers and community partners, including David Challis (University of Manchester, UK) and Mike Saks (University of Lincoln, UK). The new grant will build on the work of the From Medicare to Home and Community (M-THAC) research unit which will be wrapping up in April 2007. More details

New Chair in Health Policy and System Design Announced
HPME will be home to one of eight new Ontario Research Chairs in Public Policy recently announced by the Ontario Government. The Ontario Research Chair in Health Policy and System Design is one of three Chairs awarded to the University of Toronto. Winners were selected from 37 proposals submitted by 14 Ontario universities. The Chairs are expected to increase the number of leading-edge researchers, improve graduate education and build the capacity of Ontario universities to respond to key public policy issues.

Study to Explore Trends in Nurse Transitions Across Sectors
A study by HPME faculty member Audrey Laporte and colleagues is determining what leads nurses to stay in their jobs, switch sectors or leave nursing altogether. This follow-up study continues the analysis of a longitudinal dataset of 191,916 Ontario nurses. In addition, investigators will collect survey data from a sample of nurses working across care sectors (e.g., community, hospital, long-term care). This CIHR-funded study will examine changes within sectors and explore determinants at the individual, job, employer and workplace level. More details

Does 'Value-Based Purchasing' Improve Care?
Can value-based purchasing (VBP) help to alter clinical behaviour and improve the quality of care? Should resources be invested in developing this type of incentive system? This CIHR-funded study, led by HPME faculty Mark Dobrow and Louise Lemieux-Charles is examining the impact of VBP on quality of care in the Ontario cancer services system. The study will provide greater understanding of the clinical accountability relationship and the impact of incentives on clinical behaviour change. More details

Can e-Health Help Adolescents with Scoliosis?
A new study by HPME faculty member James Wright and colleagues is exploring the use of the internet to provide social support, knowledge and coping skills for adolescents with scoliosis. Working with adolescents and their families, the team will develop and assess an evidence-based website with peer support for adolescents who are about to undergo surgery. The researchers hope to contribute both to enhanced health outcomes for these patients and to the development of future e-health interventions for children undergoing other major surgical procedures. The study is funded by CIHR.

Adalsteinn Brown Appointed ADM, Health System Strategy
HPME faculty member Steini Brown has been appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of the Health System Strategy division in the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). This appointment follows his secondment to the MOHLTC Health Results Team as the Lead, Health Information Management, in September 2004. Steini will continue to hold an adjunct Faculty position in HPME, teach courses and engage in research.

Workshop Focuses on Research Leadership & Management
A Summary Report is now available from a national workshop on Research Leadership and Management held in Toronto this past October. A planning committee chaired by Louise Lemieux-Charles (Chair, HPME) organized the event to address the need for leadership and management training for researchers. The workshop was attended by researchers and representatives from funding bodies, universities, government and industry across Canada. Discussions on the development of a leadership and management development program will continue at the spring 2006 meeting of the National Alliance of Provincial Health Research Organizations.

Professor and Student Honoured with COACH Awards
HPME faculty member Lynn Nagle and PhD student Elizabeth Borycki have been awarded two of the top national awards in the field of health informatics by COACH, Canada's Health Informatics Association.

Lynn Nagle received the COACH Leadership in the Field of Health Informatics Award. Before her recent transition to the position of Senior Nursing Advisor to Canada Health Infoway, Lynn was the Senior Vice President for Technology and Information Management at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Elizabeth Borycki received the 2005 Steven Huesing Scholarship Award given to the most promising new student researcher in the field of health informatics in Canada. While completing her dissertation, Elizabeth has accepted a position as Assistant Professor, School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria. This is the second consecutive year that HPME students have won this prestigious award.

Events

Noralou Roos to Give Keynote at HPME Research Day

HPME's annual research day provides an opportunity for faculty and students to profile their research, exchange knowledge and interact with national or international leaders in health services research. This year's keynote speaker, Professor Noralou Roos (University of Manitoba), will talk about her experience with the use of routinely collected administrative data in conducting research that impacts health policy and practice. Noralou Roos is the founding director of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) where she currently holds a Canada Research Chair in Population Health.

HPME Research Day will be held on May 3, 2006.