Two Casebooks Launched Today by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Newswise — Improving healthcare for newborn babies at risk; reducing workplace injury and illness; shaping community action plans for early childhood development; and helping Canada's minority communities cope with the Tsunami disaster: these and other Canadian stories about transforming research results into action can be found in two casebooks launched today by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

"These casebooks offer compelling examples of how research evidence gets used in strengthening Canada's health care system and improving the health of Canadians. They also provide a rare glimpse behind the scenes, to show what works, and what doesn't work, in getting research evidence into practical use," said Dr. Morris Barer, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research.

The two knowledge translation casebooks: Moving Population and Public Health Knowledge into Action by the CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health, and the Canadian Population Health Initiative and Evidence in Action, Acting on Evidence by the CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, were published to help researchers, policy-makers and community members learn from the experiences of others. Compiling this information is an important step to ensure that new knowledge shapes health policy, program delivery and, ultimately, improves the health of Canadians.

"I hope this collection of stories inspires other researchers, policy makers and community members to find new innovative ways to move research into action," said Dr. John Frank, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health. "These examples teach us that research has the biggest impact on improving the health of citizens when it reflects the real needs of communities."

Examples of stories about moving research into real world application include:

The Canadian Neonatal Network (CNN) captures information about treatments given at neonatal units across Canada. These data have already helped one institution reduce the number of infections by half giving Canada's premature babies and high risk newborns the best possible chance at healthy lives;

The Eastern Canada Consortium on Workplace Health and Safety is trying to reduce the hundreds of thousands of employees involved in industrial accidents each year and the more than $10 billion these problems cost in Canada.

University, government and workplace collaborations are helping compile lessons learned in Quebec and translating them into improvements in workplace health and safety in Newfoundland;

The Human Early Learning Partnership is providing data to shape community action plans in British Columbia. This information is crucial in order to reduce the number of children (currently 25% in BC) who arrive on the first day of school challenged in fundamental aspects of cognitive, language, social, physical and emotional development;

The Local Distress Relief Network (LDRN), created by a group of concerned scientists, physicians and community leaders, provided information, referral and culturally appropriate health care to the Toronto Tamil Community to help them deal with grief and loss during the Tsunami of December 2004.

"This collection of stories highlights the tremendous potential of population and public health research in shaping more effective policy and practices in communities across Canada," says Elizabeth Gyorfi-Dyke, Director of the Canadian Population Health Initiative. "We hope these casebooks will be valuable tools for policy- and decision-makers to influence health."

Knowledge Translation (KT) has played an integral part in the development of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) since its inception in June 2000. CIHR envisions KT as the exchange, synthesis and ethically-sound application of knowledge for the benefit of Canadians through improved health, more effective services and products, and a strengthened health care system. The KT casebooks launched today provide concrete illustrations of how health care system, population and public health, and research knowledge have been translated in Canada.

More stories about Canadian research in action can be found in the KT casebooks on the CIHR web site at http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to catalyze its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to close to 10,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada. http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca

The CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) supports research into the complex interactions (biological, social, cultural, environmental) which determine the health of individuals, communities, and global populations; and into the application of that knowledge to improve the health of both populations and individuals.

The CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) supports outstanding research, capacity-building and knowledge translation initiatives designed to improve the way health care services are organized, regulated, managed, financed, paid for, delivered and used in the interest of improving the health and quality of life of all Canadians.

Summaries of highlighted stories and complete casebooks available at http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca

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