April 21, 2006 Source: :
http://newsrelease.uwaterloo.ca/news.php?id=4719 UW-led research team receives provincial innovation award WATERLOO, Ont. (April 21, 2006) -- A research team led by the University of Waterloo's "ideas for Health" research group is one of five recipients of the inaugural Ministry of Health and Long Term Care Innovation Award. The team's research was selected from more than 600 projects submitted for consideration for a showcase event held this week on health innovations at the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre. The UW team's full name is Innovation in Data, Evidence and Applications for Health or ideas for Health. John Hirdes, a UW professor of health studies and gerontology as well as the scientific director of the Homewood Research Institute, is the principal investigator of two research projects on primary care and mental health, which received $3.5 million in combined funding over two years from the Primary Health Care Transition Fund. "The central aim of this research is to demonstrate ways to make health care in Ontario function as a system rather than a collection of isolated islands that don't communicate or work together," Hirdes said. George Smitherman, Ontario Minister of Health and Long Term Care, presented the award to Hirdes at a ceremony Thursday during the Celebrating Innovations in Health Care Expo in Toronto. The study spans the health-care system with 15 different sub-projects conducted in primary care (doctors' offices and nurse practitioner clinics), home care, long-term care, acute care, in-patient psychiatry and community mental health agencies. By the time the study is finished in August 2006, it will have reached 13,000 people who are receiving health care from 89 organizations and about 750 staff will have been trained in new techniques for identifying and responding to the health needs of Ontarians. The research activities include the testing of new assessment, screening and risk-appraisal systems for Community Care Access Centres (CCACs), emergency rooms and crisis units in psychiatry. Several projects deal with improving collaboration and communication between different sectors of the health-care system. For example, five CCACs pilot-tested a new approach to sharing health data with family physicians and providing client education on falls, depression, medication, flu shots and breast screening. The mental health research embraces the creation of new methods for benchmarking the quality of in-patient psychiatric services, testing new care planning strategies and developing a Geropsychiatry Placement System (GPS). The system will aid in identifying the most appropriate care setting for older adults with mental health needs. Roger Mannell, dean of UW's faculty of applied health sciences, said that research by the ideas for Health group exemplifies the faculty's "commitment to the development of knowledge and programs that can have a positive impact on the health and well-being of Canadians." "This award recognizes the potential of the ideas for Health research to improve Ontario's health-care system by identifying methods of integrating care, improving quality and using high-quality health data to inform to key policy decisions," said John Milloy, MPP for Kitchener Centre. "The University of Waterloo takes pride in being a recognized leader in innovation and knowledge translation," UW president David Johnston said. "John Hirdes and his colleagues are doing outstanding research, tackling problems that concern us all in a way that will have a lasting, positive impact on the health of Canadians." The research also has a strong international connection. Hirdes and Katherine Berg are fellows of the interRAI consortium (www.interrai.org) of researchers from 26 countries. The ideas for Health initiative is drawing a great deal of attention from other countries that are experiencing the same health care challenges as Ontario. As part of the final phase of the research, Hirdes and Dr. Edgardo Pérez will host a 10-country research meeting to plan for the dissemination of the mental health findings and launch a multinational collaborative on in-patient and community psychiatry. Pérez is the chief executive officer of the Homewood Health Centre and director general of the Homewood Research Institute. "The University of Waterloo is well-known as a world-class institution doing innovative research," Waterloo MP Andrew Telegdi said. "As this award shows, health is one of the areas where UW researchers are making important contributions at the provincial, national and international levels." Among project co-investigators are: Trevor Smith, Paul Stolee and Jose Arocha (University of Waterloo); Katherine Berg, Diane Doran (University of Toronto); Edgardo Pérez (Homewood Health Centre, Homewood Research Institute); Paula Fletcher (Wilfrid Laurier University); Erin Tjam (St. Mary's Hospital, Kitchener); Gary Teare (Saskatchewan Health Quality Council); Terrie Tucker, Shailesh Nadkarni (Centre for Addictions and Mental Health); David Conn (Baycrest Health Centre); Brent Diverty (Canadian Institute for Health Information); Brant Fries (University of Michigan); John Morris (Hebrew Senior Life, Harvard University); and Terry Rabinowitz (Fletcher Allen Health Care, University of Vermont). The team also consists of about 25 research and clinical staff members, along with two Knowledge Exchange Boards with over 20 senior advisers from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, service providers and professional associations.
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