Three CHÉOS Scientists were announced as recipients of Scholar Awards from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) this week: Drs. Sarah Munro, Joseph Puyat, and Wei Zhang.
The MSFHR Scholar Awards are aimed at health researchers in B.C. who are in the first five years of their appointment at an academic institution. The funding is intended to help researchers foster their independent research career and develop new research programs.
This year, 20 Scholars were chosen from a number of applicants. Read more about Drs. Munro, Puyat, and Zhang’s proposed research below:
Dr. Sarah Munro
Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, UBC
Project Title: Implementation of Shared Decision Making to Improve Person- and Family-Centred Care
Award Title: MSFHR/CHÉOS 2019 Scholar Award
Dr. Munro’s Scholar project will focus on the implementation of shared decision-making (SDM) in healthcare. SDM refers to the process of patients and care providers making joint care decisions based on their values and preferences and the risk and benefits of the treatment options. With a focus on maternal health, Dr. Munro will study how best to implement SDM evidence into policy and practice through knowledge translation and implementation science approaches.
Dr. Joseph Puyat
Assistant Professor, School of Population and Public Health, UBC
Project Title: Exploring Novel Approaches to Reduce the Prevalence of Depression
Award Title: MSFHR/CHÉOS 2019 Scholar Award
Dr. Puyat’s Scholar project will address the increasing burden of depression in the Canadian population. Despite increasing efforts to expand mental health services, the prevalence and impact of depression has not changed in the last two decades. Dr. Puyat’s research program will go beyond mental health services to study potential treatments and programs at the individual, community, and health system levels that could reduce the burden of depression in the population.
Dr. Wei Zhang
Assistant Professor, School of Population and Public Health, UBC
Project Title: Health, Work and Society: Improving Health Economic Evaluations
Award Title: MSFHR/CHÉOS 2019 Scholar Award
Dr. Zhang’s Scholar project will develop methods of accurately estimating the effect of healthcare services on work productivity in patients and caregivers. Currently, changes in work productivity, and some other types of societal costs, are often not included in economic analyses of health interventions because they are difficult to measure. Accurately including these costs in future economic evaluations will lead to improved decisions about which healthcare options will receive funding and which will not and increase investment in the healthcare options that allow patients and their caregivers to continue working and stay well.
The Scholar Awards have been granted since 2001; the award term is 5 years. Recent recipients at CHÉOS include: Drs. Anne Gadermann (2018), Ehsan Karim (2018), Skye Barbic (2018), Mark Harrison (2017), Sean Barbour (2014), Jag Gill (2014), and Martha Mackay (2014).
MSFHR also announced the awardees of their 2019 Trainee Awards. Dr. Erika Ono, who is supervised by CHÉOS Scientist Dr. Amy Salmon, received support for her project “A Principles-Focused Evaluation Of The BC Children’s Hospital Self-Injurious Behaviours Clinic”.
