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Research Centre
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Congratulations to Lindsay Burton on having her first peer-reviewed publication “An investigation of socio-demographic and breed related factors associated with the amount of walking dogs receive” accepted by the Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research. The publication is a result Lindsay's work in her third year Bachelor of Health Science course in Health Research Methods. Lindsay was co-supervised by Gavin McCormack and Chris Degeling. The main finding from her study was that established canine exercise requirements were associated with dog walking behaviour among owners. This finding suggests that promoting health in dogs could have positive benefits for human health.
Lynn McIntyre's research was featured on CBC News. Read the interview - "School nutrition programs failing Canadian children"
Congratulations, Dr. Potestio! On June 6, 2011 Melissa Potestio successfully defended her doctoral thesis entitled: Determinants of childhood weight status in Canadian boys and girls. This was an analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey 2.2 data with respect to physical activity, diet quality and social environment and their relationships with childhood weight status. She was recently appointed to a Scientist position with Alberta Health Services’ Public Health Innovation and Decision Support, Surveillance and Health Status Assessment, Population and Public Health based out of the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
CIHR funding in the amount of $261,194 over 3 years has been received by Lindsay McLaren (PI), N Campbell, JCH Emery, D Lorenzetti, Lynn McIntyre, and V Tarasuk. The title of the application: Population-level prevention and implications for socioeconomic inequities in health: dietary sodium as a case example.
Congratulations to Olayemi Olabiyi on his successful application for a PHIRNET post-doctoral Traineeship in Population Health Intervention Research.
Congratulations to Gavin McCormack on winning the prize for best Early Career Oral presentation for his presentation titled "The influence of sidewalk availability on walking behavior of adults residing in established neighborhoods" at the 10th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
The Urban One Health Team has received CIHR funding to study the overall health impact of designating public places for off-leash use, using a pre/post design that integrates perspectives of community agencies, municipalities, and users themselves. Gavin McCormack and Melanie Rock are the principal investigators; additional PHIRC-based members include Chris Degeling, James Greenwood-Lee, Lindsay McLaren, Dawn Rault, and Ann Toohey.
Dogs offer many benefits to community A new study by Prabh Lail, Melanie Rock and Gavin McCormack finds that dogs help their owners remain physically active year-round.
Read Penny Hawe's invited commentary in the CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health & Canadian Institute for Health Information - Canadian Population Health Initiative Population Health Intervention Research Casebook
Lindsay McLaren and Lynn McIntyre have completed a review and synthesis on the published literature on drinking water flouridation in Canada. Click here for the document.
Congratulations to Duyen Nguyen and Chris Degeling for their success in the PHIRNET National & International Research Internships in Population Health Intervention Research program. Their applications were determined to be eligible and of high relevance to the PHIRNET, to core competencies in population health intervention research, and to PHIRNET research priorities. Duyen will be working with Anand Sivaskara Kurup at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland; Chris will work with Wendy Rogers (Macquarie University) and Therese Riley (University of Melbourne).
Daniel Dutton, Duyen Nguyen, Dawn Rault and Ann Toohey have all been awarded a PHIRC CIHR scholarship for 2011-2012.
Congratulations to Ann Toohey, who has been offered admission to the PhD specialization in Population and Public Health at the University of Calgary.
Melanie Rock's research is featured in an article entitled Pets and public health in the Winter 2011 edition of Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions publication
Maasai herders tell story through pictures. Read about Adam Thomas' project in Tanzania in the University of Calgary U journal
The Calgary Sun carried a guest column in which PHIRC faculty members Drs Lindsay McLaren and Lynn McIntyre argue for fluoridation of tap water as a population health intervention that can reduce health inequity.
Alan Shiell is a collaborator on a successful CIHR operating grant application submitted by chief investigator, Evelyn Forget (University of Manitoba). The project is entitled "Is a guaranteed annual income feasible and sustainable in Canada?" Dr. Forget's application was ranked number one out of the 45 applications reviewed.
Penny Hawe, co-investigator with P.I. Jeannie Shoveller (University of British Columbia), has also received CIHR funding for a project entitled "Factors affecting implementation and scalability of online sexual health services".
Congratulations to Kenda Swanson on having her first peer-reviewed publication “The relations between driving behavior, physical activity and weight status among Canadian adults” accepted by the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. The publication comes from Kenda’s honours project where she examined the relationship between driving behavior, physical activity, and weight status using data from the EcoEUFORIA project. The main findings from her study suggests that time spent driving is positively associated with the likelihood of overweight and obesity independent of physical activity levels.
Melanie Rock and Gwendolyn Blue have written a conceptual paper about how human and animal health connect with one another to a surprising degree, due to the nature of complex systems. To develop this argument, the article highlights connections between Feline Spongiform Encephalopathy (FSE) and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (FSE) that have been shaped partly by biology, but also by marked differences in the treatment of cattle and housecats, in public policy and in everyday life. An electronic version is currently available from the website for Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Health, Illness, and Medicine
PHIRC will serve as the hub for a CIHR-funded research project investigating the impact of a recent school closure on the health of students and their families. Congratulations to Gavin McCormack and Alberto Nettel-Aguirre for leading this initiative!
Congratulations to Dawn Rault, who has been awarded a Graduate Student Entrance Scholarship from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Calgary.
Congratulations to Patrick Patterson for recently spearheading a successful research grant application to WorkSafeBC, titled '“What was he thinking?”: Cultural Factors in Manual Tree Felling Safety'
Congratulations to Jesse Matheson, who has been awarded a CIHR-funded postdoctoral fellowship from the Population Health Intervention Research Network (PHIRNET). http://www.phirnet.ca/96/Students_Trainees.phirnet
Chris Degeling is profiled in the latest issue of News Bulletin of the Australian Animal Studies Group
Prabh Lail and Adam Thomas have each been awarded a University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine bursary of $7,500 for the 2010/11 school year.
Karolina Kowelewski has been invited to complete a six month internship with the World Health Organization in Geneva starting in September - http://medicine.ucalgary.ca/about/kowalewski_WHO
Melanie Rock's research on diabetic pet care as a window into population health underpins a video available from the website of a key funder, Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions.
See: Fido can teach us a few tricks... Study recommends leveraging love of pets for better human health
Shanna Sunley, a former research assistant to Melanie Rock, has been accepted into the Epidemiologist Development Program with the Public Health Agency of Canada. After completing this assignment, Shanna will enter join the Government of Canada's Recruitment of Policy Leaders program, a highly competitive "fast-track" recruitment program into senior policy analyst positions.
Lindsay Bradshaw, Executive Assistant to the Population Health Intervention Research Centre, was nominated by her Centre colleagues for, and is a successful receipient of, the University of Calgary's "U Make A Difference" award.
Congratulations to Christopher Degeling, who has been awarded a Post-Doctoral Entrance Fellowship from the University of Calgary's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
Congratulations to Ann Toohey, who has been awarded a Graduate Entrance Scholarship from the University of Calgary's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
Congratulations to Duyen Nguyen and Ann Toohey, both successful recipients of Population and Public Health Studentships in Population Health Intervention Research awarded by this Centre.
Dan Dutton, PhD student in Community Health Sciences, has been awarded a Population Intervention Research scholarship funded by the Population Health Intervention Research Centre.
At the University of Calgary Leaders in Medicine Research Symposium held 20 November 2009, Prabh Lail and Adam Thomas each presented a poster based on their MSc theses in population and public health. This poster session allowed medical students who are also pursuing graduate degrees to present their research. Adam placed top runner-up in his group, while Prabh took top honours in her group.
Melanie Rock's paper comparing perceptions of Kraft Dinner in food-secure and food-insecure Canadian households was selected as a highlight in Research with Impact, the CIHR's annual report for 2008/9. This project would not have been possible without support from Dr Louise Potvin, who supervised Dr Rock's CHSRF/CIHR postdoctoral fellowship. Dr Rock, a CIHR New Investigator and AHFMR Population Health Investigator, co-authored this paper with Krista Rondeau, MPH, RD and with Dr Lynn McIntyre, who holds a CIHR Chair in Gender and Health.
The screenshot from the report is posted at www.melanierock.net
Cherie Nicholson, MSc student in Community Health Sciences, is the successful recipient of a Population and Public Health Studentship in Population Health Intervention Research awarded by this Centre.
Click here for a pdf version of the Canadian Population Health Initiative recently released report "Mentally Healthy Communities: A Collection of Papers", which includes a chapter written by Penny Hawe.
The Pan American Health Organization Guide to Economic Evaluation in Health Promotion, co-authored by Alan Shiell, is available online.
Gavin McCormack recently received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship which will enable him to continue his postdoctoral work on the EcoEUFORIA project as well as examining the influence of individual and area level socioeconomic status on the relationship between the built environment and neightbourhood-specific physical activity.
Read Melanie Rock's letter to the editor, re: Kraft Dinner, published in the Saturday Herald (Jan. 10, 2009).
Thank you to all who participated in the Calgary Neighbourhood and Physical Activity postal questionnaire in the Summer of 2008. For each completed questionnaire we received, the Population Health Intervention Research Centre made a donation to the respondents' choice of either the United Way of Calgary, the Calgary Humane Society or Kidsport Calgary. $500 in total was donated.
Human-animal connections in Population Health Interventions. See "Opportunities" tab above for more information.
Looking at how neighbourhoods promote health. Read how Alan Shiell and his research team are investigating the correlations between urban design, physical activity and health.
Kraft Dinner® not a comfort food for people who are forced to eat it, Melanie Rock's study has found.
Post Doctoral or PhD Fellowships in Intervention Research. Click here for details.
The inaugural Health Promotion at the Animal-Human Interface Graduate Research Stipend has been awarded to Prabh Lail, to support research on whether dog ownership influences physical activity patterns in Calgary neighbourhoods. This stipend was made possible by AHFMR and CIHR funds awarded to Melanie Rock, her MSc thesis supervisor. Prabh has also received a Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship, awarded on a competitive basis to graduate students enrolled at the University of Calgary, to support her master's research project.
Congratulations to Daniel Sperber, who has been chosen as the valedictorian of the graduating Bachelor of Health Sciences class. Daniel, whose thesis regarded the economics of automotive cellular phone bans, was chosen based on his academic record and the results of a short essay competition.
Congratulations to Patrick Patterson upon receiving a Queen Elizabeth II Doctoral Scholarship from the province of Alberta. Patrick’s project will use an anthropological approach to study variations in how employees in an Alberta petroleum firm view safety and health. The project will explore the implications of ideas about safety and health for employees’ potential responses to safety and health initiatives.
Congratulations also to Prabh Lail upon receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Masters Scholarship from the province of Alberta. Prabh's project uses survey methodology to investigate whether dog ownership influences seasonal variations in physical activity.
Congratulations to Dr. Gavin McCormack for receiving an AHFMR Fellowship Award for 2007. During his postdoctoral fellowship Dr McCormack will work on the EcoEUFORIA project. The project addresses two questions: what is the effect of the built environment on physical activity, and is improving the walkability of neighbourhoods a cost-effective means of increasing physical activity? In addition, Dr McCormack will investigate the influence of season on setting specific physical activity and how this impacts on the potential cost-effectiveness of investments in improving local environments.
Congratulations to Dr. Gavin McCormack for receiving a 2007 ‘outstanding postgraduate research student’ award from the Public Health Association of Australia. The award recognizes the excellence of Gavin’s PhD research, his contribution and commitment to advancing public health in Australia through his work for the Physical Activity Task Force, and his great potential as a public health academic and leader.
Congratulations to new graduate, Colleen Davison, on passing her PhD thesis defense recently. Colleen has been with the Centre since October 2003. The title of her thesis is "Engagement and the Northern School Setting: A critical ethnography among the Tlicho First Nation of Behchoko, NWT"
Congratulations to Alan Shiell who has been recently awarded a CIHR Chair in the Economics of Population Health.
Congratulations to Steven Persaud, who has accepted an offer of admission from the University of Calgary's medical school. Steven holds a BHSc (Hon.) Health & Society from the University of Calgary, and has been contributing to a research project on how members of the public view food insecurity, in particular, and poverty, more generally.
Congratulations to Prabh Lail and Adam Thomas, who have both been offered admission to medical school at the University of Calgary. Prabh will begin her MD degree in 2009 upon completing her MSc degree requirements in Population and Public Health, while Adam will register in the MD/MSc program so as to complete his MSc in Population and Public Health before beginning the MD degree in 2010.
Congratulations to Adam Thomas who has been awarded a 2009 Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada.
Congratulations to Patrick Patterson upon receiving a second Queen Elizabeth II Doctoral Scholarship from the province of Alberta.
Congratulations to Gavin McCormack on the receipt of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship.
Reports, Resources, and Links
Converting Alberta’s wealth into health: A proposal for disease prevention and health promotion in Alberta. In November 2007, the Canada West Foundation released Alberta's Energy Legacy, a book collecting ten ideas from ten visionary thinkers on how Alberta's non-renewable resource wealth can be used to make a lasting investment in the province's future. Penny Hawe and Alan Shiell were asked to come up with an idea that would transform Alberta in terms of health and wellness. They want to move prevention and health promotion from “nice to have” to “have to have” by creating public demand for disease prevention and health promotion policies and programs. For a link to their Editorial on this in the Calgary Herald (date 26 October 2007) click here. To download a copy of the complete book chapter, click here.
Community development evaluation. Click this link to view a new literature review and reference list produced for one of our community partners - Identifying and Using Community Development Measurement Tools: An Introductory Guide
To find out more about population health intervention research, check out the latest newsletter from the CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health - "Spotlight on Research
Archived news
To view archived news items, click here.