New research unit cultivates community roots

By Karen Thomas

he University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine has opened the doors of a grassroots research unit that has its home base at the University of Calgary Medical Clinic – North Hill. The Primary Care Research and Development Group is designed to support research done by family doctors in collaboration with patients and their families in clinics and communities across Alberta.

“ Eighty percent of the care that is delivered to Canadians is delivered by family physicians,” says Dr. Peter Norton, head, family medicine, U of C’s Faculty of Medicine / Calgary Health Region. “This unit is devoted to finding effective strategies and efficiencies that will mean better care for Albertans.”

“Our mandate is to engage the public and a broad range of care providers, be they doctors, nurses or family members, to identify the important questions we should be studying,” says Neil Drummond, PhD, associate professor, Family Medicine and Community Health Sciences. “Once we have answers to those questions, a key feature of this unit is that we’ve committed to ensuring the new information gets into the hands of care providers.”

Research in this group is funded by: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Alberta Health and Wellness, Canadian Institute for Health Information, University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine and Calgary Health Region.

Current research includes:

• Canada-wide collaboration between family caregivers, patients and physicians about dementia — Dr. Neil Drummond
• Development of medical school curriculum focussed on aboriginal health —
  Dr. Lindsay Crowshoe, assistant professor, family medicine
• Flu-watch: a network of family doctors across Alberta volunteer to do surveillance on who gets the flu, when and what kind – Dr. Jim Dickinson, professor, family medicine
• Complementary therapies in pregnancy – Dr. Maeve O’Beirne, assistant professor, family medicine and community health sciences
• Evaluation of locum program for physicians in Calgary Health Region – Dr. Wendy Tink, regional clinical department head, family medicine