L-R: Kim McGrail, Carolyn Gotay, Dermot Kelleher, the Hon. Jane Philpott, Minnie Downey, the Hon. Terry Lake, and Kent Loftsgard.
The ministers of health for Canada and British Columbia came to UBC Nov. 9 to officially launch a major scientific resource for B.C. researchers and patients.
The Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials (SUPPORT) Unit will provide services for researchers, patients, health care providers, and health system decision-makers. Working within the province’s newly created Academic Health Sciences Network, the unit will engage patients to identify their needs and set priorities for research. It joins similar units in other province and regions of the country to create a pan-Canadian platform for sharing information and best practices.
The unit was developed under Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR). It will be supported by funding of nearly $80 million over five years from the Government of Canada, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and from the Government of British Columbia through the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.
The SUPPORT Unit’s Scientific Director is health economist Stirling Bryan, a Professor in the School of Population and Public Health and Director the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation.
“Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research shows how the federal government is working with provinces and territories to support health care innovation and improve health care for Canadians,” said the Honourable Jane Philpott, Canada’s Minister of Health, in an event held at the School of Population and Public Health. “I commend my colleague Minister Lake for his government’s support for this initiative and wish all those involved with the SUPPORT Unit success in their important work.”
The unit has two main roles: providing services to researchers, patients, health care providers and health system decision makers, and facilitating initiatives identified as provincial priorities.
Along with partner organizations, a provincial hub based in Vancouver will serve stakeholders within the Vancouver region and provide province-wide services. Regional centres are being developed to be the first point of contact for stakeholders located outside of the Vancouver region. Gradually, the unit will assist with patient engagement, research navigation, data access and use, knowledge translation, and training and capacity development.
“The BC SUPPORT Unit is excited to be working with our partners to support patients, researchers, heath care providers and health system decision makers throughout B.C.,” said Dermot Kelleher, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, a board member of the BC Support Unit and the Academic Health Science Network. “Our main role is to support these groups in engaging patients much more often in how research is planned and how it’s conducted. We’re also taking on important roles in helping researchers do their work faster and transfer the knowledge they gain to the health system sooner.”
In the beginning, the unit is focusing on serving members of research teams who are applying for SPOR funding competitions. In 2017, it will expand to serve a broader group.
The unit is also creating communities of practice in particular methodolgies, and helping to fund, plan and facilitate access to a multi-partner provincial data platform that will be separate but integral to the Unit.
“Patients are at the heart of our health care system, so it’s time to focus on research that meets their needs best and that is what the SUPPORT Unit is all about,” said the Honourble Terry Lake, B.C.’s Minister of Health. “The Unit will build on the work already underway through our #BCTECH strategy, which is implementing key actions that will improve researchers’ access to data and support more patient-oriented research right here in B.C.”
Robert McMaster, the Executive Associate Dean, Research in the Faculty of Medicine, is a board member of the BC SUPPORT Unit, and Martin Schechter, a Professor and former Founding Director of the School of Population and Public Health, sits on the five-member board of the Academic Health Sciences Network. Kim McGrail, an Associate Professor in the School of Population and Public Health, is the BC SUPPORT Unit’s data lead.
“British Columbia has remarkable strengths in health research,” said Jane Aubin, Chief Scientific Officer of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. “We are enormously pleased to be leveraging these strengths in establishing a SUPPORT Unit in the province. The SUPPORT Unit will make important contributions to the SPOR initiative while making a difference for patients in B.C.”