IMHA On The Move - October 2012

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A Message From the Interim Scientific Director

October is host to Psoriasis and Lupus Awareness Month. Both psoriasis and lupus fit within IMHA’s research mandate and are conditions which significantly impact the health and well being of many Canadians. Psoriasis is a chronic, autoimmune disease characterized by red patches and scales on the skin. It is painful and can cause significant disability, with complications such as psoriatic arthritis. Lupus is a chronic disease that stems from inflammation and results in a wide range of symptoms. The most common type of lupus is systemic lupus erythematosus, a condition that can affect any part of the body, from skin and muscles to the lungs and heart. There are currently no cures for psoriasis or lupus, but during awareness months, it is important to recognize and thank all the researchers and teams that are working hard to change this.

This fall, in addition to other things, IMHA will participate in, and hold meetings with our Institute partners, Research Ambassadors, and Institute Advisory Board.

On October 16-17, 2012, IMHA will attend the inaugural Pathways to Health Equity for Aboriginal Peoples Partner Forum in Ottawa at the Museum of Nature. As was recently announced by the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, Pathways to Health Equity for Aboriginal Peoples is a CIHR Signature Initiative led by the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health (IAPH) and co-led by the Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) and the Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH). It is a $25 million dollar investment over a ten-year period. Pathways’ overall goal is to develop a better understanding of how to implement and scale up interventions and programs that will address First Nations, Inuit and Métis health inequities in four priority exemplar areas – Suicide, Obesity, Tuberculosis, and Oral Health.

Our Research Ambassadors (RAs) – a panel of non-scientist consumers identified by health charities relevant to IMHA – will meet with us on October 17 in Vancouver, BC. During this meeting, the RAs will choose the winning abstracts for the 2012 "IMHA Research Ambassadors Knowledge Translation Award". The RAs are looking to select lay abstracts that are well written, easily understood by a lay audience, comprehensive and highly informative. It is important that researchers be able to communicate their work to a general audience and a variety of stakeholders. IMHA hopes that this award will encourage success in this area. We will publish this year’s winners in an upcoming edition of IMHA – On The Move!

Our IAB meeting will take place in Halifax on November 6-7, 2012. We look forward to meeting our 3 new members and continuing our strategic planning. On the evening of the 6th we will host an open forum during which we hope to engage researchers, students and partner organizations in the Halifax and surrounding area.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding IMHA or the content of our newsletter please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at imha.iala.cihr.irsc@utoronto.ca. We want to hear from you.

Wishing you all a pleasant fall season,

Phillip Gardiner PhD, Interim Scientific Director
Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis

Funding Opportunities

For information on current funding opportunities, please visit IMHA's Funding Opportunities.

The application deadline for the following funding opportunities is October 15, 2012.

Catalyst Grant: eHealth Innovations
Application deadline: October 16, 2012.

Partnerships for Health System Improvement: 2012-2013           
An additional $6M in funding is available through the Partnerships for Health System Improvement (PHSI) program as part of the Fostering Innovation in Health Care initiative.
You can find out more about the Fostering Innovation in Healthcare initiative on their website.
Application deadline: November 1, 2012.

Team Grant – Health Challenges in Chronic Inflammation Initiative
Application deadline: November 15, 2012.

Master's Award: Winter 2013 Priority Announcement
Application deadline: February 1, 2013.

Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research: Ethics Update

Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research or SPOR is a strategic initiative that involves ensuring that the right patient receives the right clinical intervention at the right time, ultimately leading to improved health outcomes.

The goal is to better ensure the translation of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to the point-of-care, as well as to help the provinces and territories meet the challenge of delivering high quality, cost-effective health care. Further, it is to demonstrably improve health outcomes and enhance patients' health care experience through integration of evidence at all levels in the health care system.

The streamlining of research ethics review has been identified as an important element of the Strategy on Patient Oriented Research (SPOR).

A SPOR Advisory Committee was established in March, 2012 to provide advice to the SPOR National Steering Committee about streamlining multisite research ethics review. A major objective of the SPOR Advisory Committee is to identify tools and strategies to improve the ethics review process of patient-oriented research. As a result, two best-practice documents were developed summarizing the elements commonly found in application and consent forms. A broad public consultation will be conducted on them. They are being reviewed by the SPOR-Ethics Committee and should be publicly available in the fall.

CIHR has a number of Strategic Initiatives which involve collaboration between CIHR's Institutes as well as partnerships with organizations that include other federal and provincial government departments and agencies, national and provincial funding organizations and relevant territorial departments, health charities, non-governmental organizations, and industry. Their purpose is to offer strategic funding opportunities focusing on a specific research agenda.

Cochrane Corner

Cochrane Bone, Joint & Muscle Trauma Group

IMHA is updating the Cochrane Corner of our website to include reviews from The Cochrane Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group (BJMTG). The BJMTG aims to produce systematic reviews of interventions, tested within randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials, for the:

  • primary and secondary prevention of fractures, dislocations, and soft tissue injuries of the appendicular skeleton and associated soft tissues, and the prevention of complications or adverse effects of treatment;
  • management (treatment and rehabilitation) of patients with fractures, dislocations, and soft tissue injuries of the appendicular skeleton and associated soft tissues. Below are links to some of the group’s reviews published in 2012. For a complete list of reviews visit the BJMTG website.

New reviews

The IMHA Cochrane Corner also includes reviews from the:

Psoriasis Awareness

Nearly a million Canadians are affected by psoriasis…
Nearly a million Canadians are affected by psoriasis including IMHA IAB member Mr. Allan Stordy. Allan plays an important role on the IMHA advisory board as the consumer representative; providing a patient’s perspective on Institute initiatives and activities.

In light of Psoriasis Awareness Month, visit the Psoriasis Community Canada website which is dedicated to psoriasis education and support. You will also be able to find out more about Allan: Over two decades of living with psoriasis has taught Allan a lot - including the importance of a strong support network.

Allan is also a leader in the skin community. He is the president of the Canadian Skin Patient Alliance (CSPA), and was involved in the publication of Skin Deep: Report Card on Access to Dermatological Care and Treatment in Canada 2012 to inform Canadians and to provide policy-makers and influencers with the facts they need to help improve access to effective care for skin patients.

"This Report Card was born out of a need for us — the patients — to understand where the gaps are in access to care across the country. We have a sense that there are problems, but this report sets out a platform from which we, the CSPA, can advocate for patients where it is needed most. This is the first time Canadian skin patients have organized as a collective group to try to effect change." writes Allan Stordy in his introduction to the report.

This October 12-14, the CSPA will hold their Skin Matters Conference in Toronto, where both Allan and IMHA’s Scientific Director, Dr. Phil Gardiner, will make welcome & opening remarks.

Lupus Awareness

Did You Know?
Did you know that lupus is a complex multi-system condition linked to almost all of IMHA’s focus areas, including skin, muscle, bone, and arthritis? For example, people with Lupus have many risk factors for developing osteoporosis. These include, being a woman, lack of physical activity, vitamin D deficiency, medications (in particular, glucocorticoid medications). Skin disease is also a very common symptom of lupus, with rashes often being the first visual indication of the disease.
Sources: Lupus Canada Fact Sheet: Osteoporosis and Lupus [ PDF (523 KB) - external link ], Lupus Canada Fact Sheet: Skin Diseases [ PDF (77 KB) - external link ]

Learn how to reduce your risk of heart attack or stroke if you have lupus.
Dr. John Esdaile, IMHA IAB member and Scientific Director of the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, explains the cause of the increased risk of heart attacks and strokes in lupus patients and provides recommendations to reduce your risks.

Upcoming Events

For information on upcoming Cafés, please visit the CIHR Café Scientifique website.

Wired cafÉ:
Arthritis Management in a Digital World

Tuesday, October 16th 6:00 – 8:00 PM
In Person: W2 Media Café, 111 West Hastings Street, Vancouver BC
Or Online: Tune into our live webcast
and join the TweetChat via #WiredCafe

The rapid growth of digital media has provided tremendous opportunities to access health care when and where it is needed. From social networking tools and interactive websites, to animations and virtual realities, online and mobile technologies can improve access to treatment and support for people of all ages living with arthritis. Join us for lively discussion, debate and snacks.

Experts:
Dr. Lori Tucker
Pediatric Rheumatologist
BC Children’s Hospital;
Clinical Associate Professor, UBC

Dr. Linda Li
Physical Therapist and Senior Scientist,
Arthritis Research Centre;
Associate Professor, UBC

Dr. Diane Gromala
Canada Research Chair and Professor,
School of Interactive Arts and Technology, SFU

Dr. Anne Townsend
Medical Sociologist and Research Associate,
Dept of Occupational Science/Therapy, UBC

Moderator:
Pam Sherwin
Founder,
Children’s Arthritis Foundation

Meetings of Interest

Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Annual General Meeting
October 10-13, 2012
Regina, SK

Canadian Skin Patient Conference
October 12-14, 2012
Toronto, ON

ASBMR 2012 Annual Scientific Meeting
October 12-15, 2012
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Contact Us

CIHR - Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
Department of Molecular Genetics
Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
The Banting Institute
100 College St., Room 207B
Toronto, ON, M5G 1L5
Tel: 416-946-7243
Email: imha.iala.cihr.irsc@utoronto.ca

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