Three researchers from Saskatchewan Polytechnic have received Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) Establishment Grants, each valued at $119,000. SHRF Establishment Grant allures and retains early-career researchers who have the expertise and the knowledge needed to build successful programs of research.
All the research has been going on for a couple of years to this point, only receiving funding for their projects recently. The research is all community focused, taking place around the communities instead of at the campuses. Two of the researchers are from the Saskatoon campus and the other one is from the Regina campus.
“This is the first time Saskatchewan Polytechnic has received SHRF Establishment Grants,” says Dr. Madeline Press, Sask Polytech Centre for Health Research, Innovation and Scholarship (CHRIS) director. “Congratulations to our three grant recipients! These grants will help Sask Polytech health researchers continue the excellent work they are doing in the areas of mental health, caregiver resources and older adult loneliness. Sask Polytech’s Centre for Health Research, Innovation and Scholarship continues to make a difference in healthcare research in Saskatchewan.”
The recipients of Sask Polytech’s Establishment Grant are Michelle Pavloff, Natasha Hubbard Murdoch, and Heather Nelson. All the researchers have received $119,000 towards their applied research project.
"Often the health funding is given to university researchers who have built their research on a single idea and have built it over the years. The health funding traditionally goes to researchers with long-established backgrounds of doing the same research,” says Dr. Press, Sask Polytech Centre for Health Research, Innovation and Scholarship (CHRIS) director “Sask Polytech, because we do applied research, so we are looking more towards doing research for organizations, health authorities, and communities. We generally were not competitive in the past to get these grants.”
Pavloff announced the Farmer and Rancher Mental Health (FARMh) applied research project in 2021 to study key features of a mental health support system for ranchers and farmers that is culture friendly. The long-term goal of this research is to develop a FARMh network. It will be a research-focused network that will provide agricultural producers and their families with interventions in the hopes of supporting their mental health. An on-going program will also be established by the network, to address mental health challenges, with a goal of making Saskatchewan a leader in agricultural mental health research.
Caregivers are crucial to ensuring patients or residents remain and age at home in their community. The researcher Hubbard Murdoch focuses on the experience of caregiving. She has been working towards understanding how to create a sense of community and inclusion for caregivers. A quarter of Saskatchewan residents are caregivers for a significant other, many are supporting their significant others living in the community who may require care from differing health care professionals. The interprofessional team headed by Hubbard will co-construct knowledge translation initiatives to support Saskatchewan caregivers.
The UN expressed the need for research on reducing loneliness among older adult, in 2022. Nelson’s research will examine if a weekly phone call with a volunteer with older adults living in personal care homes. The hope is to reduce loneliness and improve moods. Volunteers will be paired with an older adult to complete a weekly 20–40-minute phone conversation for six months. A survey will then be completed to assess their loneliness and moods,
“I would like to congratulate our CHRIS applied research team on these exciting funding announcements,” says Dr. Susan Blum, associate vice-president, Applied Research and Innovation. “These three SHRF Establishment Grant applied research projects will help find solutions to Saskatchewan health challenges and research questions. Our nursing and health science researchers are doing important and innovative work in Saskatchewan. Applied research at Sask Polytech is where ideas meet reality, delivering practical solutions to everyday problems.”
Sask Polytech’s Centre for Health Research Innovation and Scholarships (CHRIS) provides support to faculty in the School of Health Sciences and the School of Nursing. They work with the faculty to achieve their scholarly goals and aspirations. Through CHRIS, members of faculty can access support for grant and funding applications, publication and presenting, and in-service sessions on a variety of topics.
To learn more information on these projects and about CHRIS visit https://saskpolytech.ca/about/departments/CHRIS/.
