UVic health researchers share more than $800,000 in funding

Projects ranging from dementia patient care and health literacy to the benefits of a telenurse program for socially isolated older adults are the UVic recipients of more than $800,000 in the latest round of research grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), announced last month.

UVic researchers are leading or co-leading the following funded projects:

Dr. Neena Chappell (centre on aging/sociology) receives $103,556 a year for three years to examine how dementia patients in long-term care facilities benefit from receiving individualized care—care that takes personality differences and personal likes and dislikes into account. The research will be conducted at 19 facilities in Greater Victoria, the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan.

Drs. Denise Cloutier-Fisher (centre on aging/ geography) and Karen Kobayashi (sociology) will use a one-year, $46,867 grant to conduct a pilot study of telenurse outreach intervention for socially isolated older adults in B.C. Socially isolated and lonely older adult populations are vulnerable to higher levels of service utilization and poorer health outcomes.

Drs. Irv Rootman (human & social development) and Deborah Begoray (curriculum & instruction) have been awarded $100,546 a year for three years to develop a measurement tool for Canadian middle and high schools to determine levels of health literacy among students. This includes examining the ability of young people to obtain and evaluate health information and fully participate in the health care system.

Dr. Kelli Stajduhar (centre on aging/nursing) receives $70,181 a year for three years to study communication between cancer patients and their health care professionals from the perspective of the patient. By understanding how the needs, preferences and priorities of cancer patients change over time, Stajduhar and her colleagues hope to improve communication between doctors and their patients.