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applemag.ca 1 Spring 2014 | Issue 13 be healthy | be well | be informed applemag.ca Celebrating research A hotbed of health innovations p 32 Why we research p 38 Meal Deal: Almost spring p 27 Now in partnership with:
Transcript of Download Apple Magazine – Spring 2014
applemag.ca 1
Spring 2014 | Issue 13be healthy | be well | be informed
applemag.ca
Celebrating research
A hotbed of health innovations p 32
Why we research p 38
Meal Deal: Almost spring p 27
Now in partnership with:
applemag.ca 2
4 apple Spring 2014
Spring 2014
Departments
7 AHS MESSAGE
Celebrating health research in Alberta
8 YOUR COMMENTS
BITES
9 Research helps health care improve one step at a time
The right helmet is your head’s best protection
Reduced wait times for children’s services
New test detects colon cancer sooner
FIRST THINGS
12 Curiosity thrills the cat The discovery of knowledge drives many academic, scientific and artistic pursuits
14 Patients become researchers to help other patients
Program brings more voices to health care in Alberta
15 Watching diseases to stop their spread Provincewide data collection helps
shape health-care services
16 BUILDING BRAINS
Translating brain science into stories Turning science into part of our everyday lives
18 GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Study looks at women’s weight gain during pregnancyResearchers strive to find ways to support expecting moms
20 THE EARLY YEARS
Study prompts community actionAlberta coalitions work to support strong childhood development
22 YOUTHFUL
The hoopla over the hookahStudy found good reason to ban public use of shisha
32 Hotbed of health-care innovationTreatments and technologies discovered by Albertans
16 20
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FOR APPLE
BY EWAN NICHOLSON
Spring 2014
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38 Why we research Research is central to the quality, innovative health care Albertans want
BY CAITLIN CRAWSHAW
41 Smoothing the research road in Alberta New programs aim to improve the health and health care of Albertans
BY SCOTT ROLLANS
44 Generous Albertans help fund researchDonor support changes lives and advances knowledge in the province
BY CONNIE BRYSON
24 50+
The growing gap between seniors and researchAging baby boomers are all but missing from studies and clincial trials
26 KEEP IN MIND
When high conflict enters divorce Families can pay the price
27 THE MEAL DEAL
Almost spring A meal that mixes fresh flavour with hearty comfort
30 BODY TALK
Extra weight can lead to being extra tiredPeople with sleep apnea can stop breathing hundreds of times a night
48 A PASSION FOR HEALTH
Taking it to the streetsKathryn Dong is helping people in Edmonton’s inner city better understand their health
52 MY HEALTH OUTLOOK
Dave PommerA realistic level of rejoicing
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applemag.ca
PUBLISHED BYAlberta Health Services
INTERIM CO-CEOSBrenda Huband
Rick Trimp
VP, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Colleen Turner
EDITOR & PUBLISHERTerry Bullick
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT & CIRCULATIONAmy Sawchenko
EDITORIAL INTERNYolanda Genu
FEATURES EDITORWanda Vivequin
ADVERTISINGDenice Hansen
DESIGNERJimi Scherer
PRODUCTION DESIGNERSherry Mumford
WEBSITE SUPPORTCharity Sokolan, Marnie Bartell, GTExel
EDITORIAL DIRECTION & REVIEWFarah Bandali, Karen Benzies, Rosmin Esmail, Marisa Etmanski,
Shannon Evans, Laura Herperger, Debra Kasowski, Heather Kipling, Judith Mascher, Katie McGillivray,
Judy Meintzer, Cathy Pryce, Dwayne Sheehan, Kathleen Thurber
CONTRIBUTORSJennifer Allford, Grant Black, Connie Bryson,
Jeff Collins, Caitlin Crawshaw, Shallon Cunningham, Mark Davidson, Mike Fisher, Dawna Freeman, Greg Harris,
Jacqueline Louie, Cheryl Mahaffy, Trevor Millions, Ewan Nicholson, Scott Rollans, Julie Van Rosendaal
INQUIRIES & SUBSCRIPTIONS10101 Southport Road SW, Calgary, Alberta T2W 3N4
Phone: 403-943-2892
The information contained in this magazine is not intended to be a substitute for professional/medical advice.
Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or
changing or stopping current treatment.
Statements, opinions and viewpoints expressed by the writers of this publication do not necessarily represent the
views of Alberta Health Services. Furthermore, AHS does not endorse any of the third-party advertisers.
Copyright 2014 by Alberta Health Services. No part of this publication may be reproduced without
express written consent from AHS.
Canada Post Publication Agreement Number: 42468524
ISSN 1927-0305
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Contributors
1 SHERRY MUMFORD
Sherry’s work as a freelance production designer
has included best-selling books, widely read
magazines and hundreds of annual reports,
newsletters and brochures. A passionate golfer,
she has recently cut her time on the links to hike
and bike around Calgary.
2 WANDA VIVEQUIN
Wanda is a freelance writer and communications
specialist based in Edmonton, who oversaw our
feature stories this issue. She is the former editor
of Health Solutions magazine, produced by Alberta
Innovates – Health Solutions, and passionately
promotes living a healthy lifestyle.
3 JIMI SCHERER
Our award-winning features designer Jimi has
more than 20 years of experience, some of it
gained in the agency world. Now a freelancer,
she works with a variety of clients including the
Calgary Health Trust.
4 GRANT BLACK
Grant is crazy about pictures. He’s worked as a
photographer and photo editor for more than 30
years and loves photographing interesting people
doing real things. His work has appeared in scores
of newspapers, magazines and books.
5 YOLANDA GENU
Our chic intern Yolanda was delighted to help
art direct our cover shoot and work on all other
parts of Apple’s Spring 2014 issue. This fall she’s
graduating from Mount Royal University with a
bachelor of communication in public relations.
6 DENICE HANSEN
A graduate of Durham College’s marketing
program, our new advertising and marketing
advisor Denice has worked on numerous
advertising campaigns including the successful
Hell or High Water Foundation Flood Benefit Relief
Rodeo. When not strategizing, she loves to travel.
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AHS message
Your family’s health is wrapped in research
SponsorsFor more information on where to find Apple magazine, or to have it delivered to your door, visit applemag.ca.
Apple magazine is pleased to acknowledge its partners:
Founding Partner
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We’re pleased to welcome you to the first issue of Apple magazine produced by Alberta Health Services and Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions (AIHS).
AIHS is our province’s leading funder and supporter of health research. AIHS collaborates with the health system, publicly funded post-secondary institutions, industry, government and other partners to support research and ensure research results will make a difference in the lives of Albertans and people around the world.
For many years, AIHS and AHS have worked closely on health research initiatives and shared a common goal to improve the health, health system and well-being of Albertans.
To mark the new Apple partnership, this issue is focused on celebrating health research. Future issues will also include stories about advances in health research in Alberta and what they mean for you and your family.
Your family’s health is wrapped in research. It’s woven into your grandmother’s dementia care, the colonoscopy your father had last year and understanding your toddler’s early childhood development. And that low-salt, low-fat dinner you’re planning to eat tonight? It’s also based on health research.
As our story Why We Research on page 38 notes: Almost every aspect of the health-care system is and needs
to be evidence based or informed by good, solid research. Research is the foundation of a high-quality, innovative health-care system.
Alberta has a proud and accomplished history in health research. The discoveries we’ve made in this province have helped to improve the health of Albertans as well as people around the world. Our story on page 32, Hotbed of Health-care Innovation, looks at 25 of these discoveries.
In our two other feature stories, we look at new programs aimed at making research easier in our province (see Smoothing the Research Road in
Alberta on page 41) and how everyday Albertans are supporting the discovery of new knowledge (see Generous Albertans Help Fund Health Research on page 44).
A number of our regular columns also focus on health research and innovation.
We invite you to make your own health research discoveries by reading this issue.
— Dr. Cy Frank & Dr. Kathryn Todd
Cy Frank is the president and CEO of Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions and an orthopedic surgeon in Calgary.
Kathryn Todd is the vice president of Research Innovation and Analytics for Alberta Health Services.
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Your comments
Dear Editor, The Winter 2014 issue of Apple magazine
has been a pleasure to read. My colleague brought it to my desk this afternoon to tell me how good it was and I agree! I am not a senior (far from it at 41), but I found all the information it contained to be interesting, helpful and relevant. Thank you for such a great product and I expect you are receiving many, many accolades.
— Sandy Marcynu
Dear Editor, We picked up a copy of the Winter 2014
issue of Apple at the Red Deer Hospital yesterday and were very impressed with all the information in this magazine. We are in our late 60s and found the information to be very helpful.
— Gloria Gillrie
Dear Editor, I’m a newish Alberta resident, having
returned from a six-year stint in Toronto. My parents showed me the latest edition of Apple magazine— it’s a terrific idea for getting general information out to the public on behalf of Alberta health Services, and I was really impressed with the “navigating the health-care system” (seniors’ health) insert in the winter edition.
— Virginia Pastway
Next time in AppleWe look at life-changing moments
and how they affect health Community building after disaster strikes
The day everything changed: five stories
Avoiding the toll of anxiety and stress
The power of support groups
Out June 2014
Thanks to Sonja Franzmann (left) and Donna Reid for posing for our Spring 2014 cover shoot. Both successful owners of health and wellness businesses, they jumped for joy for several hours as we captured shots. Our Apple team also had fun cheering them on.
— Amy Sawchenko
COVER STORY
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Bites
Research helps health care improve one step at a time
If you fall while bike riding, skateboarding or in-line skating or are hit playing hockey or other sports, a helmet protects your skull from serious injury such as fracture.
But an article in the March 2013 issue of the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine says there is “no good clinical evidence” that currently available protective gear will prevent a concussion. The article was co-written by 25 sport medicine experts and based on consensus researched at the Fourth International Conference in Sport, held in Zurich in 2012.
Concussions happen when the brain continues to move inside the skull after an impact. This disrupts the part of the brain that controls
awareness and consciousness. Studies have shown helmets and
headgear reduce impact to the brain but those findings did not reveal a lower rate of concussions. As well, numerous research studies in Alberta, the rest of Canada and around the world are finding concussions are much more serious and long-lasting than thought. In 2011, the Canadian Medical Association warned repeat concussions can lead to permanent changes in behaviour and personality, early dementia and other brain damage.
A helmet is still the best way to protect your head, including your face and teeth, while playing sports or in activities that could result in a fall on a hard surface. These include skiing,
snowboarding, cycling, motor and equestrian sports, hockey, football and rugby.
A helmet only works when it’s being worn—and worn properly. That includes wearing the right helmet for your activity.
For information on the right helmet, visit parachutecanada.org and click on injury topics then helmets.
To take Alberta Health Services’ bike helmet YES Test, see our online edition at applemag.ca.
Also see our website for the article Put a Lid on It from our January/February 2011 issue.
— Amy Sawchenko
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Bites
Reduced wait times for children’s services Research can help solve universal problems such as wait times. Children’s Allied Health Services in Lethbridge, a part of Alberta Health Services, cut 142 days off the wait time for its services by using principles researched and tested by the Primary Care Initiative of Alberta. Since 2003, the initiative has helped health-care providers effectively improve Albertans’ access to care.
Staff learned how better to get patients into and through services faster by, among other things, making new clients a priority and
creating a central booking system—all without increasing staff.
“We didn’t do groundbreaking research, but we found a way to cut wait times for our services,” says
Alison Pavan, a physiotherapist at Children’s Allied Health Services. “Now we regularly track our wait times and look at what we can do to improve them.”
New test detects colon cancer soonerIf you’re aged 50 to 74 with an average risk of developing colon cancer, you may now have an alternative to a colonoscopy. The new fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is simple: you take a swab sample of your stool to a lab, where it’s tested for blood from the colon, a potential sign of precancerous polyps or cancer.
Clinical research trials in Edmonton and Calgary found FIT is the most accurate screening test you can get. It’s so effective that you will only need a colonoscopy if you have a pre-existing condition, a family history of the cancer or if a FIT detects blood in the stool.
The Alberta Colorectal Cancer Screening Program recommends using FIT as your yearly screening tool, increasing the chance of prevention and early detection and decreasing wait times for results.
— Amy Sawchenko
For more about FIT and cancer screening, visit screeningforlife.ca.
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If you or someone you know is
experiencing problems with alcohol,
tobacco, other drugs or gambling,
we can help.
Contact your local AHS Addiction and
Mental Health office or call the 24-hour,
toll-free addiction helpline.
1-866-332-2322
Change is possible.
albertahealthservices.ca
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First things
Letting the mind wander like a cat down alleyways for juicy bits of information starts as soon as we’re born.
Children learn by exploring and playing. Something fascinates them, just because it’s there. We reach out through the senses as we see, hear, move, smell, taste and feel. As we learn, we discover our preferences, for sweet or sour, loud or soft, and this shapes our temperament.
Adults can help children nurture their curiosity by letting them safely explore, first through their senses and then through physical activity, say experts. As children become toddlers and preschoolers, they find other ways to explore with pretend play and storytelling.
Curiosity thrills the catThe discovery of knowledge drives many academic, scientific and artistic pursuits
Encourage the courage to be curiousAs we grow, we may seem to chase
our tails for the sake of it, but curiosity drives many academic, scientific and artistic pursuits. It can open roadways to adventure and pathways to innovation, in research, and in our everyday lives.
“In research, as the word implies, we search for answers, which bring more questions,” says Marek Michalak, a
distinguished university professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Alberta. “You must have the courage of being curious without the expectation of always having a definite payoff.”
It’s important that students understand—and this understanding must often come from their parents, teachers, coaches and mentors, he says—that failure is okay. It can mean
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Curiosity at any age can spur exploration, creativity and innovation.
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doing things differently or waiting longer for success. “Failure is an ugly word and no one likes it, but you have to be able to overcome failures to build a stronger mind and personality.”
Where curiosity fits in the working worldCuriosity can often be predicted by a personality trait known as openness to experience, says Derek Chapman, an associate professor of industrial-organizational psychology at the University of Calgary.
Those with a high level of openness to experience want to know why things work the way they do. They enjoy reading, sciences and social sciences. Those with a low level like concrete things and dealing with the familiar.
“The natural skill that accompanies curiosity is cognitive ability or intelligence,” says Chapman, a human resources expert. “Individuals higher in cognitive ability are able to see more relationships among things in their environment and problem solve using unique approaches.”
But not all jobs benefit from curious employees.
People more open to experience get bored quickly in jobs with a lot of routine, leading to dissatisfaction and turnover, he says. Instead, they tend to thrive where creativity is paramount, for example as scientists, writers and graphic designers.
“Finding the right person for the right job means understanding what the job entails and finding people whose knowledge, skills and abilities are a good match,” says Chapman, whose company Counterpart Match specializes in employee selection.
Whatever you do, don’t stop exploring, just as you did as a child. “The important thing is not to stop questioning,” said Albert Einstein. “Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
If only we had nine lives.
— Mike Fisher
First things
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The pain in osteoarthritis patient Jean Miller’s left knee prompted her to blaze a new trail for others in Alberta’s evolving health-care system—as a researcher.
Miller, 68, of Calgary, is one of more than 20 graduates of the innovative Patient and Community Engagement Research (PACER) program. The year-long program by Alberta Health Services and the Institute for Public Health at the University of Calgary gives Miller and others a say in how the provincial health-care system meets patient needs.
“For many people, having osteoarthritis means worrying, uncertainty and fearing the unknown,” says Miller, who until three years ago was a registered nurse and taught nursing at Mount Royal University. She is now a patient researcher with the Bone and Joint Health Strategic Clinical Network. “I’m helping to bring the voices of more patients to the health-care system.”
In the program, current and past patients learn formal research methods and work with one of AHS’s 10 strategic clinical networks to interview patients. The information they gather is then used to consider how the health-care system can be improved.
Miller says osteoarthritis patients waiting for treatment
Patients become researchers to help other patientsProgram brings more voices to health care in Alberta
have many questions. “What can we do while we wait with this chronic
condition that gets worse with time? How do we deal with the vicious cycle of more pain, more immobility and gaining more weight? These are some of the questions that arose for our research team.”
The Bone and Joint Health Network is using this information to transform osteoarthritis care for Albertans. Dr. Linda Woodhouse, scientific director for the Bone and Joint Health Network, says: “This has taken patient input to a new level and provinces across the country are asking us what we’re doing.”
Tracy Wasylak, AHS’s vice president of Strategic Clinical Networks, says Miller and others are making a difference. “Clinicians seek their opinions and ensure that when planning care, it makes sense for the patients.”
— Mike Fisher
For more information about the PACER program, visit iph.ucalgary.ca/pacer.
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A contagious disease can spread through a community like wildfire, making people sick, emptying schools and workplaces and filling hospital beds. To prevent and control the spread of disease, Alberta Health Services collects information about where and how diseases affect Albertans.
The Alberta Public Health Surveillance program increased the health data it collects in the early 2000s, after an outbreak of a pneumonia-like condition called SARS in Southeast Asia spread to Toronto. Today, the program gathers information about a number of contagious and non-contagious diseases as well as illnesses and injuries, ranging from seasonal influenza to vehicle collisions.
Watching diseases to stop their spreadProvincewide data collection helps shape health-care services
“The information helps us identify and control the spread of diseases early on, so we can prevent further spread, or at least slow down further spread of transmissible disease,” says Dr. Robert Briggs, provincial lead medical officer of health for Surveillance and Infrastructure.
“When the southern Alberta floods occurred in June 2013, we were able to use our surveillance capabilities to provide information to public health workers across the province so they could identify early trends in diseases and inform the public about the risks of the flood, including contaminated floodwater,” he says.
Also in 2013, AHS was able to quickly control an outbreak of measles in the Lethbridge area. Health-care
workers used surveillance information to work closely with the provincial laboratory to immunize people at risk. Briggs says getting and sharing information can help shape decisions about and responses to emerging health threats, emergencies and disasters. In turn, these decisions can reduce the severity of diseases and injuries and even save lives.
While the information gathered is detailed, it does not contain anyone’s name, protecting the privacy of Albertans. It is also a valuable resource for public health research projects into how diseases develop and for shaping public health policy in the province.
— Yolanda Genu
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Building brains
Translating brain science into stories Turning science into part of our everyday lives
Innovation is the fuel that propels our society forward. This fuel is a mix of sound scientific and public understanding.
While scientists and researchers are discovering new knowledge at faster and faster speeds, our collective ability to truly understand—and use—it can take somewhat longer.
Take the case of the core story of the brain.
Scientific knowledge about the brain is complex (few people know the amygdala is an almond-shaped mass of matter in the brain that plays a key role in regulating emotions). And each new discovery tends to be small, building on those before it. To make sense of it, new knowledge has to be brought together, reviewed and translated into
a common language. Above all, it has to have champions:
people and organizations that take the knowledge into the world, over time.
More than a decade ago, the Harvard Center for the Developing Child put together a team of experts to develop the core story of the brain.The team included highly respected neurobiologists, developmental psychologists, pediatricians and economists. Rounding out the team was staff with a Washington, D.C. think-tank called the FrameWorks Institute, which uses communications science to help translate complex knowledge into easily understood information.
The Harvard Center’s goal is to gather and communicate the
science of early childhood and early brain development. The hope is to have people better understand what it means to their families and communities and that it can be used to shape public policy.
As well, the Harvard Center wanted to “move beyond the public’s fascination with the ‘latest study’” and look at a body of research that was well reviewed by other scientists.
Translating science can be a tough task. And where scientific knowledge is based on data and evidence, the public is far more likely to embrace knowledge when it is told through “sticky” (memorable) metaphors and stories.
As the core story of the brain (and by extension early childhood
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Building brains
development) was developed, so were metaphors such as brain architecture, serve and return, air traffic control, faultlines, levelness and toxic stress. These terms, which were developed by FrameWorks and have appeared regularly in Apple since our Fall 2012 issue on brain development, are used to quickly and more easily convey complex concepts. For example, brain architecture is like the construction of a home—building begins with the foundation and continues with framing, wiring, plumbing and so on.
The stronger a child’s foundation in the early years, the greater the chance of health in later years.
In 2007, the Harvard Center released its core story about the brain and early childhood development. Shortly after, the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (AFWI) made it a mission to tell Albertans the core story of the brain. And like the Harvard Center, the AFWI hopes to have people better understand what the story means to them and see the story used to shape public policy.
This sounds deceptively simple, when it’s really been a massive undertaking, involving the blending of neuroscience and communications science and recruiting champions from philanthropy, health care, health research, social services, the legal and justice systems and community organizations. No other province and only a handful of U.S. states have tried to create such a critical mass of understanding about the brain.
To use another metaphor, the core
story of the brain is having a ripple effect in our province—moving in waves to more and more people and communities. Last fall more than 20 “innovation teams” attending a five-day long AFWI symposium pledged to take the core story of the brain to their various professions and communities.
The core story has also rippled into public policy. Education Alberta’s Early Child Development Mapping Project (ECMap) is looking at the factors affecting healthy early childhood development (see page 20). The Alberta Approach to Early Childhood Development is a provincial government initiative to give all children the opportunity to reach their full potential.
The ripple effect of the core story will move through the province for many years, giving generations of Albertans the opportunity to turn science and innovation into part of our everyday lives.
— Terry Bullick
A case in point: the core story of the brain• Brains are both born and built over
time based on our experiences
• Our experiences in the first years of life affect the physical architecture of the brain
• Children’s brain architecture needs positive relationships with parents and other adults for lifelong good mental function and health
• Serve and return interactions are the building blocks of solid brain architecture. Just as in a game of volleyball or tennis, a child “serves” with a touch, look, gesture or sound and an adult “returns” with a response
• Stress also affects brain development. Some stress is healthy and helps us learn how to cope. But toxic stress (chronic, unrelenting and unpredictable) can be harmful, especially to children
• The brain needs solid architecture for air traffic control, or executive function. Just as air traffic control allows many planes to use an airport without colliding, executive function gives us the ability to focus, plan and remember in diverse situations
• Kids need adults and communities to build solid brain architecture.
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Pregnancy is a time to nourish yourself and your growing baby—but research shows that gaining too much weight can be unhealthy for both of you.
The Promoting Appropriate Maternal Body Weight in Pregnancy and Postpartum through Healthy Dietary Intake study will look at how women in Alberta eat during pregnancy and how health-care
Study looks at women’s weight gain during pregnancy Researchers strive to find ways to support expecting moms
Great expectations
providers can support healthy eating and appropriate weight gain.
The study will receive up to $2.5 million from the Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions’ Collaborative Research and Innovative Opportunities program grant.
Leading the study are Rhonda Bell, professor of human nutrition at the University of Alberta, Linda McCargar, a registered dietitian and professor
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Healthy weight gain in pregnancy helps moms and babies avoid a variety of health risks.
of human nutrition at the U of A, and Paula Robson, adjunct professor at the U of A and a research scientist with Alberta Health Services.
“Pregnancy is a significant risk factor for extra weight gain,” Bell says. “Women can gain too much weight during pregnancy and keep that weight after the baby is born.”
About half of all pregnant women in the country gain more weight than is
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Great expectations
Eating healthy Eating a nutritious and balanced diet, among other things, can be one way to maintain a healthy weight throughout life, including during pregnancy. Health Canada recommends women aged 19 to 50 eat eight to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables, eight servings of grains and two servings each of milk and alternatives and meat and alternatives a day.
Canada’s Food Guide says pregnant women may need to eat an extra two to three servings a day of foods including:
• Fruit such as apples, bananas
• Vegetables such as carrots and celery
• Hard boiled eggs
• Almonds and other nuts
• Yogurt
• Milk.
What does a serving size look like?
• 1 cup (250 ml) dark, leafy greens is a serving of vegetables
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) pure orange juice equals one serving of fruit
• 1.6 oz (45 g) bagel or 1/2 cup (125 ml) pasta equals one serving of grain products
• 1 cup (250 ml) milk or fortified soy or 1.8 oz (50 g) of cheese equals one serving of milk and alternatives
• 2.6 oz. (75 g) of lean meat, poultry or fish (about the size of a deck of cards) equals one serving of meat and alternatives.
For more healthy eating tips, talk with a dietitian or visit albertahealthservices.ca and search for healthy eating starts here.
Health Canada’s weight-gain guidelinesHealthy weight gain during pregnancy depends, to some extent, on your weight before pregnancy.
*Pre-pregnancy categories are based on Body Mass Index (BMI) scale.
Pre-pregnancy category*
UnderweightNormal weightOverweightObese
Recommended Range of total weight gainlb kg28-40 12.5-1825-35 11.5-1615-25 7-11.511-20 5-9
recommended by Health Canada. Extra weight during pregnancy
can increase a woman’s risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy, hypertension and cardiovascular disease later in life. It can also increase discomfort, seriously complicate labour and make it more difficult to lose weight after giving birth.
In babies, extra weight can impair brain development and increase the risk of weight gain and obesity later in life.
Unhealthy weight gain in pregnancy has a number of causes, from giving into cravings to a culture that encourages pregnant women to eat.
“Women can feel pressure to eat,” says Bell. “The foods that are offered, or eaten during a craving, can be unhealthy foods that are low in nutrients and contain extra calories, particularly in the form of sugar and fat. We recommend that women eat foods that are in Canada’s Food Guide, and meet their calorie needs.”
Pregnant women can avoid gaining too much weight with any number of activities, such as regular walking, modified yoga and even reading.
“It’s good for pregnant women to exercise without overexerting themselves,” Bell says. “What’s most important is to adopt healthy behaviours during pregnancy that can support you, your baby and healthy weight gain.”
— Jacqueline Louie with files from Amy Sawchenko
For more about pregnancy and healthy weight, search for these topics at applemag.ca.
About half of all pregnant women in Canada gain more weight than is recommended
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More than 100 community coalitions across Alberta are using results from a recent provincial project working to support early childhood development.
The Early Child Development Mapping Project (ECMap) found that while most children entering kindergarten in Alberta are developing well, nearly 27 per cent struggle in at least one of five key areas of development. For example, children may have trouble getting along with others (social development), holding a pencil (physical development),
Findings prompt community actionAlberta coalitions work to support strong childhood development
The early years
counting to 20 (language development), controlling their impulses (emotional development) or telling a story (communication). Funded by Alberta Education and led by the University of Alberta’s Community-University Partnership, ECMap gathered insights by studying about 87,000 kindergarten children across the province.
ECMap fills a crucial gap in understanding how well Alberta preschoolers are faring, says project director Susan Lynch. “Being happy, healthy, safe, cared for and loved in
those early years is critical to lifelong success.”
Strong early childhood development can, among other things, reduce the risk of addiction, unemployment, crime, obesity and diabetes later in life.
The fact that so many kindergarten children struggle is a call to action that extends far beyond immediate families, Lynch adds. “Parents need to know that they have support from all of us in the community.”
Using ECMap results, community coalitions are taking a fresh look at their communities. Besides finding existing support for families with preschoolers—from play groups to seniors seeking young companions—they are beginning to fill gaps. In Fort McMurray, where about 100 babies are born a month, coalition members sounded the alert that parks were designed for older children, prompting preschool-friendly additions. Edmonton coalitions posed questions about early childhood needs to candidates in the 2013 municipal election and posted the results electronically. The Innisfail Family Centre now offers a free program for parents to learn and play with their children.
Kathy Karchuk of the Fort Macleod coalition says her community “understands that if we support children in the early years, we offset potential difficulties later on, and that early intervention is far more effective than remediation later on.”
Kim Williston of the Beaumont
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The ECMap project is helping communities support positive early childhood development.
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Early childhood development can be affected by many factors, including:• Relationships with parents and other
adults
• Family income and employment
• Housing
• Community amenities such as playgrounds, schools, libraries, parks and recreation programs
• Child care.
coalition found the ECMap project created awareness of the current resources in the community and “the value of early childhood development and how that prepares our children for school.”
Project advances are hopeful and important steps, Lynch says. “We keep expecting parents to do it all on their own, but it takes a whole community to raise a child.”
The independent ECMap early childhood coalitions are made up of a wide cross-section of the community, including parents, grandparents and other family members, educators, non-profit organizations, community organizations, health-care providers, policy-makers, business leaders, and representatives of ethnic and cultural groups.
“We’ve broadened the conversation and started people thinking about what the community as a whole can do to support positive development,” notes ECMap manager Line Perron, who helps support the coalitions. “That’s probably one of the biggest legacies our project will leave behind.”
— Cheryl Mahaffy with files from Yolanda Genu
Visit ecmap.ca to learn more about ECMap results, resources and community coalitions.
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Youthful
Inhaling tobacco-like products from a hookah, or water pipe, is as damaging as standing downwind from a raging forest fire and breathing the smoke. In short, smoking flavoured herbal products, or shisha, is bad for you.
Just because products are labelled herbal doesn’t mean they’re safe.
“There is also the perception that because people bubble the smoke through water that some of the toxic
The hoopla over the hookah Researchers find good reason to ban public use of shisha
materials normally associated with smoking tobacco are removed during this process,” says Dr. Barry Finegan, AHS anesthetist and professor at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
In fact, the bubbling water doesn’t do anything to remove heavy metals such as chromium, nickel and even arsenic, that Finegan and his research team found in different herbal shisha available in Alberta.
“We found potentially dangerous material in the basic product and when the product was smoked. We found that both the smoke that people inhale and the smoke that comes off the end of the device contained exactly the same, if not more, cancer-causing chemicals as tobacco.”
People who use shisha inhale an average of 50 litres of smoke at each session—akin to breathing in that forest fire for 45 minutes. Over time,
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An AHS study shows smoking shisha is akin to breathing smoke from a forest fire for 45 minutes.
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that will lead to “very significant” pulmonary and cardiac damage, as well as increase the risk of cancer.
Using a hookah can be addictive and lead to smoking tobacco or encouraging former smokers to light up again. Even just being in a hookah bar is bad for your health. Finegan’s study also looked at the level of microparticles floating around in the air—tiny particles that bypass the lung’s defence systems.
The Alberta government also cited Finegan’s study last fall as it passed legislation to ban hookahs in public places such as bars and restaurants over the next year.
“I think there is a sort of nonchalance about shisha because of the flavour and because it’s easy to do and because it appears harmless,” says Finegan. “But inhaling any smoke into your lungs is not a benign thing to do.”
— Jennifer Allford
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50+
Seniors are the fastest growing age group in the country, thanks to the post-war babies who began turning 65 years old in 2011. By 2031, one in five Albertans is expected to be a senior.
As a strong social and economic force, baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) Canada’s largest population group, have changed how we age (remember 40 is the new 30?). Yet as seniors they are all but missing from clinical research.
“Compared to other age groups, few seniors are at the research table, and as the number of seniors grows, the gap
The growing gap between seniors and research Aging baby boomers are all but missing from studies and clincial trials
of not being researched sufficiently will grow,” says Suzanne Vorvis, director of Provincial Research and Privacy Initiatives at Alberta Health Services.
Most clinical trials in Alberta and around the world focus on younger adults (24 to 45) and children, with the findings generalized to people over 65, says Rosmin Esmail, director of Knowledge Translation, Research Innovation and Analytics at AHS.
But drugs given to younger people may work differently in seniors, adds Esmail. They may also have other side
effects or reactions in older people who have multiple conditions or are taking other drugs.
More than 90 per cent of older adults in Alberta have at least one chronic health condition and one-third have four or more chronic conditions such as arthritis, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Vorvis says seniors, as a whole, use more health services than the other age groups and that more studies are needed about people 55 and over. But making seniors part of studies is
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50+
hard. Vorvis and Rachel Syme of the University of Calgary are co-leading a study to find out why more seniors aren’t in clinical research and how better to recruit them.
The AHS-supported study, called Retiring Minds Want to Know: Understanding Seniors Knowledge About Research, is funded by Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions (AIHS). The project includes surveying up to 150 seniors at the Kerby Centre in Calgary and the Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton (SAGE). Project findings will be followed up by focus groups.
By better understanding why many older adults are not involved in research “we can do a better job of inviting them to take part and letting them know the important role they could play in that research,” says Heather Hanson, a PhD researcher and
AHS’s assistant scientific director for the Seniors Health Strategic Clinical Network.
She says many factors could influence older adults’ participation in research: “It could be they suspect researchers, they don’t know how the research will be used, or whether family or other health professionals may use seniors’ health information in a negative way.”
Hanson stresses: “We are very careful about how we collect and
protect information, and we keep research participants’ best interests at the forefront of our minds.” As well, health research funded by AHS and AIHS complies with privacy rules set out by the province’s Health Information Act.
Esmail wants seniors to be involved in research. “They can add to the knowledge and understanding of how new advances in health and medicine work in people their age,” Esmail says. “And having seniors involved helps researchers get what they need to develop the right treatments for them.”
— Dawna Freeman
For more information about the Retiring Minds Want to Know research project, contact Rosmin Esmail at 403-944-4865 or Suzanne Vorvis at 403-239-6065.
Seniors can add to the knowledge and understanding of advances in health and medicine
Experience the new digital Apple
You can now flip, search and discover Apple with our new digital version. Find us on the Apple Newsstand, Google Play and Amazon app stores.
We’re also free at applemag.ca
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When Mount Royal University professor Christine Giancarlo, a PhD in human services, began to study the phenomenon of parents alienated from their children, she had no difficulty finding research subjects.
Parental alienation is when one parent deliberately poisons a child’s relationship with the other parent. It’s a frequent and unfortunate result of high-conflict divorces and separations.
“I included 28 alienated parents in the study but I easily could have had 5,000,” Giancarlo says. “This is a huge issue and it has terrible consequences, both for parents and children.”
Children who are turned against a parent can experience toxic stress, which can lead to poor self-esteem, anxiety and depression, anti-social behaviour and a number of other concerns.
For example, as adults they can abuse substances, have trouble forming secure, intimate relationships and be
When high conflict enters divorceFamilies can pay the price
Keep in mind
low achievers. They are also more likely to divorce and separate and become alienated from their own children.
“To grow up and be emotionally well, children need loving, supportive relationships with both parents—even when they’ve separated,” Giancarlo says.
Alienated parents also face problems. Giancarlo’s study specifically looked at what happened when alienated parents used the courts to gain access to their children.
“One of the saddest findings was that most participants said they lost their homes or had been bankrupted because of the legal costs they incurred. They turned to the justice system as a last resort and said it failed them miserably,” she says.
Parental alienation appears to be on the rise, Giancarlo says. One estimate says 13 per cent of all divorces are high-conflict, with the children caught in the middle.
But divorce and separation needn’t be so financially and emotionally costly or turn into a court battle. One alternative is collaborative practice, which focuses on helping couples and families “restructure” by encouraging mutual respect, emphasizing the needs of children and adopting a problem-solving approach.
Ultimately, prevention is the best strategy. “The key is for parents to rise above their broken relationship and commit to their children’s well-being by cooperating as parents,” Giancarlo says.
— Greg Harris
For more information about avoiding conflict during divorce, see Co-parenting Through Divorce in the Winter 2013 issue of Apple.
For more information on collaborative practice, visit collaborativepractice.ca.
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In divorce and separation, parents need to rise above their broken relationship and commit to their children’s well-being.
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Meal deal
Almost springA meal that mixes fresh flavour with hearty comfort
Spring brings the promise of longer days and budding blooms, but it can also deliver knee-deep snowfalls and a frosty reminder that winter in Alberta can stretch well into May.
Dinner can be a time to serve both fresh, flavourful produce and hearty comfort food.
Variety is the key to cooking; most fresh produce can be simmered into soup, tossed into a salad or added to rich desserts. Chowder is a thick, versatile soup that can include vegetables, potatoes, meats and seafood. Traditionally made with cream, chowder can be made with milk or an alternative such as lactose-free milk. You can also use up aging produce that’s starting to go limp or wrinkly. And salads can become satisfying and filling by adding toasted nuts or warm dressings.
— Julie Van Rosendaal
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Meal deal
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Our Meal Deal recipes have been analyzed by registered dietitians with AHS Nutrition Services. All recipes meet healthy eating guidelines. For past recipes, visit applemag.ca.
Winter’s end chowder Almost any vegetable that inspires you can be transformed into hearty chowder.
Ingredients
• Canola or olive oil, for cooking
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped (include the leaves)
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) flour
• 4 cups (1 l) low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 2-3 thin-skinned potatoes, washed and diced
• 1 cup (250 ml) corn kernels
• 2 tsp. (10 ml) fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup (250 ml) milk or ½ cup (125 ml) half & half (or to taste)
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped fresh Italian parsley
Preparation
In a medium pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until soft.
Add the celery, carrot and red pepper and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Shake in the flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Add the stock, potatoes, corn and thyme, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and cook until the potatoes are tender.
Add the milk and cook just until heated through. Serve hot with chopped fresh parsley.
Serves 6.
The lowdown
Analyzed using 1% milk. Per serving (1/6 of recipe): 150 calories, 3.5 g total fat (1 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 5 mg cholesterol, 140 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 8 g protein, 3 g fibre, 7 g sugars.
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Our Meal Deal recipes have been analyzed by registered dietitians with AHS Nutrition Services. All recipes meet healthy eating guidelines. For past recipes, visit applemag.ca.
Savoury spinach salad with warm vinaigretteSpinach and baby kale are hearty enough to hold up to warm dressing—a little wilting just adds to their appeal.
Ingredients
• 4 slices prosciutto
• 1 bag or bunch fresh baby spinach or baby kale
• 2 oz. (60 g) goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/3 cup (85 ml) dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) pine nuts
Dressing:
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive or canola oil (or 2 Tbsp. oil and 2 Tbsp. water)
• 3 Tbsp. (45 ml) balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp. (10 ml) grainy mustard
• 1/2 tsp. (2 ml) honey
Preparation
Cook the prosciutto in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp and set aside. In a clean skillet, toast the pine nuts until golden.
To make the dressing, add the oil, vinegar, mustard and honey to the skillet and bring to a simmer, whisking to loosen any crispy bits of prosciutto on the bottom of the pan.
Arrange greens, prosciutto, goat cheese, cranberries and pine nuts on plates and drizzle with warm dressing. Serve immediately.
Serves 8.
The lowdown
Analyzed using baby spinach and 1/4 cup (60 ml) oil. Per serving (1/8 of recipe): 170 calories, 12 g total fat (2.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 10 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate, 5 g protein, 2 g fibre, 5 g sugars.
Barley crêpesCrêpes, a traditional thin French pancake, are perfect for fresh or frozen fruit.
Ingredients
• 1-1/4 cups (310 ml) milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) canola oil
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) barley flour (or equal amount all-purpose flour)
• Pinch salt
• Fruit filling, such as fresh, frozen (thaw before serving) or canned berries, peaches, pineapple, mango or melons
• Cocoa, for dusting
Preparation
Combine the crepe ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well blended and smooth. Let the batter sit for half an hour—until it has the consistency of heavy cream.
To cook, set a medium skillet over medium-high heat and brush with butter or oil. Pour about a 1/4 cup (60 ml) of batter onto the skillet and quickly tilt it in a clockwise motion so the batter evenly coats the pan. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until the top loses its gloss, flip and cook for a minute on the other side until golden. Keep warm in a 250˚F (120˚C) oven while you cook the rest of the batter.
Fill with fruit, roll crêpe closed and dust with cocoa powder before serving.
Serves 4 to 6.
The lowdown
Analyzed using 1% milk and fresh strawberries. Per serving (1/6 recipe): 140 calories, 4.5 g total fat (1 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 75 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 18 g carbohydrate, 6 g protein, 2 g fibre, 4 g sugar.
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Body talk
Most people know that carrying extra weight can lead to diabetes or aching joints. Fewer know that excess weight can also lead to sleep apnea, a disorder in which you stop breathing up to hundreds of times every night while sleeping.
“When you hear about obesity, people talk about diabetes and hypertension and joints and what it’s doing to your knees and your hips, but nobody ever says ‘sleep apnea,’” says John Remmers. He’s one of the world’s leading researchers in sleep
Extra weight can lead to being extra tired People with sleep apnea can stop breathing hundreds of times a night
apnea and was the first to show it’s caused by an anatomical narrowing of the pharynx. His Remmers Sleep Recorder is the first portable tool for diagnosing the condition.
“The life-threatening disease that these people are subject to is not problems with their hips, not diabetes—it’s sleep apnea,” he says. Almost all Canadian adults who have obstructive sleep apnea—nearly 90 per cent—are overweight or obese.
Remmers, an Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions researcher, a
professor at the University of Calgary and the chief medical officer of Zephyr Sleep Technologies, has worked in Alberta for decades.
Research shows excess weight can cause a person to stop breathing while they sleep in three ways:
• Fat can be deposited in the back of the throat and in the tongue
• Fat under the chin and over the neck pushes back on the pharynx when people lie on their backs
• Excess fat on the abdomen and chest creates “tracheal tug.”
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Caused by a narrowing of the pharnyx, sleep apnea can result in a number of health concerns, including day-time tiredness, unhealthy eating and depression.
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Body talk
“All three are very feasible,” Remmers says. “We don’t know which one is more important in which situation.”
MyHealthAlberta.com lists the main symptoms of sleep apnea in adults as not feeling rested after a night’s sleep, feeling sleepy during the day and waking up with a headache.
Your bedmate may notice that when you sleep you stop breathing; snore often and loudly; gasp and choke; and toss and turn.
Sleep apnea can lead to many problems linked to poor sleep, including unhealthy eating habits the next day because the body craves sugar, which can lead to more weight gain.
“Sleep apnea can also cause depression. If you’re depressed, you might eat more and lack energy, so you’re not going to be as active or move around as much,” he says.
While it’s a serious condition and needs to be addressed, treating sleep apnea doesn’t necessarily help people lose weight. “It doesn’t work that way,”
says Remmers. “Most of the time they don’t lose weight.”
Instead, he suggests treating the two health conditions separately, beginning with the sleep apnea. “You get people feeling good, improving their quality of life, while keeping their oxygen normal during sleep. Always start there and then later start to talk about weight loss.”
— Jennifer Allford
If you are overweight or obese and have any symptoms of sleep apnea, ask your health-care professional for advice.See this story at applemag.ca for links to John Remmers’ research with Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions.
Symptoms of sleep apnea in adults include not feeling rested after a night’s sleep, feeling sleepy during the day and waking up with a headache
Hotbed of health-care innovationFrom heart attacks to arthritis, genetics to food science, researchers in Alberta are discovering new treatments and developing new technologies to improve the health of Albertans and people around the world. Connie Bryson looks at 25 groundbreaking innovations developed in our province
One of Canada’s most popular over-the-counter cold and flu medicines was developed in AlbertaSee #7 for details
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1423Cardiac database is treasure trove
of informationNot only is Dr. Merrill Knudtson a pioneer in life-saving cardiology procedures, but he also launched a database to capture detailed information on every cardiac procedure performed in Alberta and track those patients over time. His brainchild, the Alberta Provincial Project for Outcome Assessment in Coronary Heart Disease (APPROACH), is now one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive cardiac registries. It’s used to reveal important insights into outcomes and costs, and show the way to better patient care.
A better way to fix hip and knee problemsOrthopedic surgeons may not feel their patients’ physical pain, but they often share their frustration with long wait times and varying care. That feeling led them to look into the reasons for long wait times for joint replacement surgery—a life-changing treatment for severe osteoarthritis in the hip and knee. Their work led to wide-ranging changes in the care of patients needing this surgery. The result? Higher quality and improved access. The impact goes beyond provincial borders; their work helped spark the creation of the Canada-wide Hip and Knee Knowledge Translation Network.
Workhorse of the Human Genome ProjectA tool developed at the University of Alberta in the 1990s became the workhorse of the Human Genome Project—an international research effort to map all of our genes, which paved the way for new understanding of genetic factors in disease. Developed by analytical chemists Drs. Norman Dovichi and Jianzhong Zhang, the instrument analyzed DNA 10 times faster than earlier technology.
Life-saving wound dressing pioneered in AlbertaWith his invention of the Acticoat™ technology, Dr. Robert Burrell revolutionized wound care and helped save the lives and limbs of thousands of patients around the world. Working as a biomedical engineer at Alberta’s Westaim Technologies Inc., Burrell developed tiny silver nanocrystals that kill microbes and stop inflammation. Acticoat™ dressings are used worldwide to prevent life-threatening infections and promote healing in burns, ulcers and other wounds.
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Discovery changed rules for infant heart transplantsHeart transplants in babies are different from those in adults, thanks to research by cardiologist Dr. Lori West. She discovered that infants can receive a heart from a donor with an incompatible blood type; in adults, donor and recipient blood types must match. Because infant immune systems can adapt to a mismatched donor, this widens the pool of potential organs and decreases wait times. West’s discovery has changed pediatric heart transplants globally.
Telehealth makes health-care access easierAlberta has one of the largest and best integrated telehealth networks in North America, with more than 900 videoconferencing sites. Telehealth makes it easier for Albertans to use a wide range of specialized health services such as psychiatric care without leaving their hometown. They don’t have to take days off work to travel and they can remain close to family and friends.
A traditional ingredient becomes a popular cold medicineOne of Canada’s most popular over-the-counter cold and flu medicines was developed in Alberta. Cold-FX® came out of research at the University of Alberta on the active ingredients in traditional herbal medicine. It’s derived from the roots of the ginseng plant, one of the most valued medicinal plants in the world.
Groundbreaking drug for hepatitis BThe first oral medicine to treat chronic hepatitis B infection was developed by Dr. Lorne Tyrrell at the University of Alberta. Lamivudine is a groundbreaking drug for patients with this chronic viral infection—about 300 to 350 million people worldwide. These people cannot clear the virus from their body; they are at high risk of serious liver damage, as well as death from cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. Lamivudine stops the virus from replicating, which minimizes liver damage.
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13A good night’s sleepSleep apnea is a life-threatening condition that interrupts breathing during sleep. The University of Calgary’s Dr. John Remmers was the first to demonstrate that the condition is due to a narrowing of part of the throat. He developed a device to keep the airway open during sleep: the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device. The CPAP essentially eliminates sleep apnea and dramatically improves sleep quality. See Extra Weight Can Lead to Being Extra Tired on page 30.
Cardiac surgery pioneerThe bio of the late Dr. John Callaghan contains a series of firsts including: co-developer of the world’s first cardiac pacemaker, Canada’s first open-heart surgery and Canada’s first successful complete repair of the blue baby malformation. The last two landmarks were performed by the multi-talented cardiac surgeon at the University of Alberta Hospital. The open-heart surgery required a heart-lung pump that Callaghan built himself. His operations saved many lives and his pioneering innovations continue to save lives around the world.
Combating doctor shortages with innovative physician trainingMedical schools in Calgary and Edmonton are addressing the province’s chronic shortage of rural physicians with a long-term approach focused on education and training. One of their innovations is the Rural Integrated Community Clerkship Program, which gives third-year medical students at both universities an immersion-type experience in rural practice. Students are placed in an Alberta rural community for about 36 weeks where they learn in an integrated fashion by following their patients from the clinic to consults, surgery, delivery and other specialities.
‘Smarter’ roads are safer roadsThe AMA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports, on average, that Alberta has one traffic fatality every day, one collision every five minutes and a serious injury from a collision every 20 minutes. Researchers at the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering are using a state-of-the-art laboratory to increase road safety and ease congestion. The researchers are paving the way for smarter roads in Alberta with ramp meters, variable speed limits and advanced warning systems.
Website cuts through social assistance mazeIt can be tough to navigate Alberta’s wide range of social benefits and services and figure out whether you or your family are eligible. My Alberta Supports is a website with an easy-to-use needs identification and eligibility estimator. No personal identifying information is needed. After answering a few multiple choice questions, you’re provided with a list of programs and services that may be right for you. Links to online applications will be available later this year. Find the estimator at AlbertaSupports.ca.
Breakthrough in colon cancer screeningEvery year, about 1,200 Albertans are diagnosed with colon cancer and about 600 die from it. These grim statistics drove Edmonton physicians Drs. Richard Fedorak and Haili Wang to search for better ways to screen for colon cancer. Their team focused on detecting non-cancerous growths in the colon called polyps. If left to grow, polyps can turn cancerous. The new technology can detect the chemical “fingerprints” of these growths in urine. “We have an easy, non-invasive test,” says Fedorak. “All you need is a urine sample.” The science behind this is a tongue-twister—metabolomics—and Alberta scientists are world leaders in the field. Now, Alberta-based Metabolomic Technologies Inc. is commercializing the test, with a clinical trial complete in Alberta and one underway in China.
New test for rheumatoid arthritis A new test for rheumatoid arthritis—the first in more than two decades—is now available from Quest Diagnostics, the world’s leading provider of diagnostic services. The test is based on 10 years of research by Drs. Walter Maksymowych and Aziz Ghahary at the University of Alberta. They discovered a protein that floods into the joints of people with rheumatoid arthritis and causes an explosion of inflammatory activity that damages joint tissue. Testing for the protein not only detects rheumatoid arthritis, but also predicts the severity of the disease. “We have many treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis, but it’s important to start them early, especially for the very destructive forms,” says Maksymowych.
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18Getting a handle on a quiet epidemicChronic diseases—diabetes, kidney disease, high blood pressure and vascular disease—have been called a “quiet epidemic.” They are on the rise as our population ages. Alberta’s Interdisciplinary Chronic Disease Collaboration is investigating the root causes of chronic disease in order to improve the health of patients living with or at risk of chronic disease. Established in 2010, the team has developed into a model of collaboration and knowledge transfer and their research has helped improve patient outcomes.
Robotics makes brain surgery more accurate, less invasiveCalgary neurosurgeon Dr. Garnette Sutherland has spent his career breaking new ground in neurosurgery. His first “world first” was a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system for operating rooms. It provides surgeons with 3-D images during an operation. He followed that with another milestone: the neuroArm, the world’s first MRI-compatible surgical robot for both microsurgery and image-guided biopsy. Surgeons control the neuroArm from a workstation, guiding its movements via images on a screen. Because it can move in smaller increments than the human hand, neuroArm is the ideal tool for performing delicate surgery inside the brain.
Team players in Taber make a differenceMotivated by a desire to significantly improve his own practice, a family doctor from Taber has helped transform primary care across the country. In the 1990s, Dr. Rob Wedel began to search for ways to reorganize the Taber Clinic to achieve better quality care, better access and better patient and provider satisfaction. The local clinic became a one-stop experience for patients with care provided by a team of health-care professionals. Besides having a major impact on health in the local community, the team-based approach to primary care pioneered in Taber is serving as a model for similar clinics in Alberta and across Canada.
Heart attack care in Calgary gets top marksIf you’re having a heart attack, your best bet for the best treatment is: get to the hospital within one hour, and go to a hospital equipped with the technology to open blocked blood vessels. Those two factors combine in Calgary and as a result the city has the lowest heart attack death rate in Canada. Calgarians have access to the Foothills Medical Centre, which offers the blood-vessel-opening procedure 24/7.
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Assessing the toll of high blood pressureIt’s well-known that high blood pressure isn’t good for you, but Alberta researchers have been able to pinpoint who is at the greatest risk. A team from the University of Calgary tracked 3.5 million Canadians with high blood pressure for up to 12 years. They found that men, seniors and people living in low-income or rural areas generally have poorer health outcomes. New programs are being designed to help these groups.
Every second counts in a heart attackResearch at the University of Alberta and the University of Alberta Hospital revolutionized treatment for heart attack patients in Alberta and around the world. The research team trained paramedics to do electrocardiograms in ambulances and then send the results to a cardiologist, allowing treatment to begin even before arrival at the emergency room. This innovative approach shortens treatment time by about one hour and spares some patients permanent damage to their heart.
Heart rhythm specialist helps hearts keep a steady beatCardiologist Dr. Anne Gillis is an international leader in the use of devices like pacemakers to treat heart rhythm disorders. Under her leadership, Calgary’s Cardiac Arrhythmia Service became the first centre outside the U.S. to evaluate remote monitoring of patients with implantable defibrillators. Her research has led to refinements in pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, improving the quality of life for countless heart patients.
Bacteria-fighting food innovationIn 2008, deli meats contaminated with the Listeria bacteria led to 22 deaths in Canada. Thanks to research by three University of Alberta scientists—Drs. Lynn McMullen, Michael Stiles and John Vederas—there’s a life-saving food additive that kills this deadly bacteria without any chemicals. Their Micocin® technology is now used by food-packaging companies to ensure the safety of food products.
Healthier futures for Alberta childrenA landmark project in Alberta schools is changing behaviours around food and activity to combat obesity and diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. APPLE Schools is the brainchild of the University of Alberta’s Dr. Paul Veugelers. “Overeating and inactivity are driving obesity rates and chronic diseases later in life,” he says. “The long-term solution is to prevent obesity by changing behaviour. I thought: What better place to start than with children?” The APPLE Schools approach involves a broad range of healthy eating and active living initiatives among students, supported by the entire school community. Started in 2008, APPLE Schools has had proven success in improving children’s health in Alberta. The project now reaches more than 20,000 children in 47 Alberta schools.
Lab in a boxAn Alberta company is turning the notion of a lab test on its head. Instead of a lab that requires floor space and equipment, Aquila Diagnostics Systems Inc. has developed a device the size of a toaster that can do all kinds of molecular tests—determine whether a patient is resistant to cancer drugs, identify a strain of malaria, pinpoint infectious disease in a herd of cattle, and more. The science behind the technology comes from the work of University of Alberta cancer researcher Dr. Linda Pilarski. The device has the potential to replace millions of dollars of equipment in a conventional lab with something that is much less expensive and can be used anywhere.
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Whatever your health, it’s sure to have benefited from research in our province. Almost every aspect of the health-care system is and needs to be evidence-based or informed by good, solid research.
As Caitlin Crawshaw writes, such research is central to the quality, innovative health care Albertans want
Why we research
A few years ago, Sandra Smith had a stubborn lung infection that left her bedridden at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary. Because she has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that attacks the lungs and digestive system, she had plenty of lung infections before, but this time, her medical team wasn’t able to clear it up with the usual therapies. And because lung infections can cause permanent tissue damage in people with her condition, the situation was dire.
But by a stroke of luck, a graduate student at the hospital had been studying a rare bacterium that can hide in the lungs. “It turned out that I was one of the few people who had it,” says Smith. Soon, she was put on the right antibiotics and the infection went away.
As Smith recovered in hospital, the researcher even visited Smith to teach her about the bacterium. It was
a fascinating look behind the curtain, she says. “So many things happen behind the scenes … but I knew how many hours he had spent working on this in the basement of the hospital.”
Those with good health may never get such an up-close-and-personal experience with research. However, every Albertan—even the healthiest among us—has benefited from health research, says Dr. Kathryn Todd, the vice president of Research, Innovation and Analytics for Alberta Health Services.
Almost every aspect of the health-care system is and needs to be what she calls evidence based or informed by good, solid research. If you’ve had a childhood vaccine, taken antibiotics for strep throat, met with a diabetes nurse educator, received nutrition advice from a registered dietitian, or had an ultrasound during pregnancy, you’ve experienced health research in
action. “I believe if you want to have high-quality, innovative patient care, everything you do must be evidence-informed,” Todd says.
Searching for answers close to homeA good part of the research that benefits patients was started in Alberta’s academic institutions and produced by university researchers (often with partners such as AHS). A great deal of important research happens within AHS, too.
“Sometimes we have specific questions that the system needs answered,” Todd says. “For example, what particular medications should we be giving to residents in our long-term care facilities? Or, how can we at AHS best improve our patients’ recovery after surgery? We are driving research to address these types of questions and we’ll find the best evidence for answers through the partnerships AHS has with the universities.”
A huge amount of health research is happening in all areas of science in the province right now. And for many years, Alberta has contributed to research at both national and international levels, thanks to funding and support from a number of sources, including Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions, the province’s health research management organization.
One better-known research achievement is the University of Alberta’s islet transplantation program. The program uses a surgical technique pioneered in Alberta to transplant donated islet cells from the pancreas
Alberta has contributed to research at both national and international levels
Sandra Smith’s serious lung infection was cured thanks to Alberta-based research.
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into people with type 1 diabetes, allowing their bodies to process sugar more effectively.
Plenty of other important research initiatives are also coming out of the province, such as the University of Calgary’s Thrombosis Research Unit (which is improving how doctors treat blood clots) and the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute (which is finding cost-effective ways to treat osteoarthritis in the knee and reduce wait times for joint replacements).
Alberta’s provincial health-care system attracts health researchers, Todd says, because data can be collected and
easily shared between different medical centres. Other cities and provinces in Canada don’t have this kind of system, making it hard for them to gather good local information to make health decisions.
Dealing with the data Translating research results to health-care practice is a big challenge for all researchers.
“There’s so much data out there, so much good information, and our challenge is to utilize it,” Todd says. To make it easier, AHS has created 10 strategic clinical networks, which bring together experts to find better ways of treating patients.
These networks focus on better care and better value for Albertans. The network areas are: addiction and mental health, bone and joint health, cancer care, cardiovascular health and stroke and critical care. Other areas of focus include emergency, seniors’ health, surgery, obesity, diabetes and nutrition, and respiratory conditions. More networks are planned for 2014 and 2015.
Focusing on patientsResearch can often be expensive and take a long time to produce results. More and more though, research funders are focusing on studies most likely to help patients or the health-care system in the near future.
“Provincially, nationally and internationally, health research funders have become much more interested in return on investment,” says Dr. Cy Frank, CEO of Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions (AIHS).
The impact of health research—a topic he’s studied extensively—can
be far-reaching. Not only can health research help patients, but it can also create more efficiency in the health-care system and even help industry create health-related products and services.
Frank says AIHS takes an even-handed approach to the topic of return on investment, funding both applied research projects and basic science. “I believe you need both types of research working in harmony,” he says. After all, it’s just as important to find a better way to treat a disease through an applied research project, as it is to find a cure, something only basic science can deliver.
During her life, 33-year-old Smith has seen treatments for cystic fibrosis improve dramatically. In fact, she’s alive today because of a double-lung transplant she received at the U of A Hospital in the summer of 2010, a surgery that wasn’t available the year she was born.
Until a cure is found, Smith is happy to participate in local research however she can: “If it’s not hurting you and it’s providing valuable information that can help someone else, why wouldn’t you?”
The impact of health research can be far reaching and can create more
efficiency in the health-care system
Today’s research
Goes beyond the lab Sure, lots of outstanding research involves laboratories, test tubes and beakers, but health researchers study all aspects of wellness.
“Research is a search for knowledge and evidence to make decisions,” says Dr. Kathryn Todd, senior vice president of Research, Innovation and Analytics for Alberta Health Services.
It is just as likely to happen in an office, a hospital or a community as in a lab, and topics can include everything from how to educate people about obesity or asthma to how to develop the best drugs to treat cancer.
Needs local perspective “You can’t always use only other people’s knowledge,” Todd says. For example, research results from outside of the province can be based on individuals with little in common with Albertans. And research conducted elsewhere may not answer the questions being asked here at home.
“Sometimes you have to put some skin in the game,” Todd says. This means investing in local research infrastructure, projects and researchers.
Health economist Philip Jacobs, with the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine, points out that local health researchers are often clinicians, as well, and that their knowledge can benefit their patients directly. “There’s a close connection between community care and academic research,” says Jacobs.
Takes teamworkVery few researchers work alone, says Dr. Cy Frank, CEO of Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions “Research has become much more of a team activity,” he says. The stereotype of the researcher toiling alone in a lab couldn’t be further from the truth, says Frank. “Researchers are regular people who are really interested in making a difference.”
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Research is often like a long, winding journey. Progress is made one step at a time and bumps in the road are common. For researchers, those bumps can be in the form of obtaining funding and ethics approval, getting and figuring out data, and telling the world about their findings. For those looking for advances in health knowledge and treatments, the waiting can test their hopes.
These new research programs could change all that, reports Scott Rollans. Each, in its own way, aims to make it easier to do research in Alberta and improve our health system
Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Health System Sometimes, even small changes can lead to big improvements.
Earlier this year, Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions (AIHS) announced that 10 projects will receive $7.5 million over the next three years through its Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Health System Fund competition, which is jointly funded by AIHS and Alberta Health Services.
Alberta’s health-care system includes 10 strategic clinical networks, each designed to improved care in a certain area (for example, cancer). “The mandate of the clinical networks is pretty clear,” explains Dr. Pamela Valentine, who holds a PhD in psychology with a specialization in neuroscience and is AIHS’s chief operating officer. “They identify potentially inefficient activities in their area, discover through research if there are better and more sustainable ways to do the activities, and then bring that evidence back to improve the health delivery system.”
The partnership will help find ways to
improve patient care while boosting efficiency and
reducing costs
The funded projects include a wide range of health issues. One project looks at the care and treatment of patients with severe obesity. A second looks for ways to make surgical units friendlier for seniors.
“We’re trying to identify the real needs in the system—things that come from people practising medicine and providing care directly,” Valentine explains. “What kinds of things do they face? How is that need addressed in the
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health research world, and how can we feed the evidence back into the system?”
The partnership’s vision is that in three years each network will put small but significant changes into practice. It’s a practical approach to improving health care, Valentine says. “You can’t bring innovation into a huge health system overnight. If you can identify little things that can be changed to improve the health system, and encourage people in the system to use research knowledge to make those changes, then ultimately patients will benefit.”
Depression and primary care
When Albertans seek help in dealing with depression, they usually begin with their family doctor.
“We know that most of those individuals see their primary care physicians, as opposed to coming into our more formal addiction and mental health system,” says Cathy Pryce, vice president of Alberta Health Services’ Emergency, Addiction and Mental Health Strategic Clinical Network.
In recent years, AHS has helped people living with depression by giving family doctors tools and support. “But then we started to dig deeper,” Pryce says.
“We want to learn more about what intensity of treatment is needed for what individuals, and how we can best make sure that it’s available in primary care,” she says. “And to make sure that specialty services—whether that’s psychologists or psychiatrists, or other treatment team members—are available for those for whom depression is not easily treated.”
For many patients, help might be as close as their home computer. “The evidence is suggesting that some of the online self-help programs can be quite effective in assisting people in dealing with their depression,” Pryce says. “We want to learn about whom would they be appropriate for, and what kind of improvement we can expect to see if individuals do go on that kind of a program.”
At the same time, the study will help doctors recognize which patients may need more intensive treatment, such as therapy
or medication.The study has been launched at several Edmonton clinics, and could eventually be provincewide, with as many as 5,000 people taking part. “As we learn, we’re going to be providing our findings to primary care providers across Alberta.”
Alberta Clinical Research Consortium
This new provincewide project will bring the latest treatments and preventions to Albertans by helping health researchers work together.
The Alberta Clinical Research Consortium (ACRC) is exploring ways to make health research easier and more efficient. “It represents the research community, from the academic and community-based health-care systems, from corner to corner across Alberta,” explains Tammy Mah-Fraser, consortium project manager with AIHS.
Right now, health researchers in different areas of Alberta have to deal with a lot of similar tasks and challenges on their own. “We did a road map,” Mah-Fraser says. “When you look at what it takes to actually start a study, it was close to 12 or 15 steps. And that’s even before you approach participants.”
We’re trying to identify real needs from people practising medicine and providing care
If a single study involves different parts of the province, researchers often have to go through many of those steps over and over for each different region. For example, Mah-Fraser says, a study might involve both the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary and the Cross Cancer Centre in Edmonton. “It’s the same study, but it’s often as if you’re in two different countries. That’s not an efficient use of time or resources.”
There’s a better way, Mah-Fraser suggests. “Alberta Health Services has created a great environment, in that it’s one organization. As one organization, it is better able to share what’s happening in Edmonton with what’s happening in Calgary.”
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The consortium is already streamlining research in Alberta’s health system. For example, it has created a single process that helps researchers across the province plan their studies. “We set out last year with 15 projects in mind. By this spring, we will probably have implemented close to 10, with more coming up,” says Mah-Fraser. “And new projects are emerging as well.
“Going forward, we would like to focus on creating a culture for clinical research in Alberta.”
Health Research Ethics Harmonization
Before any health research project starts, it must go through an ethics review—a process that makes sure those taking part are properly protected and informed about what will happen to them in the study and how findings will be used.
Ethics reviews are absolutely essential, but can be a confusing and time-consuming hurdle for researchers. The Alberta Health Research Ethics Harmonization (HREH) initiative aims to make the process quicker and more efficient.
Until now, a study with participants living in several different areas of Alberta would need an ethics review in each area. The initiative aims to change that, says Linda Barrett-Smith, AIHS’s director of Ethics & Innovation Platforms. “We’re trying to align, reduce and streamline the number of health research ethics boards that must approve a study before it can begin.”
Barrett-Smith says the initiative, launched in 2010, has already made progress. “We have been successful in reducing the number of boards from six to three,” she says. “More importantly, we are now reaching a legal agreement amongst the three that are left, that there will only need to be one ethics review application.”
If the initiative succeeds, researchers will be able to get their studies up and running much more quickly and easily and still maintain the required ethics standards.
By making Alberta a better place to do health research, Barrett-Smith and her team hope to encourage more research and attract more investment to the province.
Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research
Patients will soon play a much more active role in health research, thanks to a new Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) initiative.
Called SPOR (Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research) the national program supports research that is often shaped directly by patients themselves. In short, as the term suggests, “patient-oriented research” puts patients first.
In November 2013, Alberta became the first place in Canada to launch a SPOR Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials (SUPPORT) Unit. Over the next five years, the CIHR and AIHS will invest about $48 million in Alberta to promote and support patient-oriented research.
Instead of being divided up among individual research projects, the money will go into building a framework to encourage and support patient-oriented research. The Alberta team has identified seven different “platforms,” each focusing on different aspects of research.
“Our unit wants to build all the necessary support to make Alberta a centre for patient-oriented research and care,” says Tim Murphy, executive director of Alberta’s SPOR SUPPORT Unit. “That means putting the patient first so that the knowledge gained from research is relevant, applicable and can change people’s lives.”
By involving patients, Murphy says, the quality of research and the quality of care can be improved. “Patients need to have their voices heard when we are developing research.”
Involving patients in research can improve the quality
of research and care
Although the project is still in its earliest stages, Murphy hopes the momentum will continue well beyond five years. “We want this to become a new way of both doing research and providing care in the province.”
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Generous Albertans help fund health research
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Donations make a difference. Just ask Shannon Butler, who’s seen first-hand how giving to research can change a life.
After 17 years of living with epilepsy, she had just about given up hope of doing the things she’d always wanted to do—from driving a car to having children. Test after test had failed to identify where in her brain the seizures were coming from.
Donations from a variety of sources, including a multi-million dollar gift to the University Hospital Foundation from Edmontonian Al Owen, helped expand the University of Alberta’s MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) Research Centre. Dr. Don Gross, Shannon’s doctor and a medical researcher, believed one of the centre’s advanced MRI systems could detect the abnormality in her brain.
Gross is one of many doctors and researchers who use the centre to develop new methods for diagnosing epilepsy and other diseases, including Parkinson’s, dementia, stroke and depression. The combination of state-of-the-art equipment and innovative MRI data analysis techniques proved to be just what the doctors needed to help Butler. She had two surgeries more than a decade ago and has never had another seizure.
“I started driving, I started a new career, and I started my family,” says Butler. “I got the life I had always dreamed of thanks to world-class people, world-class equipment and the world-class research right here in Alberta. And it was made possible by one person’s generosity.”
Inspired to give
Now Butler and her family are paying it forward. Her experience inspired them to form the Butler Family Foundation and to get involved with the University Hospital Foundation, initially as annual donors and now as supporters of the new $35-million Brain Centre.
The Butlers are in good company. Each year, Albertans give millions of dollars to help improve the health and wellness of thousands of people across the province by donating to research projects in the province. Many such donations are to the foundations and trusts that support Alberta Health Services.
For example, during the past 10 years the University Hospital Foundation has invested more than $16 million in medical research partnerships at the University of Alberta. The Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation gave
$8.5 million to research grants in 2011/2012. The Calgary Health Trust, the fundraising arm of Alberta Health Services in Calgary, invested about $6.2 million in research—31 per cent of the $20 million it gave out—in 2012/2013. In the same year, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation invested $7.9 million in research.
Most of this money goes to researchers at the universities of Alberta and Calgary, many of whom are also doctors who care for patients. Often these funds are matched or leveraged by dollars from other provincial and federal research agencies.
Many other health-related charitable organizations also support research. Case in point: the Heart and Stroke Foundation had research on the agenda from the day it was formed in 1956. Two years later, the first Heart Month campaign raised $23,800, giving the foundation funds for its first research grant and fellowship award in Alberta. Now, both its research funds and scope have grown tremendously. In 2013, the Heart and Stroke Foundation announced funding of $25 million to the University of Calgary and $25 million to the University of Alberta, part of a 10-year $300-million commitment to heart and stroke research across Canada.
Industry is also getting into the act.
Each year, Albertans give millions of dollars to research projects in the province. Their reasons for giving vary, but the results are similar: they help improve the health and wellness of thousands of people across the province. Connie Bryson looks at how donor support is changing lives
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Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions’ interdisciplinary team grant competition in 2007 caught the attention of pharmaceutical company Pfizer Canada. The company donated $500,000 to the Alberta Osteoarthritis Team, one of the winning teams, and then partnered with Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions and other provincial and national agencies to create the $3.5-million Alberta/Pfizer Translational Research Fund Opportunity. That fund is used to transform discoveries made by Alberta health researchers into medical technologies and services.
Trends in donor support
As donor options have multiplied, donors are becoming more discriminating about what they support, says Edmontonian Dennis Klein. For many years, Klein and his wife Donna have contributed to the Alberta Cancer Foundation. In 2013, for the first time, they made a significant donation to the foundation specifically for cancer research and they plan to continue supporting research.
“Donors today are looking more objectively at their investment choices,” Klein says. “We want to put money in the right place so our dollars make a difference. We want to support research that translates into positive outcomes for patients.”
Charitable organizations such as the Alberta Cancer Foundation are responding to this new reality of more targeted giving. Every year, the foundation invests more than $15 million in cancer research, including at universities. Where it used to put out a call for academic research projects and base grants on what came back, the foundation now takes a more strategic approach. For example, it has invested significantly in cancer clinical trials over the past seven years. This
commitment has borne fruit. Alberta, and in particular the Cross Cancer Institute, has a much higher clinical trial enrolment rate than the national average. In the next year, the institute hopes to double the number of Alberta patients in these studies.
“The higher enrolment rate tells us that more people are getting access to the most innovative treatments,” says Alberta Cancer Foundation CEO Myka Osinchuk. “This is a tremendous commentary on how you can make a huge impact with an investment in research.”
Philanthropists are also much more tuned into research funding. While traditional research grants from provincial, national and international organizations are still the bread and butter of university researchers, philanthropic investment is a growing piece of the research funding pie.
Dr. Jong Rho was recruited to the Alberta Children’s Hospital and the University of Calgary from the United States in 2010. The internationally recognized neurologist and epilepsy researcher is the Dr. Robert Haslam Chair in Child Neurology. The chair
is funded by donations to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.
“When you’re establishing a new lab, start-up funds are vital and this is where the philanthropic donations have been critical for me,” Rho says. “Not only is the funding generous, it’s also flexible. You can put it to use where you really need it. . . . We’ve been able to grow the entire pediatric neuroscience research program in an accelerated way. In three years we’ve created a critical mass in all strategic areas: epilepsy, brain injury and neurodevelopmental disorders. Normally this would have taken up to 10 years.”
Rho hopes funding for basic research will also continue. “It’s important to remember that today’s MRI scanners would not exist unless the basic science of MR spectroscopy was supported in the mid-20th century,” he says. “We must invest appropriately and strategically in enough basic science to lay the path for future developments that may not emerge until much later.”
Focus on the future
While more and more charitable organizations support research with direct links to today’s patients, many donors are willing to look beyond immediate needs. It’s a natural evolution, says the University Hospital Foundation’s president Joyce Mallman Law.
“Donors’ first gifts tend to support an area of care that has impacted them personally. But as they develop a relationship with our foundation, the focus often changes. They want to go beyond funding something immediate like equipment. They want to make a difference by helping find solutions. Supporting research is a natural for them because they’re looking for long-term impact—not just for the next person, but for the next generation.”
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A passion for health
Fourteen years ago, Dr. Kathryn Dong showed up at the offices of Edmonton’s inner-city Streetworks program to volunteer. It was a first for both the program and the medical resident. Streetworks—which was founded in 1989 to tackle HIV infection in drug users and sex-trade workers and grew to include a number of infectious diseases—had agreed to take on young doctors in two-week chunks.
Taking it to the streetsKathryn Dong is helping people in Edmonton’s inner city better understand their health
Dong had persuaded her supervisor to let her explore public health in addition to her specialty of emergency medicine.
“Talking to their clients,” Dong says today, “and listening to people’s stories, I felt this is where I wanted to focus my energy. If I can make a small difference somewhere and leave the practice of medicine a little bit better than I found it, this is
where I want to really focus my time.”“She was like most people in our
program, a little bit wide-eyed,” remembers Marliss Taylor, the long-serving Streetworks program manager. “This is quite a different environment than a hospital setting. She came to us and just was a sponge and absorbed everything. Kathryn has such skills, knowledge and compassion. She was able to pull it all together and see how
poor health often starts long before someone heads off to the emergency department.”
Dong, now a practising emergency doctor at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra, is starting the new Inner City Health and Wellness Program at the hospital. The program will offer all Royal Alex patients a chance to improve their underlying health issues and address the so-called “social determinants” of their health, such as income, employment and education.
Andrew Otway, the CEO and president of the Royal Alexandra Foundation, testifies to Dong’s powers of persuasion. The foundation recently funded the program to the tune of $3.5 million. “I think it would be fair to describe Kathryn as having a zeal for making an impact,” says Otway. “The motivation and drivers for her aren’t the traditional ones such as the prestige of being a prominent physician but rather making a real impact on the population.”
— Jeff Collins
To learn more about Dr. Kathryn Dong and the Inner City Health and Wellness Program, visit the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation at royalalex.org/inner-city.
Kathryn is a woman of great compassion, great skill and great knowledge— Marliss Taylor, Streetworks
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Health wanted
To book an ad in Health Wanted, call 403.943.2892 or email [email protected]
Your health-care experience matters to us
If you have feedback or concerns about the care you or afamily member received you can speak directly with yourcare team, or contact the Patient Relations Department:
Call 1-855-550-2555 or visit
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Learn more about supporting healthy communities whereyou live and becoming a community champion.
For details, visit AHS’s Foundations & Trusts web pages at albertahealthservices.ca/255.asp.
We are looking for women to be part of a research project who:Are thinking of becoming pregnant | Are pregnant
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Please contact:[email protected] or 780-492-0642exerciseandpregnancy.ca Growing Healthy Futures
Nursing Week, May 12-18, 2014
Alberta Health Services celebrates the everyday and the extraordinary contributions of
nurses to the people in our province.
Nursing: A Leading Force for Change
52 apple Spring 2014
applemag.ca 53
every child needs it
Learn about the sleep your child needs and how to overcome
common sleep problems.
Sign up today for the CHADS Behavioural Services
Sleep Seminar with Jill Ravanello, a registered psychologist
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March 13 | April 8May 8 | June 3
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sleep
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My health outlook
I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2005, when I was 53. After more than 30 years working in journalism and communications, I retired to focus on staying well and advocating for Parkinson’s. It’s the same disease that actor Michael J. Fox has, which affects your motor skills, balance and coordination and causes tremors—it’s frustrating because your brain still works but your body doesn’t.
In March 2013, I had surgery: electrodes implanted deep in my brain and a transmitter into my chest . . . I’m the bionic man. Deep brain stimulation was impossible before years of research, clinical trials and new technology here in Alberta and elsewhere. When I consider how fortunate I was to have access to the procedure and the expertise to deliver it safely here in Calgary, I feel truly blessed. Since the surgery, I’ve tossed my cane aside and feel fluid, loose and more confident in my step. I feel stronger. My balance, strength and endurance are much better and my tremors have almost disappeared. Now I can ride my bicycle and play golf a few
Dave Pommer I am better and that’s enough cause for a
realistic level of rejoicing
times a week with my wife. Brain surgery didn’t change everything, but it has given
me a new lease on life. People who haven’t seen me for a while tell me how remarkable the change is, and I just smile—I’m so fortunate. I can understand that we all want the perfect solution; I know I’ve had to manage my own expectations and forgive myself for hoping all my symptoms would disappear. But I am better, no doubt about that. That’s enough cause for a realistic level of rejoicing.
Even with the operation, the disease is still progressive and as I get older, it will get worse. But I don’t want to get hung up on the what-ifs. One day at a time. You can never give up.
It helps to be your own advocate and have people on your team; Parkinson Alberta has been very helpful. They provide support services, education, advocacy and funds for research (parkinsonalberta.ca). They are marvelous.
— As told to Jacqueline Louie and Amy Sawchenko
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Brain surgery pioneered in Alberta gave Dave Pommer a new lease on life, and relief from Parkinson’s disease.
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