Assistant Professor and Scientist, University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain Craig Dale is the recipient of the CIHR Embedded Clinician Researcher Award, with a highly ranked application (2nd in the committee that reviewed the applications). This $300,000 award, delivered over four years, will give Dale the opportunity to dedicate at least 50% of his time to research.
Dale will use his protected time to further develop his program of research investigating how to improve the delivery of oral health care for adult patients in intensive care units. The issue of oral health care is crucial – in its most serious manifestation, poor oral health can lead to higher rates of infection, such as pneumonia, and thus longer hospitalizations and higher mortality for patients. Poor oral health care can also lead to significant dental complications, and for older adults without dental coverage, these complications can be expensive to repair or even out of reach. Dale’s work will improve health outcomes for a particularly vulnerable segment of the population – patients in the intensive care unit.
Associate Professor Monica Parry is the recipient of a $100,000 CIHR Knowledge Synthesis Award for her project “Self-management programs for women with cardiac pain: An integrated mixed methods systematic review”. Parry’s research centers on improving health outcomes for people with chronic disease. She has a particular interest in heart disease and diabetes, and the differing experiences of men and women as they manage their illnesses.
Parry’s innovative program of research will develop and evaluate an integrated smartphone and web-based intervention (HEARTPA♀N) that will help women self-manage cardiac pain. This research addresses a significant gap in the current health system. Women experience more cardiac pain but most of the time they do not recognize the symptoms, putting them at risk for more pain, impaired function, depression, poor health-related quality of life and death. Another worrying aspect is that women are more likely than men to report persistent pain after they have had cardiac surgery. Parry’s research will make an important contribution to the health and quality of life of women living with cardiac disease.