In order to recognize the exceptional efforts of student researchers, CIHR's Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH), together with the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA), the Canadian Institute for Health Information's Canadian Population Health Initiative (CPHI) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), have developed a national awards program related to population and public health.
About the Institute:
Established in December 2000, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) supports research into the complex interactions (biological, social, cultural, environmental) which determine the health of individuals, communities, and global populations; and into the application of that knowledge to improve the health of both populations and individuals. With Dr. John Frank, an epidemiologist and physician, as its Scientific Director, and the guidance of the Institute's advisory board, IPPH seeks to be a world leader in inter-disciplinary population and public health research and application.
IPPH's current strategic plan addresses five key strategic research priorities:
- capacity building for population and public health research and its application;
- understanding and addressing the impacts of physical and social environments on health;
- analyzing and reducing health disparities;
- environmental and genetic determinants of disease in human populations; and
- global health
Building capacity within the research field of population and public health is key factor for growing our future talent. It is for this reason that IPPH, along with partners, has recognized the work of students at a national population and public health awards ceremony.
About the awards:
From September 18 to 21, 2005, the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) held its 96th Annual Conference. During that time, IPPH, along with the CPHA, the CPHI and PHAC presented a total of six master's and PhD candidates from Canadian universities with awards in applied population and public health research.
The Population and Public Health Student Awards and the Dr. John Hastings CPHA Student Award promote a better understanding of the interactions among many social, economic and environmental factors that determine the health of people. They are designed to acknowledge excellence in the next generation of population and public health researchers, policy makers and practitioners.
The newly introduced Dr. John Hastings CPHA Student Award also honours the memory of an internationally-recognized public health physician and researcher whose work on policy alternatives within community health, and his commitment to furthering the education of public health professionals had a tremendous effect on the Canadian health care system.
Two of the 2005 student award recipients are conducting work that complements IPPH's global health strategic research priority:
a) The first recipient of the Dr. John Hastings CPHA Student Award is Ms. Renée Larocque, a PhD candidate from the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health at McGill University in Montreal. She is assessing the negative ramifications of hookworm infection, which involves an intestinal parasite, on pregnant women in less-developed countries. Few countries have implemented hookworm treatments within their prenatal programs, and as a result, many children are born anemic. By analyzing the possible benefits of hookworm treatments, specifically mebendazole and iron supplementation, among Peruvian women, Ms. Larocque hopes the study results will highlight treatment benefits, on a global level, that are available to pregnant women who may fall ill with a hookworm infection.
b) Ms. Helen Oliver, a master's candidate in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan, and a recipient of one of the Population and Public Health Student Awards, is examining health outcomes from structural adjustment programs (SAPs) in Argentina and Uruguay. SAPs require countries to devalue their currencies, lift import and export restrictions, balance their budgets and remove price controls, so that they can apply for World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans that will pay off debts. SAPs tend to affect the poor - and Ms. Oliver's findings demonstrate that Uruguay's ability to maintain its social and health spending during SAP implementation helped to save the lives of children under five years of age.
The awards hold an individual value of $300 (given to two master's level students), $500 (given to three PhD level students) and $1,000 (for the Dr. John Hastings CPHA Student award). The winning abstracts were integrated into the CPHA Conference program, and partner organizations covered the registration, travel and accommodation costs of award winners so they may attend the conference and present their research. In addition, the work of all six student award winners will be featured in an upcoming issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health.
The true value of these awards lies in the recognition of the significant contribution student researchers are making to the field of population and public health. They highlight significant multidisciplinary achievements and celebrate tomorrow's health researchers today.
To learn more about the other award winners and for future programs, please visit the Canadian Public Health Association website at: http://www.cpha.ca/conf96/web_eng/Award_pop_public_health.html
