Major program grant INSPIREs better health care

Major program grant INSPIREs better health care

Queen's researcher receives $2 million for ongoing review of primary health care in Ontario.

By Dave Rideout

April 17, 2018

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Queen鈥檚 clinician-researcher Michael Green and his collaborator, Rick Glazier at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), have received more than $2 million from Ontario鈥檚 Health System Research Fund (HSRF) to support their ongoing study of health system challenges and equitable access to primary health care in the province.

The INSPIRE-PHC2 research program (Innovations Supporting Primary Care Through Research Phase 2) is one of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care鈥檚 HSRF Program Awards.

鈥淲e are very pleased to be receiving this support from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care,鈥 says Dr. Green, Head of the Queen鈥檚 Department of Family Medicine and the grant鈥檚 Nominated Principal Investigator. 鈥淭his three-year funding will allow us to continue to provide up-to-date evidence on the state of primary health services in Ontario on an ongoing basis, and to provide strong, innovative recommendations to the province so gaps in service can be improved.鈥

The funded project is a continuation of an earlier three-year HSRF Program Award (2013-2016), helmed by Western University鈥檚 Moira Stewart. With this renewed funding, Drs. Green and Glazier will lead a team of more than 30 primary care researchers from across Ontario, with a focus on continued evaluation of innovations in the delivery of primary health care, and the successes and challenges faced by Ontario鈥檚 .

鈥淲e meet frequently with stakeholders in the primary care sector to hone the targeting of our analysis and to identify needs,鈥 says Dr. Green. 鈥淭his approach allows us to continually address new challenges as they arise and make ongoing recommendations for service improvement. 鈥

As a continual analysis of the primary care landscape, the program has already looked at things like the distribution and effectiveness of family health teams across Ontario. Geographic analysis revealed where in the province the gaps in access to family health teams were largest, allowing Dr. Green and his collaborators to advise the provincial government where they could prioritize for improved or increased service. This data helped inform the Government of Ontario when it was determining where to locate recently funded new family health teams.

鈥淒r. Green and his collaborators are making invaluable contributions to the future health of people across Ontario,鈥 says John Fisher, Vice-Principal (Research). 鈥淥n behalf of Queen鈥檚, I want to congratulate him on securing new funding that will allow his team to continue this patient-oriented program that will continue to improve the province鈥檚 primary health care system.鈥

Visit the  for the announcement about this award and further details.

Learn more about the INSPIRE program .

Health Sciences