SUPPORT Unit builds foundation for patient-oriented research
May 25, 2015 – Moncton, New Brunswick – Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Robert Goguen, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Member of Parliament for Moncton–Riverview–Dieppe today announced the launch of the Maritime Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research SUPPORT Unit on behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Canada’s Minister of Health. Parliamentary Secretary Goguen was joined by the Honourable Victor Boudreau, New Brunswick’s Minister of Health, Michel Perron, Vice-President, External Affairs and Business Development, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and Dr. Adrian Levy, Executive Director of the SUPPORT Unit.
SUPPORT (Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials) Units are provincial or regional centres that connect patients, researchers, policy makers, funders, and health care professionals to facilitate patient-oriented research and to help attract, train, and mentor patient-oriented researchers.
Ultimately, the SUPPORT Units are about improving health outcomes for patients. They provide the guidance and resources needed for health research to improve health care practices, therapies, and policies. They ensure new and innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are applied when and where needed, and best practices are shared across jurisdictions for the benefit of Canadian patients.
The Maritime SUPPORT Unit is located within the Nova Scotia Health Authority and it involves universities, hospitals and health ministries in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The SUPPORT Unit team will work with its provincial partners to identify and address research priorities for patients in the region. As an example of their work, the SUPPORT Unit will evaluate the impact of regionalization on total hip and knee replacement and cardiac surgical procedures across the Maritime provinces.
Michael Bolkenius
Office of the Honourable Rona Ambrose
Minister of Health
613-957-0200
Media Relations
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
613-941-4563
mediarelations@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened health care system for Canadians. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 13,700 health researchers and trainees across Canada.
