Fiona G Kouyoumdjian1, Kathryn E McIsaac1, Jessica E Foran1, Flora I Matheson1. 1. Centre for Urban Health Solutions (Kouyoumdjian, Matheson), St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ont.; Research Services (McIsaac), Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, NS; Department of Political Science (Foran) and Department of Family Medicine (Kouyoumdjian), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Health research provides a means to define health status and to identify ways to improve health. Our objective was to define the proportion of grants and funding from the Government of Canada's health research investment agency, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), that was awarded for prison health research, and to describe the characteristics of funded grants. METHODS: In this descriptive study, we defined prison health research as research on the health and health care of people in prisons and at the time of their release. We searched the CIHR Funding Decisions Database by subject and by investigator name for funded grants for prison health research in Canada in all competitions between 2010 and 2014. We calculated the proportion of grants and funding awarded for prison health research, and described the characteristics of funded grants. RESULTS: During the 5-year study period, 21 grants were awarded that included a focus on prison health research, for a total of $2 289 948. Six of these grants were operating grants and 6 supported graduate or fellowship training. In total, 0.13% of all grants and 0.05% of all funding was for prison health research. INTERPRETATION: A relatively small proportion of CIHR grants and funding were awarded for prison health research between 2010 and 2014. If prison health is a priority for Canada, strategic initiatives that include funding opportunities could be developed to support prison health research in Canada.
BACKGROUND: Health research provides a means to define health status and to identify ways to improve health. Our objective was to define the proportion of grants and funding from the Government of Canada's health research investment agency, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), that was awarded for prison health research, and to describe the characteristics of funded grants. METHODS: In this descriptive study, we defined prison health research as research on the health and health care of people in prisons and at the time of their release. We searched the CIHR Funding Decisions Database by subject and by investigator name for funded grants for prison health research in Canada in all competitions between 2010 and 2014. We calculated the proportion of grants and funding awarded for prison health research, and described the characteristics of funded grants. RESULTS: During the 5-year study period, 21 grants were awarded that included a focus on prison health research, for a total of $2 289 948. Six of these grants were operating grants and 6 supported graduate or fellowship training. In total, 0.13% of all grants and 0.05% of all funding was for prison health research. INTERPRETATION: A relatively small proportion of CIHR grants and funding were awarded for prison health research between 2010 and 2014. If prison health is a priority for Canada, strategic initiatives that include funding opportunities could be developed to support prison health research in Canada.
Authors: Fiona G Kouyoumdjian; Kathryn E McIsaac; Jessica Liauw; Samantha Green; Fareen Karachiwalla; Winnie Siu; Kaite Burkholder; Ingrid Binswanger; Lori Kiefer; Stuart A Kinner; Mo Korchinski; Flora I Matheson; Pam Young; Stephen W Hwang Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2015-02-25 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: R Elwood Martin; K Murphy; D Hanson; C Hemingway; V Ramsden; J Buxton; A Granger-Brown; L-L Condello; M Buchanan; N Espinoza-Magana; G Edworthy; T G Hislop Journal: Int J Prison Health Date: 2009
Authors: Iain Chalmers; Michael B Bracken; Ben Djulbegovic; Silvio Garattini; Jonathan Grant; A Metin Gülmezoglu; David W Howells; John P A Ioannidis; Sandy Oliver Journal: Lancet Date: 2014-01-08 Impact factor: 79.321