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Description
Part of CIHR's mandate is to promote the study of health determinants and specific needs of the Official Language Minority Communities (OLMC). The purpose of this funding opportunity is to increase the number of researchers interested in these issues and to ensure that newly created knowledge is transmitted to researchers and clinicians with the view of improving health of Canadian populations. It is expected that this targeted investment will increase research capacity in this area and increase our knowledge of OLMC health determinants, of the relationships among health service governance, management and delivery in OLMCs, as well as the interactions between language, culture and health of OLMCs.
This funding opportunity is announced under the Strategic Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities.
The Strategic Research Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities (OLMC) aims at understanding the health issues of French and English speaking Canadians who live in communities where they are a minority. An official language minority community is a group of Canadians for whom the mother-tongue or the language of choice is French or English in a province where this language is a minority. More precisely, this term refers to English-speaking communities living in Quebec and French-speaking communities living in provinces and territories other than Quebec.
In 2001, a report revealed that more than half of the French-Speaking Minority Communities rarely, if ever, have access to health services in their language and hypothesized that there is a direct connection between language and population health. This problem has also been observed in the English-Speaking Minority Communities for whom regional access is often limited or non-existent in some locations. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that language barriers negatively affect access to health care services, access to preventive services, and therefore timely diagnosis and treatment. Access to health services in one's language of choice (French or English) is a critical health care issue, since the relationships between professional and patient have been shown to be an important determinant of quality of care. However, evidence for understanding the health issues of these linguistic communities regarding their state of health, determinants of health, as well as information related to access to services is lacking.
Therefore, the Strategic Research Initiative on Official Languages Minority Communities (OLMC) aims at funding research projects that will play a role in reducing health disparities between minority and majority linguistic communities of official language in Canada and improve the health status of these communities.
Funds Available
CIHR's contribution to the amount available for this initiative is subject to availability of funds voted annually to CIHR by parliamentary appropriations, and the conditions that may be attached to them.
The maximum amount awarded for a single award is $55, 000 for up to 3 years. CIHR Strategic Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities anticipates that two awards will be offered through this competition.
Research allowance: $5,000 per annum
Stipend
The annual stipend level for those with a PhD degree (or equivalent) is $40,000 per annum.
The following stipend levels apply to health professionals who hold licensure (full or educational) in Canada at the time of taking up the award. The stipend level is dependent upon the number of years of research or clinical training completed since obtaining the health professional degree. Upon completion of two years of postgraduate research training, the awardees may be eligible to receive a stipend increase to the higher level.
- Less than 2 years of research or clinical training experience: $40,000
- Two or more years of research or clinical training experience: $50,000
The stipend for health professionals who do not hold licensure in Canada is $21,000 per annum (i.e., equivalent to a Doctoral Research Award). Upon completion of two years of postgraduate research training the stipend may increase to $40,000 per annum.
- Stipends are valued in Canadian dollars and are taxable.
- This award is non-renewable.
- This award must be held at a Canadian institution.
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Objectives
The specific objectives of this funding opportunity are:
- To provide recognition and funding to academic researchers early in their career;
- To provide a reliable supply of highly skilled and qualified researchers.
Relevant Research Areas:
The CIHR research initiative on OLMC will fund applications that are determined to be relevant to the research priority areas described below.
1 – Determinants of health
The importance of language has a particular dimension with health issues in the areas of health promotion, disease prevention and effective communication between patients and health workers. The few studies on official language minority communities reveal a negative health differential and a stronger role of some determinants, such as living in a minority community, yet the studies do not explain these health inequalities.
Population health research looks at all determinants of health: the social and physical environment in which populations live, resources available to them, health services, lifestyle, cultural practices and biological determinants. This view incorporates two major factors that may explain health inequalities: the personal factor, which explores the characteristics of individuals, and the contextual factor, which looks at living environments (resources and infrastructures) and the collective functioning (sociocultural and historical characteristics of the community, degree of integration, mobility, norms and values).
This research area seeks to identify the bio-psycho-social determinants of health and the health needs of official language minority populations, document the access these populations have to health services and determine how accessibility affects their health.
2 – Health service governance, management and delivery
The issue of health institution governance by official language minorities is still not clearly documented. The community argument is only at the early stages, and research on this subject is therefore delayed. As such, it is important to reinforce knowledge to gain a better understanding of minority community governance regarding health in Canada. It is also important to identify the political and administrative issues raised by jurisprudence and institutional duality and better grasp the new health-related observations. Issues relating to greater participation by official language minority communities in governance bodies and decision-making guide this branch of research. The concerns of official language minorities surrounding health service delivery in both official languages and the management of this service suggest that governance of health care institutions is undergoing far-reaching changes that must be better documented.
3 - Language, culture and health
The connections between language, culture and health have to do with the effects of the minority linguistic and cultural experience on identity development and health. For example, this has an impact on access to health promotion and prevention services and to primary and specialized health care. This also comes into play with communication between people receiving health care and health workers. It is also important to understand the processes of linguistic assimilation and acculturation, which may affect the self-esteem and identity development of people in minority communities.
The connections between "language, culture and health" particularly affect certain "client groups": early childhood, youth, seniors, women, new Canadians and people with mental health or psychosocial problems. Speech, verbal and non-verbal communication, the meaning of "symbols" and general comprehension are closely linked to culture and language. When it comes to health problems, it is particularly crucial for people to be able to use their own language to explain their symptoms, state of mind, difficulties and pains to a professional who understands their language. It is important to understand the situation of members of official language minority communities, how they view the limited access to services they encounter and the impact this situation has on their health. With an active immigration policy, the specific situation of new francophones from Africa, Asia and the West Indies is among the shifting issues of access to French-language services. The importance of language and culture becomes even clearer for seniors with memory problems or depressive people under great psychological distress. Only research into these issues will improve our knowledge so that we can document the connections between language, culture and health.
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Eligibility
Eligibility criteria for all CIHR research funding programs apply. The business office of the institution of an eligible Nominated Principal Applicant generally administers CIHR funds. Please refer to the Eligibility Requirements for CIHR Grants and Awards regarding the eligibility requirements for individuals and institutions.
Specific to CIHR training awards, please refer to the General Guidelines for Training Award Programs, as well as the Fellowship program description.
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Guidelines
This funding opportunity will follow the General Guidelines for Training Award Programs. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate the use of Gender and Sex-Based Analysis in applications.
Allowable Costs
The awards consist of a stipend and a research allowance.
For the research allowance, awardees should review the Use of Grant Funds section of the Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) Financial Administration Guide for a complete listing and description of allowable costs and activities.
Conditions of Funding
All conditions specified in CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies shall apply to applications funded through this funding opportunity. Conditions cover areas such as Applicant and Institutional Responsibilities, Ethics, Official languages policy, Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Acknowledgement of CIHR's Support. Successful applicants will be informed of any special financial requirements prior to the release of funds or when they receive CIHR's Authorization for Funding (AFF) document.
Access to Information Act and Privacy Act, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
All personal information collected by CIHR about applicants is used to review applications, to recruit reviewers, to administer and monitor grants and awards, to compile statistics, and to promote and support health research in Canada. Consistent with these purposes, applicants should also expect that information collected by CIHR may be shared as described in Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review.
CIHR as a federal entity is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, therefore the requirements of these two statutes will apply to all information located in CIHR's premises including, without limitation, cost-sharing agreements related to this Funding opportunity and all matters pertaining thereto.
While respecting the application of the Privacy Act to federal entities, all signing parties involved in a collaborative agreement will also be bound by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). All personal information (as identified by the PIPEDA) collected, used or disclosed in the course of any commercial activity under collaborative agreements related to the Funding opportunity will be collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the PIPEDA.
CIHR Guidelines for Health Research Involving Aboriginal People
The CIHR Guidelines for Health Research Involving Aboriginal People came into effect as policy for CIHR-funded research on July 1, 2008. Applicants whose proposed research will involve Aboriginal People are strongly encouraged to familiarise themselves with these guidelines and in particular with the section "Application of the Guidelines," which outlines the situations in which these guidelines apply.
Communication Requirements
Grant recipients are required to acknowledge CIHR, its institutes and partners in any communication or publication related to the project. See CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies, Public Communication and Acknowledgement of CIHR's Support for details on CIHR's communication requirements. The contributing institutes / partners will be identified on the Authorization for Funding and decision letter.
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Performance Measurement
CIHR is committed to demonstrating results to Canadians for the money invested in health research. Therefore, processes for monitoring progress and appropriate use of funds, as well as for performance measurement and program evaluation are in place. As a result, funding recipients must:
- contribute to the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies and processes by participating in evaluation studies, surveys, workshops, audits and providing data or reports as required for the purpose of collecting information to assess progress and results;
- encourage their associates, trainees and administration to participate in the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies and processes as required.
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Review Process and Evaluation
Relevance Review
The CIHR Strategic Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities will provide funding for applications that are relevant to (in alignment with) the objectives and research priority areas described in the Objectives section.
Prior to peer review, representatives from CIHR Research Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities will conduct the relevance review. They will have access to anonymized project titles and summaries to conduct relevance review.
The following criteria will be used in conducting the relevance review:
- Direct relevance to official language minority communities health issues;
- Fit of the application to the objectives and relevant research areas outlined in this funding opportunity.
Upon completion of peer review, representatives from CIHR Research Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities will receive the ranking list, merit scores (ratings) and recommendations on funding level and award term for the applications that fall in the fundable range and have been determined to be relevant to the specific research areas and objectives of the initiative. The list will be used for funding decision-making purposes and will remain anonymous.
Peer Review
A CIHR peer review committee will evaluate the full applications. The committee may be drawn from one of CIHR's pre-existing committees or may be created specifically for this funding opportunity. Committee members are selected based on suggestions from many sources including the institute(s) / portfolio(s) and partner(s), following CIHR's Policy on Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest and Privacy Issues in Peer and Relevance Review (CCIP).
Evaluation Criteria
Fellowship Awards are reviewed in accordance with the Guide for Reviewers – CIHR Fellowships.
The following general criteria for evaluating training award applications will be used:
- Achievements and Activities of the Candidate
- Characteristics and Abilities of the Candidate
- Research Training Environment
The following evaluation criteria are specific to this funding opportunity. CIHR recognizes that applications will emphasize different approaches to research and to knowledge translation, therefore reviewers and committees are expected to weight criteria such as these differently from one application to another.
- Research that will help identify specific health issues related to living in an official language minority community and/or that will assess the impact it may have on health status;
- Research that will help identify the needs of French and English-speaking minority communities in terms of health services offered in both official languages.
- Research that will improve access and quality of health care services in both official languages in minority communities.
- Ensure that newly created knowledge is transmitted to researchers, clinicians, health professionals, policy makers and end-users of research results with the view of improving the health of these populations.
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How to Apply
Note: This funding opportunity requires the use of CIHR Web Forms to apply for funding.
- The application process for this funding opportunity is comprised of one step: Application.
- To complete your Application, follow the instructions identified in the Fellowships - Web Forms "Application" Phase Instructions
- An overview of CIHR's application processes can be found under Apply for Funding.
- Reminder to applicants: Please ensure that your application is complete, includes all required signatures (application participants, organizational and partner signatures both National and/or International, as identified in the "Participant Categories for CIHR Grants" and the "Meaning of Signatures on Application Forms" sections of the CIHR Grants and Awards Guide) and is submitted on time to CIHR. As of September 1, 2008, CIHR no longer assumes responsibility in following-up with applicants who submit an incomplete application. Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted into the competition.
Additional instructions that must be followed for this funding opportunity:
(Note: These additional instructions supersede all other policies or guidelines published by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, including, but not limited to, the Grants and Awards Guide, the Memorandum of Understanding, etc.)
- In the Program(s) section of the CIHR Training Module, select "Strategic Initiative" and enter the title of this funding opportunity.
Send the completed application package by courier to:
RE: "Fellowship Award: CIHR Strategic Initiative on Official Language Minority Communities"
Targeted Initiatives Branch
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9
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Contact Information
For questions on CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process contact:
Julien David (Updated: 2009-03-09)
Program Delivery Coordinator
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: 613-941-6493
Fax: 613-954-1800
Email: julien.david@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
For questions about this initiative and research objectives contact:
Johanne Lapointe
Team Lead, Strategic Research Initiatives
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: 613-954-2474
Fax: 613-954-1800
Email: johanne.lapointe@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
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