BROOKLYN THORPE
News Writer

The University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina have teamed up to conduct a study on disparities in health across the province.

The resulting research group, The Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit, recently received $750,000 from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation.

“The funding covers costs of doing research, such as salaries of researchers — full-time as well as student researchers — travel related to research, costs of printing and distributing questionnaires, some administrative costs and the like,” said Muhajarine Nazeem, the head of the U of S team.

“The team’s expertise and interest, as well as that of our research collaborators in these populations, lies with health of rural and northern Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal seniors and children,” said Nazeem.

In the Saskatoon region, the team will assess health interventions geared towards children and their families. The goal of this specific project involves better understanding health interventions that help improve health equity for children.

One of the main goals of the provincial project, which will include research in Watrous, Wolseley, Ile-a-la-Crosse and Saskatoon, is to focus on the impact that previous health interventions have had on vulnerable populations. The research team will be able to address the ineffectiveness of previous research, as seen by the constantly growing health inequalities between populations.

The project seeks to develop new relations with community partners, such as health authorities and academics, so that health care workers, managers, professionals and community members can be educated on the results of the research.

“This is research that promises real, positive impact for Saskatchewan people,” said U of S President Peter MacKinnon in a press release.

Study results will be presented to government ministries and agencies, health care workers, health advocates, community organizations and average citizens.

“This project will also develop outcomes and products in the form of a tool kit that can be readily used by policy makers and practitioners,” said Nazeem.

The team will publish journal articles, conference presentations, research findings and progress updates on the Saskatchewan Population Health and Research Unit’s website sometime in 2014.