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Session Title: Evaluating Health Research Impact: Implementation of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) Model
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Panel Session 832 to be held in Malibu on Saturday, Nov 5, 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM
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Sponsored by the Research, Technology, and Development Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Gretchen Jordan, Sandia National Laboratories, gbjorda@sandia.gov
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| Abstract:
This panel will further thinking on the contextual nature of evaluating health research, address methodological challenges, and pose questions and considerations for others interested in implementing a framework developed by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) or extending the model to other fields. The first presenter was part of the expert panel brought together to develop the CAHS model for assessing the return on investment for health sciences research. She will describe the development and strengths of the impact logic model and limitations in generalizing this logic to other areas of research. Then we introduce two case studies that will show the experiences of different Canadian health research organizations in implementing the model. A special emphasis will be on how the model was adapted to meet organizational needs, what enhancements were made and how the model was integrated into existing evaluation systems.
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Building a Complex Health Research Logic Model: Making Pathways to Impacts Clear
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| Gretchen Jordan, Sandia National Laboratories, gbjorda@sandia.gov
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A complex, one page logic model for the return on investment for health sciences research was developed by the expert panel brought together in a Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) major assessment in 2007-2008. This logic model has several features that are very important if it is to frame assessments that are similar enough to feed evaluations that synthesize across studies. The model borrowed agreed upon theory and definitions to specify aspects of both the healthcare system and the environment that affects health and individual behaviors. It also categorized the institutions and actors that are the pathways through which advances in the various areas of science take to impact. Individual studies following this logic can look for these pathways to impact, noting other parts of the logic as context. Reasons it will be difficult to copy this logic in other areas of research will be discussed.
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The Call to Action: Building a Network That Links Evaluation to Social Benefit
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| Inez Jabalpurwala-Graham, Graham Boeckh Foundation, inez@bccl.ca
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There has been little progress in the treatment of mental illnesses in the past two decades, despite substantial research spending around the world. The Graham Boeckh Foundation is a private foundation created by J. Anthony Boeckh and his family to fund initiatives in the area of mental health. The Foundation partnered with RAND Europe to establish "The Science of Science Mental Health Research Network" with the purpose of understanding how the mental health research system works and how such research is translated (or not) into patient benefit. The Network involves mental health scientists, practitioners, policy researchers interested in the science of science, and research funders. By involving funders, the Foundation hopes that they will act on the research findings when making future funding decisions. The Network's flagship research project is "Mental Health Retrosight," a multinational study that will evaluate the translation and payback from basic or early clinical mental health research into clinical application and community practice.
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Implementation of an Evaluation Model for Evaluating Complex Health Research Outcomes
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| Kathryn Graham, Alberta Innovates Health Solutions, kathryn.graham@albertainnovates.ca
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| Heidi Chorzempa, Alberta Innovates Health Solutions, heidi.chorzempa@albertainnovates.ca
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| Daniel Zhang, Alberta Innovates Health Solutions, daniel.zhang@albertainnovates.ca
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The Canadian based Alberta innovates Health Solutions is a publicly-funded, not-for-profit, provincial health research organization mandated to improve the health and socio-economic wellbeing of Albertans through health research and innovation support. Funding agencies around the world are being asked to better measure the impacts that result from their funded investments. However, measuring outcomes in this context is a challenge ranging from multiple stakeholder perspectives, attribution issues and time lags between funding and the realization of socio-economic impact. To address some of these methodological issues, AIHS tested the CAHS model using a retrospective review of grantee information and prospectively by piloting the model with two funding programs. The model was chosen as it aligned to our organizational mission and has been integrated into our organizational performance monitoring and evaluation framework. The focus of the discussion will be on the implementation approach, gaps identified methodological challenges and lessons learned.
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