Health and Community Services
April 1, 2011

Healthy Aging Research Projects Receive Funding

A total of $190,000 is being allocated to support research focused on healthy aging and seniors as a result of the latest grants under the Newfoundland and Labrador Healthy Aging Research Program (HARP). This year’s projects focus on a variety of issues including Alzheimer’s disease, hearing loss, and obesity.

“As the population ages, our government continues to focus more on the issues facing the seniors of our province,” said the Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services and Minister Responsible for Aging and Seniors. “This program, which was established under the Provincial Healthy Aging Framework, demonstrates our continued commitment to planning for an aging population. I am pleased to see that the research community has taken advantage of this opportunity to help us address these important challenges.”

This year’s awards bring the total amount distributed through HARP grants to $544,000 over the past three years.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Healthy Aging Research Program is funded by the Department of Health and Community Services and is administered by the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research (NLCAHR). The program was established under the Provincial Healthy Aging Framework. The aim of the program is to facilitate a stronger focus on research related to aging and seniors by creating incentives and opportunities.

Recipients of this year’s awards fall into five categories: Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Doctoral Research Grant, Doctoral Dissertation Award, Master’s Research Grant, and Project Grant.

Full details on this program are available on the NLCAHR website, www.nlcahr.mun.ca/funding/aging, or by contacting program coordinator Tyrone White at 777-7973.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador launched the Provincial Healthy Aging Policy Framework in 2007. The directions outlined in the policy are: recognition of older persons, celebrating diversity, supportive communities, financial well-being, health and well-being; and, employment, education and research. The Office for Aging and Seniors was created to support the steps the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is taking to make healthy aging a provincial priority. Budget 2010: The Right Investments – For Our Children and Our Future includes approximately $7.5 million through the Provincial Healthy Aging Policy Framework for the continuation of several programs and initiatives aimed at enhancing the lives of seniors.

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BACKGROUNDER
2011 Healthy Aging Research Program Award Recipients

Post-Doctoral Fellowship
Annie Jalbert of the Psychology Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland will receive $75,000 over two years to examine the potential of episodic memory binding as a diagnostic tool for mild cognitive impairment and a tool to predict Alzheimer's disease.

Doctoral Research Grant
Roberta Didonato of the Psychology Department at Memorial University will receive $10,000 for a study titled How age-related hearing loss impacts memory for medical adherence in the aging population. Additionally, Ms. Didonato will receive the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) - Institute of Aging Newfoundland and Labrador Gold Prize for Research on Aging which is valued at $1,500 and recognizes emerging researchers at different stages of career development in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Doctoral Dissertation Award
Grant Handrigan, a graduate of Memorial University, will receive $60,000 over two years for a study at the Université Laval’s Kinesiology Department on balance control in elderly obese individuals.

Master’s Research Grant
Jing Wang from the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University will receive $5,000 to examine the difficulties of accessing health care among aging Asian immigrants.

Project Grant
Principal investigator Dr. Shabnam Ashgari from the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University will receive $40,000 for a study titled Exploring the feasibility and process of establishing an online spatio-temporal information system for age related chronic disease in Newfoundland.

2011 04 01                                                11:50 a.m.