Grants Awarded for Research on Healthy Aging

As part of its commitment to support healthy aging in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Government has awarded $250,000 in funding to support research in priority areas related to aging and seniors issues through the new Healthy Aging Research Program.

�To effectively foster healthy aging, our planning and policy development must be grounded in solid research,� said the Honourable Ross Wiseman, Minister of Health and Community Services. �This ensures that we make our decisions based on the best evidence available. This fact was echoed during our public consultations on the development of our healthy aging policy framework.�

The Healthy Aging Research Program was established last summer as an action item under the Provincial Healthy Aging Policy Framework, and is administered by the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre For Applied Health Research (NLCAHR). The program aims to provide the province�s research community with incentives and opportunities to focus their attention on research questions related to healthy aging in this province.

�We were impressed by the interest that the province�s research community has shown in this new program, by the quality of the applications we received, and by the broad range of aging-related research projects that were involved,� said Dr. Stephen Bornstein, Director of NLCAHR. �The first year of this program�s operation bodes very well for our ability to develop research on healthy aging that will be done by researchers in this province on topics of specific concern to this province.�

�The recipients of this first round of grants have a demonstrated interest and ability to conduct research in the context of aging and their proposed projects highlight key areas in which there is a need for additional research,� said Minister Wiseman. �I congratulate each of them and look forward to seeing the results of their work. I am confident that it will help us make informed decisions about how best to respond to the needs of this province�s seniors and the challenges of healthy aging.�

The program was designed by a planning committee consisting of key stakeholders and experts from the university, the public sector and the community. Applications were reviewed by a special peer review committee and grants were awarded to the best applicants in each category � which were those of high quality and relevant to the key issues.

The second round of the grants under the program will open in June 2009.

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Media contact:
Ronalda Walsh
Director of Communications
Department of Health and Community Services
709-729-1377, 685-1741
ronaldawalsh@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER

The recipients of this year�s grants through the Healthy Aging Research Program are:

Master�s Research Grants
Fang Liu, Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University: Measuring health status of aging population with disabilities in Newfoundland and Labrador

Ellen Haskell, Department of Sociology, Memorial University:
More sunsets: The social organization of the RV sub-culture

Doctoral Dissertation Award
Geoff Power, School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University:
Muscle fatigue resistance in old and very old women

Post-Doctoral Fellowship
Ms. Kate Dupuis, Department of Psychology, Memorial University:
Investigating the compensatory use of emotion as context in younger and older adults

Project Grant
Dr. Marshall Godwin, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University:
Assessing criterion validity and developing population norms for the Simple Lifestyle Indicator Questionnaire (SLIQ) in the elderly

Seed Grants
Dr. Wendy Young, School of Nursing and Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University: Development of an age-friendly communities research team

Dr. Victor Maddalena, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University:
Palliative and end of life care in Newfoundland�s deaf community

2009 03 20                       11:25 a.m.