At a time when millions of Canadians are struggling to find a family doctor, a newly funded health research project is exploring the business realities shaping family practice in Canada.
It's one of 14 awarded to Western University researchers through the latest grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Funding was announced for research led by professors in the Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Health Sciences and Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.
With five hospital-based projects, researchers received a total of $10.7 million in federal funding.
"These successes reflect the strength and ambition of our researchers, whose big ideas are providing health innovations that benefit individuals, organizations and communities around the world," said Penny Pexman, vice-president (research). "They allow us to create a healthier future for all by supporting efforts to better understand, prevent and treat health issues that occur at various points in our lives."
Examining the business of family medicine
With the CIHR funding, Maria Mathews, professor in family medicine and epidemiology and biostatistics, and a collaborative team are focusing on a critical but often misunderstood aspect of primary care: how family doctors are paid.
The goal is to help inform workforce planning, as shortages in comprehensive family medicine continue to affect Canadians.
While public health insurance programs provide detailed information on physician billings, less is known about how those billings translate into actual income. The business arrangements that shape family medicine practices, including ownership structures, incorporation and academic or corporate affiliations, play a significant role in determining physician income.
"Income influences family physicians' work-life decisions, including whether they want to practise comprehensive family medicine, how many patients they serve in their practice and when they want to retire," said Mathews, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Primary Health Care and Health Equity. "All these decisions affect workforce capacity - that is, how many family physicians we need to care for the population."
The project brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers, family physicians and policymakers.
"We want to describe the elements of the business arrangements, look at which ones stack together and understand why family physicians have chosen their specific arrangement," said Mathews. "We also want to understand how those decisions affect the way family physicians work and how long they remain in practice."
CIHR Project Grants
Shehzad Ali, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
Severity weighting of health outcomes for economic evaluation: from methods to application
Wataru Inoue, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
Elucidating neuro-network interactions regulating stress sensitivity
Maria Mathews, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
Up to BAT: Examining the association between 'business arrangement types' and family physician compensation, and workforce outcomes
Arghya Paul, Faculty of Engineering
Developing Tough, Elastomeric, Bioactive Hydrogel Dressings to Accelerate in situ Bone Repair
Silvia Penuela, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
Proteoforms of PANX1 as novel regulators in melanoma
Rithwik Ramachandran, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
Proteinase Activated Receptor (PAR) regulation of YAP/TAZ signaling in liver disease
John Ronald, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
Molecular Imaging Tools for Visualizing of Alpha-1 Anti-Trypsin Deficiency
Patricia Tucker, Faculty of Health Sciences
Creating Physically Active Childcare Centres: The Impact of Best Practice Guidelines and Educator Training on Young Children's Movement Behaviours
CIHR Priority Announcement
Steven Laviolette, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
Understanding the Impacts of Prenatal Cannabinoid Exposure on the Prefrontal-Hippocampal Network and Developing Neurolipidome: Implications for Long-Term Neuropsychiatric Risk and Intervention Strategies
CIHR Priority Announcement funded via Lawson Research Institute at St. Joseph's Health Care London
Kristin Clemens, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
STRIDES Kidney: Semaglutide Therapy, Renal health, Individualized diet, Daily exercise, Engagement through coaching and Support Kidney
CIHR Project Grants funded via London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute
Dianne Bryant, Faculty of Health Sciences
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction using Bone Patellar Bone or Quad Tendon Autograft with or without Lateral Extra Articular Tenodesis in Individuals who are at High Risk of Graft Failure (STABILITY 2)
Naveen Poonai, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
Anxiolysis for Laceration Repair in Children: Open-Label Multicentre Adaptive Trial
Pavel Roshanov, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
DIALysis with EXpanded solute removal (DIALEX): A large, simple randomized controlled trial to evaluate the major health effects of expanded versus conventional hemodialysis
Luciano Sposato, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry
EAST-STROKE: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Rhythm Control vs. Standard of Care for Atrial Fibrillation in Acute Ischemic Stroke
