Alberta Strategy for Patient Oriented Research SUPPORT Unit (AbSPORU)

$21 million investment in the Alberta SPOR Support Unit’s Phase II will put patients at the center of health research.

Dedicated to improving the lives of all Albertans through patient-oriented research.

The Alberta SPOR SUPPORT Unit (AbSPORU) provides expertise, training and resources to increase Alberta’s capacity for patient-oriented research. Our aim is to bridge the gap between research evidence and health decisions – in other words, to make sure health research has an impact for patients and the health system.

AbSPORU collaborates closely and purposefully with patients from diverse communities and with its network of healthcare partners to improve health outcomes for all Albertans.

We are fostering partners to strengthen Alberta’s learning health system, focusing on continuous improvement of quality, patient and provider experience, and health system performance/cost through effective, evidence-based knowledge translation and implementation, and studying implementation to accelerate change.

Training and events

We offer training and events for researchers, patients, clinicians and health-system professionals, policy-makers, and students to increase their capacity in patient-oriented research and in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). Offerings include studentships, conferences, webinars, eLearning modules, and online courses and certificates.

UPCOMING EVENTS

2022 NorthWest SPOR Collaborative Forum

The theme for this year’s annual conference is, “Embracing the New Normal: Patient-Oriented Research Practices and Impacts.” This year’s event will be in-person and online.

October 3 – 4, 2022

Details

Research services

Our teams offer a wide range of research services and expertise to support every step of your patient-oriented research journey. We can help with patient engagement, data (including data acquisition and management, analysis, interpretation and data visualization), knowledge translation, implementation science and Sex and Gender-Based Analysis (SGBA).

Patient engagement

We provide support to patient partners, researchers and community organizations to identify research priorities and to collaborate, in active and meaningful ways, on health research studies.

Become a patient partner

Do you have lived experience of a specific health issue – either your own, or as a caregiver, family member or friend? Discover opportunities to help shape the health research that impacts you.

LATEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR PATIENTS

Promoting perinatal mental health: Defining Canadian strategies to address acute postpartum mental illness

Engaging with families to improve pregnancy outcomes, identify unmet needs and prioritize research initiatives

DBT: Comparison of symptom improvement and program retention in those with and without trauma-related symptoms undergoing standard Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) or DBT-informed group

Develop the first Canadian Alcohol-related Liver Disease pathway in primary care

Learning Health System

We facilitate Alberta’s learning health system by supporting effective, practical approaches to theory-based knowledge translation and implementation work. In collaboration with health system stakeholders, we coordinate an Implementation Science Collaborative, which will accelerate improvements in health care delivery, outcomes and cost.

Our community

AbSPORU expands the reach of our Virtual Institute with SPOR Northwest

Implementation Science Collaborative

AbSPORU

@AbSPORU

September 27, 2022 3:49pm

Help improve Alberta's Surgical Referral System. Provide feedback in an online survey: https://t.co/fRCrw3UMTH Participant responses are completely anonymous. This study is conducted by researchers from the University of Alberta with approval from ethics board (ID: Pro00114572). https://t.co/9NcdOcKEB3

AbSPORU

@AbSPORU

September 26, 2022 3:45pm

Join us to hear Joanna's session on Intergenerational Trauma #SNWPOR2022! Examine what intergenerational trauma is; the pathways and impact on Indigenous people, families, communities and nations. https://t.co/kglnzbGnyZ https://t.co/2a6ZKMnr7I

AbSPORU

@AbSPORU

September 26, 2022 8:54am

@AbSPORU's own Patient Engagement Lead is speaking this coming Thursday! @MariaJ_Santana @paulisci Here is the link to the session: https://t.co/dPHgInysS2 https://t.co/rGN1Aasxqd

AbSPORU

@AbSPORU

September 23, 2022 2:22pm

Come hear about the family centred cardiac arrest care project, which is a multiple methods program of research designed to improve the care of families experiencing the sudden cardiac arrest of a family member. https://t.co/kglnzbGnyZ #SNWPOR2022 https://t.co/iQJORPrS9U

AbSPORU

@AbSPORU

September 23, 2022 2:02pm

AbSPORU

@AbSPORU

September 23, 2022 1:54pm

Come explore the importance of incorporating trauma-informed practice when developing and conducting patient and public engagement in health research decision-making. https://t.co/kglnzbGnyZ #SNWPOR2022 https://t.co/dURqkiRyXZ

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CALGARY

University of Calgary Foothills Campus
3330 Hospital Dr NW
Calgary, AB T2N 4N1

EDMONTON

College Plaza
1702, 8215 112 St NW
Edmonton, AB T6G 2C8

Land Acknowledgment

The Alberta SPOR SUPPORT Unit operates on and acknowledges the lands that are the traditional and ancestral territory of many peoples, presently subject to Treaties 6, 7, and 8. Namely: the Blackfoot Confederacy – Kainai, Piikani, and Siksika – the Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux, Stoney Nakoda, and the Tsuu T’ina Nation and the Métis People of Alberta. This includes the Métis Settlements and the the Métis Nation of Alberta. We acknowledge the many First Nations, Métis and Inuit who have lived in and cared for these lands for generations. We make this acknowledgment as a reaffirmation of our shared commitment towards reconciliation, and as part of AbSPORU’s mandate towards fostering health system transformation.

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