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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
