Pfizer-FRSQ-MSSS Chronic Disease Fund for chronic-disease prevention and management initiatives

The Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ) in partnership with the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) and Pfizer Canada, is announcing the creation of the Pfizer-FRSQ-MSSS Chronic Disease Fund. Established with an investment of $5 million from Pfizer Canada, this research grant program, coordinated by the FRSQ, is open to Quebec-based researchers who work in collaboration with health professionals. The fund is aimed at evaluating chronic-disease prevention and management initiatives and will also support and encourage their implementation across the province of Quebec.

Chronic diseases pose a major challenge to those affected, to the health-care system and to society in general, a challenge that is growing with the aging of the Quebec population. Managing people with chronic diseases is often a complex task, and introducing changes to the way things are presently done, especially in the primary care setting, is necessary to meet the needs of people dealing with those diseases. Several local and regional settings have already launched chronic-disease prevention and management initiatives that are based on innovative approaches and which could serve as best practices for clinical settings in other jurisdictions.

The aim of this new grant program is to encourage initiatives in the primary care setting that foster the prevention and management of chronic diseases. These initiatives would be evaluated scientifically with the goal of exporting them to other locations in the province.

"This type of research grant program is innovative as it combines a clinical and evaluative component. The collaboration between health professionals and researchers should make it possible to identify original initiatives, to evaluate them scientifically and to help export them to other locations in the province," says Yves Joanette, President and Chief Executive Officer of the FRSQ.

"Pfizer Canada is firmly committed to discovering new ways to improve the health of the population and, as such, is proud to team up with the FRSQ and the MSSS to stimulate innovation and the sharing of best clinical practices from within the province," says Paul Lévesque, President of Pfizer Canada. "We are confident that this initiative will help to discover innovative solutions for reducing the burden of chronic diseases in the province of Quebec."

Applications will be reviewed by a scientific evaluation committee consisting of experts from both the scientific and clinical settings. Projects must involve a clinical component and an evaluative research component. Priority will be given to projects that are already operational, ready to be implemented or in the process of being implemented. The preferred areas of focus will be: cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal diseases, diabetes, chronic pain, smoking cessation, diet and physical activity. The Quebec Population Health Research Network, which is supported by the FRSQ, will offer support to the researchers whose projects are selected. The maximum amount awarded for any one grant will be $700,000 for two years.

Chronic diseases in Quebec:

- In Quebec, 1 million people have hypertension, and more than 330,000 have a cardiovascular disease or diabetes. - In Quebec, cardiovascular diseases were the leading cause of hospitalization in 2004-2005. - Asthma affects 13% of children aged 4 to 11 years, and in 2005, 2.8% of Quebecers reported that they had COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). - In 2005, 14.1% of Quebecers aged 12 years and older reported that they suffered from arthritis and other types of joint pain.