Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Community-driven research is currently underway in northern Aboriginal communities to address concerns about Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that has been identified as a major cause of peptic ulcer disease and stomach cancer. While the transmission of H. pylori has decreased in developed countries, evidence suggests that northern Aboriginal populations have a disproportionately high prevalence of H. pylori infection, and relatively low success from treatment aimed at eliminating the bacteria. Although identified by northern public health providers and communities as a health care concern, limited data are available about H. pylori occurrence in northern Canada. A collaborative initiative is in progress that aims to describe the burden of disease and risk factors associated with H. pylori infection, and seeks to identify effective public health strategies for control of this infection; this research links community representatives, faculty from various disciplines at the University of Alberta, as well as Northwest Territories and Yukon health care practitioners and health authorities. An important component of this research is the movement of knowledge created through research into implementation by users such as community members and healthcare providers, a process known as knowledge translation. Because of differences in knowledge structures and world views between Aboriginal communities, researchers and health officials, the development of tools to strengthen this process is essential. The current research seeks to identify appropriate knowledge translation strategies and to evaluate their effectiveness; this work will aid the research program currently underway and will also broaden our understanding of best practices in knowledge translation within participatory research in northern Aboriginal communities and across Canada.