Grant: CIHR-ICRH Travel Awards - General pool

This research and associated findings align with the ICRH’s strategic plan (2022-2025), including its central tenet “to enhance existing and build new partnerships with other institutes…” I am a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI), where I study the psychosocial correlates of cardiovascular disease, particularly among younger women. At the UOHI, I collaborate with an interdisciplinary group of clinicians and scientists (e.g., cardiology, nursing, exercise physiology, clinical psychology). These diverse perspectives led to acquiring Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and CIHR funds to support this research project (PI: Dr. Heather Tulloch; Dr. Bouchard is a Co-I and lead investigator of the project described herein). The request also aligns with the ICRH’s foundation theme to “enhance EDI in health research.” The project described includes ~85% women, many of whom are <50 years of age; younger women are traditionally underrepresented in research in the cardiovascular sciences. Lastly, the project is guided by a participatory (patient) engagement approach. We have included patient partners from the outset of the study, and they continue to contribute in all aspects (study conception, design, recruitment, data interpretation, KT activities). This aligns with the ICRH’s priority for “community engagement in mobilizing evidence efficiently, effectively, and appropriately.”