Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

The burden of liver disease in Canada has worsened over time. Alcohol consumption, viral hepatitis, and metabolic dysfunction are the leading risk factors for liver disease; however, there is little understanding of how these risk factors interact to cause fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver disease complications (including liver cancer and death). Accordingly, the proposed Planning and Dissemination activity will address our current knowledge gaps. Specifically, a meeting of stakeholders will be convened to: 1. Discuss the current research literature base concerning the effects of alcohol consumption and its interactions with metabolic dysfunction and viral hepatitis on the etiology and disease course of liver disease, by the major disease stages and by socio-economic status. 2. Discuss current alcohol-related liver disease monitoring and prevention strategies as well as current gaps in these strategies, with a focus on the Canadian experience. 3. Construct an inventory of data sources which can be used to characterize the etiology and course of liver disease taking into consideration the interactions between alcohol consumption, metabolic dysfunction, and viral hepatitis. 4. Create a report for dissemination to stakeholders which highlights current gaps in our knowledge concerning the etiology and course of liver disease related to alcohol use. 5. Form an international alcohol and liver disease research network to develop a full-scale grant proposal aimed at addressing current knowledge gaps. The outcomes of this project are multifold. Firstly, this project will increase awareness of the key risk factors for liver disease through a knowledge exchange between key researchers and policy makers. This knowledge exchange will highlight key interventions which can address the rising burden of liver disease in Canada. Secondly, a full-scale grant application will be developed with the aim of describing the etiology and progression of liver disease.