Medication Optimization

2017 Catalyst Grant- Medication Optimization

This competition was designed to fund innovative research proposals that addressed the ongoing concern of polypharmacy and related medication issues in older Canadians living with frailty. Projects are intended to be the first step in building capacity in the area of improving medication prescribing/deprescribing and overall medication management in older Canadians living with frailty.

The competition was presented in collaboration with the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation (NBHRF) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Projects Funded

Seven projects were funded in this competition. For more details on any of the projects, please click on the project names below:

Assessing and understanding frailty and high-risk non-prescription drug use in community pharmacy practicePrincipal Investigator: Colleen Maxwell, University of Waterloo

A Collaborative Intervention for Streamlining Medication Appropriateness and Deprescribing within Integrated Healthcare TeamsPrincipal Investigator: Melissa Andrew, Dalhousie University

The EDGAR study (Elderly with epilepsy DruG AppRopriateness)Principal Investigator: Mark Keezer, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal

Determining the Optimal Duration of Antibiotic Treatment for Older Adults Living with Frailty with Bloodstream InfectionPrincipal Investigator: Nick Daneman, Sunnybrook Research Institute

Improving medication use in residential care: what we can learn from frailty and brain activity measuresPrincipal Investigator: Xiaowei Song, Fraser Health Authority

Team Approach to Polypharmacy Reduction in Long-Term Care (TAPERLTC). RCT feasibility study: integrating families’ experiencesPrincipal Investigator: Dee Mangin, McMaster University

Pharmacist led intervention to improve medication use in older in-patients living with frailty: the Drug Burden IndexPrincipal Investigator: Emily Reeve, Nova Scotia Health Authority

About the competition

Within the overall goal of medication optimization, CFN prioritized funding in the following manner:

  1. CIHR Collaboration — up to $300,000 went to studies that address the practice of medication optimization and deprescription to reduce or eliminate drug-induced cognitive impairment;
  2. NBHRF Collaboration — Multi-provincial studies were strongly encouraged to advance healthcare improvement across Canada, and for this competition CFN and NBHRF created a separate fund to encourage researchers to include a NB-based research component in their Catalyst studies.
  3. CFN Medication Optimization Summit topics — CFN recently consulted with stakeholders across Canada to identify research priority areas for  medication optimization for older Canadians living with frailty. There were seven research priority areas eligibile for Catalyst funding.

Applicants holding an academic or research appointment at a CFN network member institution, and eligible to receive grant funding from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC were eligible to apply. Individuals from any discipline were encouraged to apply.

CFN’s Catalyst Grant Program supports scalable research studies including pilot, feasibility and translational studies that investigate novel and innovative approaches/methodologies/technologies.

Studies were required to focus on older Canadians living with frailty and/or their families and caregivers. Particular requirements applied regarding this focus.

Project teams were required to be multi-sectoral, multi-institutional  and multidiscplinary. In addition to researchers, partners and knowledge users, project teams must meaningfully engage older adults and their family/friend caregivers in all aspects of the project/process. There was also specific requirements regarding the development of highly qualified personnel (HQP).

The full Application Package consisted of:

  1. Project Team Information
  2. Application Form
  3. Partner Letters
  4. Detailed Budget and Budget Justification – for each Principal Investigator
  5. Principal Investigator CVs
  6. CVs/Resumes for Other Project Team Member(s)
  7. Detailed Budget and Budget Justification – for each Principal Investigator
  8. Required Signatures – for each Principal Investigator
  9. Proof of study submission to each Principal Investigator’s Research Ethics Board (REB) — please see Program Guidelines for details
  10. Certificate of Completion of CIHR Institute of General and Health training module — please see Program Guidelines for details