Tag Archives: research

Research over People?

Posted on by

Living with a chronic condition can result in a number of challenges, including alienation, isolation and loneliness. Oft times, these factors can be more problematic than the condition itself. 

Fortunately, there are disease-related organizations that can assist individuals with their illness as well as other the challenges, such as those noted above. Sadly, some of these organizations are forfeiting these services in pursuit of a “cure.” As such, the person with the disease is becoming secondary to the disease itself. Click here to read what individuals with MS are facing.

Call for Participants

Posted on by

Are you a parent or caregiver of a child who has experienced an inner ear infection or other related ear problem? Would you like to help develop educational resources for parents and caregivers concerning this topic? If so, a research team at the University of Alberta are looking for you. Click on the image below for more information. 

Clinical Trials – To Participate or Not

Posted on by

clinicaltrial
Clinical trials are becoming more popular and as such, the demand for participants is increasing. Unfortunately, oft times patients who are being asked to participate or are considering joining are unclear about the nature of the study and what their involvement would entail. This, in turn, makes deciding whether or not to get involved in the study more difficult.

To address this issue, The Center for Information & Study on Clinical Reseach Participation has a number of questions on its website that may be of assistance to individuals contemplating clinical trial involvement. Here are five of the questions they list.
1. What is the main purpose of this study?
2. Does the study involve a placebo or a treatment that is already on the market?
3. How will the treatment be given to me?
4. How long is the study going to last and what will I be asked to do as a participant?
5. What has been learned about the study treatment and are any study results published?

To reading the list, click here. What, if any, questions would you add to this list?

Does morphine make chronic nerve pain worse?

Posted on by

When a person takes a painkiller, the assumption is that the pain will decrease in intensity. This is particularly true when the medicine taken is morphine. However, a recent study indicates that morphine may actually make chronic nerve pain worse. Why might this be the case? According to Dr. Peter Grace, an Australian neuroscientist at the University of Colorado and co-author of the study, “It seems morphine works quite well initially, but as the immune system ramps up, this starts to oppose the pain-relieving properties of morphine and morphine starts to induce pain in its own right.” Click here to read more.

Primary Health Care in Canada – Indicator Results

Posted on by

Released in April 2016, this free CIHI document may be of interest to you. “Based on the 2012 Pan-Canadian Primary Health Care Indicator Update Report, this chartbook profiles the results from a selected group of primary health care (PHC) indicators, using a range of data sources, with the aim of providing an integrated view of PHC information in Canada.” Download the document here