News & Events
August 23, 2020
CIPSRT congratulates the recipients of the 2020 Mental Wellness in Public Safety Team Grants
The Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT) congratulates the eight teams of researchers who were awarded Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)’s Mental Wellness in Public Safety Team Grants.
The Team Grants were launched in 2019 as part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to the development of new research evidence and tools to address existing and emerging gaps in awareness, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSI) as it relates to Canada’s public safety personnel (PSP). The commitment was made as part of the Government of Canada’s 2018 investment in a National Research Consortium for PTSI among PSP as a joint initiative between CIHR and CIPSRT.
The Mental Wellness in Public Safety Team Grants will invest $8.4 million to fund research initiatives that address, promote or improve:
- interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral collaboration in PTSI research;
- knowledge dissemination and translation of PTSI research in the public safety and related contexts;
- mental wellness and resilience of Canada’s PSP through innovative research; and,
- understanding of sex and gender differences in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of PTSI among PSP.
“As the consortium’s national hub for coordination and knowledge translation, CIPSRT congratulates these winners and looks forward to working with them to create mental health awareness, reduce stigma and discrimination, and provide social supports and training opportunities, with the ultimate goal of improving mental health among Canada’s public safety personnel,” says CIPSRT’s Executive Director Dr. Nick Jones.
The successful principal investigators and projects as provided by the CIHR are:
- Greg Anderson (Justice Institute of British Columbia) – Building Resilience through Integrated Knowledge Transfer in Police Organizations: A Case Study Series;
- Heidi Cramm, Nora Spinks, Joy C. MacDermid, Alyson L. Mahar, Deborah A. Norris (Queen’s University) – Focusing on the family: Enhancing mental wellness in public safety personnel families;
- Judith Andersen (University of Toronto) – Autonomic Modulation Training: A Biological Approach to Building Resilience and Wellness Capacity Among Police Exposed to Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries (PTSI);
- Kelly D. Schwartz, Megan McElheran, Alan McLuckie, Carly A. McMorris (University of Calgary) – Before Operational Stress: Evaluating Novel Psychosocial Interventions for Public Safety Personnel (PSP) and their Families;
- Margaret McKinnon, Kimberley Slade, Ruth A. Lanius (McMaster University) – A randomized control trial of a novel approach to cognitive training in public safety personnel with post traumatic stress injuries;
- Nazanin Alavi, Alexander Simpson (Queen’s University) – Delivering online cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) to address mental health challenges in correctional officers and other public safety personnel;
- Nicholas Carleton (University of Regina) – An Augmented Training Program for Preventing Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries Among Diverse Public Safety Personnel; and,
- Rose Ricciardelli, Bev Arseneault, Dianne L. Groll (Memorial University of Newfoundland) – A Longitudinal Study of Correctional Services Canada Correctional Officers’ Mental Health and Well-being: The Role of Prison Work and Prisons in Shaping Correctional Staff Health and Self over Time.
Responding to CIHR’s announcement, University of Regina professor of psychology Dr. R. Nicholas Carleton, who also serves as Scientific Director for CIPSRT, says that “The support from our government, CIHR and our many stakeholders will allow an impressive network of diverse academics, public safety personnel, clinicians, and community leaders to do complementary work towards improving the mental health of all public safety personnel.”
PSP are the major pillars of peace and security in society. They include, but are not limited to, first responders, such as firefighters, police, and paramedics; search and rescue volunteers; correctional services officers; border services officers; operational intelligence analysts; Indigenous emergency managers; and others.
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As part of the National Research Consortium, CIPSRT serves as the Knowledge Exchange Hub for knowledge synthesis, translation, and exchange that relies upon the best contemporary research evidence supporting an overall mission to help current and former public safety personnel, their leaders, and their families to maintain and improve their mental health and well-being. CIPSRT is a research institute located at the University of Regina.
Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT)
University of Regina
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