Environmental Scan of Specialized Health Services for Diverse Populations Within Canada

Funding opportunity

Researchers are invited to apply for a new grant funding opportunity sponsored by Canadian Forces Health Services (CFHS) Women and Diversity Health (WDH) to conduct an environmental scan of specialized health services available for diverse populations within the Canadian civilian healthcare system, with a focus on services tailored to the needs of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) and gender-affirming care. An assessment of the suitability of these services for future CFHS use should be included.

Anticipated timeline and budget

Background

Women and diverse populations, including BIPOC and gender-diverse populations, have historically been underrepresented in military health research. This has limited our knowledge of their unique health needs, including health risks, prevention, and treatment options. For these reasons, CFHS established the WDH program. The WDH program aims to optimize healthcare support and prevention for women and members with diverse identity factors, using an intersectional lens, a whole-human approach to improve the physical, mental and psychosocial wellbeing of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members. This is aligned with governmental priorities and current shifts in research.

Since its inception in 2022, the WDH program has focused on establishing relationships with stakeholders and partners to identify collaborative opportunities and minimize duplication of effort, as well as to identify opportunities for high priority research. This Funding Opportunity represents a collaboration between WDH and the Defence Research Development Canada Women and Diversity Health Program Activity Area and is building upon the research funding already awarded to address the gaps in knowledge related to the health of military women and members with diverse identity factors.

Research objectives:

This funding opportunity is seeking submissions to:

1. Determine what specialized health services are available for diverse populations within the Canadian civilian healthcare system, focusing on services tailored to the needs of BIPOC and gender affirming care.
2. Examine the suitability of these services/treatments to a Canadian military healthcare context.
   • As part of determining which specialized health services are available with respect to BIPOC and gender affirming healthcare, both existing and proposed programs/services need to be included. Any targeted programs for specific sub-groups (e.g., Indigenous women) should also be included.
     • As described in the Desired Outputs section, a list of specific health care services/programs mentioned in the report, along with their specific details, need to be annexed at the end of the report.
   • A whole human approach to is to be used when searching for health services, i.e., mental, emotional, social, spiritual, and physical health/well-being. This requires a broad search strategy.
   • Existing data pertaining to specific specialized health services/programs should be included in the report (i.e., demand for a service/frequency of service use; accessibility of a service; evidence as to the benefits of each service/program as well as limitations of a service/program). The information obtained from this report will assist in conducting a needs assessment for specialized health services (e.g., BIPOC health services) for CAF personnel.
     • Data sources can include peer reviewed research and literature, grey literature (i.e., unpublished, or non-traditional publications), brochures, other public information (e.g., program information), etc. These data sources are to be included in the Reference section of the report. If there are any gaps in data pertaining to outcomes of interest or other relevant information, this should be noted.
   • In addition to a review of existing data on specific specialized health services/programs discussed above, active data collection in the form of semi-structured interviews and/or focus group sessions with key stakeholders is required.
     • Stakeholders include those with knowledge of the specific healthcare requirements of BIPOC, and gender affirming care, have insight into the benefits and gaps of existing Canadian civilian health care programs/services geared to these populations, and can provide their perspective(s) as to the adaptability of these services/programs to a CAF healthcare context.  
   • Assess the suitability of the services/programs, highlighted in the report, for the CAF healthcare system.
     • Provide recommendations regarding how these programs/services could be incorporated (e.g., an in-house service or by an external provider), including any potential barriers or benefits to their implementation.

Desired outputs:

• A research study in the format of a report, including an Executive Summary, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Data analysis, Results, Discussion and References, and the other specifications as described above. The research team is encouraged to publish their findings in one or more peer-reviewed publications. Any funds needed for publication should be accounted for in the budget.
• The report should address the following objectives:
  1. an overview of all specialized services that provide care for BIPOC, and gender-affirming care, within the Canadian civilian healthcare system. This overview should include any targeted services for specific sub-groups (e.g., Indigenous women).
  2. describe the benefits and gaps in existing civilian health care programs/services providing specialized care to these populations within Canada; and
  3. provide recommendations about how these programs/services could be incorporated into CFHS. The benefits and potential barriers to their incorporation should be noted.
• An annex listing specific health care services mentioned in the report [i.e., type of service(s) available, location of service(s)/contact information, resources provided] is to be included in the final report.
• SAGER guidelines followed, with a detailed description of the GBA+ considerations
• Attend an initial project meeting with project sponsors, and quarterly progress reports to be sent to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).
• Virtual presentation on preliminary findings to take place with project sponsors approximately half-way through the project.
• Virtual presentation of overall findings (i.e., review of existing data on specific specialized health services/programs and stakeholder data) to project sponsors to take place before the project end date.

Applicant qualifications and requirements:

• Proposals must be led by a senior investigator with a relevant field (PhD, MD or equivalent) in a relevant discipline (e.g., Health, Medicine, Social Sciences) with expertise in BIPOC and/or Gender Studies.
• At least one member of the research team should have: publications, research grants, awards, or projects focused on BIPOC and/or gender affirming care, as a proven record of carrying out relevant health-related research within a Canadian healthcare context.
• At least one member of the research team should have previous experience with conducting and publishing environmental scans and/or systematic literature reviews in health-related topics as evidenced by at least one publication using this research methodology.
• At least one member of the team should have previous experience in conducting an intersectional analysis.
• At least one member of the team should have knowledge of the Canadian military healthcare system to ascertain the suitability of the services outlined in the environmental scan to be utilized in a Canadian military healthcare context.
• All appropriate academic research guidelines must be followed, including a research ethics board approval from an accredited academic institution in Canada prior to funding being issued if applicable to the method(s) selected.
• Additional internal DND/CFHS approval will be required for research involving CAF members. A CFHS point of contact will be provided to facilitate this process once the research proposals are selected.
• All reports, publications, and presentations resulting from this funding opportunity are required to acknowledge that the research was carried out in response to a Funding Opportunity developed and funded by CFHS WDH.

Application deadline

Please download and submit the Research Funding Application form.

Applicants are advised to include eight weeks of administrative lead-time in their timelines. This will allow for ethics board submission and approval (if required), and the drafting and signing of the funding agreement.

Enquiries

Questions about this funding opportunity can be sent to the VAC Research office.