Experience, access to care and support

Funding opportunity

Researchers are invited to apply for a new grant funding opportunity to conduct a study to explore the experiences of women and diverse members related to undesired reproductive outcomes during their service in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The Canadian Forces Health Services (CFHS) Director of Women and Diversity Health (D WDH) has identified infertility, pregnancy loss, and adverse pregnancy outcomes as areas of specific interest, but researchers are encouraged to explore other focus areas as well, to better understand how these are or were experienced during service by women and diverse members or Veterans, to identify possible gaps in prevention, care and supports, or barriers to receiving care and supports that may exist for these populations.

Anticipated timeline and budget

Background

Women and diverse populations have been historically under-researched in medicine, and this has limited our knowledge of their unique health needs, including health risks, prevention, and treatment options. For these reasons CFHS established D WDH. The D WDH aims to optimize prevention and care for women and diverse members, using an intersectional lens to improve their physical, mental and psychosocial wellbeing. This is aligned with governmental priorities and current shifts in research.

Since the inception of the D WDH in 2022, the Directorate has focused on establishing relationships with stakeholders and partners to identify collaborative opportunities and minimize duplication of effort, as well as to begin to identify opportunities for high priority research.

This research study is required so that D WDH can better understand the experiences of military women and diverse members who may have dealt with undesired reproductive outcomes, including infertility, pregnancy loss, and adverse pregnancy outcomes, while in service. This research will identify gaps in prevention, care and resources for women and diverse members, and barriers members may experience when accessing care or resources related to undesired reproductive outcomes. Exploring a potential association between occupational exposures and reproductive health has been identified as a priority for D WDH, and this project will add to this body of work by identifying barriers and gaps in health services and other CAF supports that women and diverse members may experience.

Research objectives

This funding opportunity is seeking submissions from researchers to conduct a research study to better understand the experiences of women and diverse members who have experienced undesired reproductive outcomes while in service and potential influencing factors. Researchers are encouraged to propose appropriate methods to address the research question, which may include qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods approaches.

Desired outputs

• A report that addresses the research questions as described above and includes an Executive Summary, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Data analysis, Results, Discussion and References.
• Comment on any additional considerations for developing a relevant policy approach or strategy relating to healthcare or health services for women and diverse CAF members.
• Comment on follow-on research or health surveillance in this domain if applicable.
• Results and analyses are clearly explained and summarized based on the relevant methods that were used.
• SAGER guidelines followed.
• The research team may want to consider producing one or more articles that can be published in a peer-reviewed journal as an output. If so, please include any funds needed for this purpose in the proposed Budget.
• Quarterly progress reports provided to the D WDH.
• Virtual presentation of findings to project sponsor (may take place after the project end date).

Applicant qualifications and requirements

• Principal investigator on the project must have a PhD in a relevant field.
• All appropriate academic research guidelines must be followed, including a research ethics board approval from Defence Research Development Canada (DRDC) or any accredited academic institution in Canada will be required prior to funding being issued.
• Approval from the Surgeon General Health Research Board is required. A CFHS point of contact will be provided to facilitate this process once the research proposals are selected.

Application deadline

Please download and submit the Research Funding Application form.

Enquiries

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