Public health research to action
you make it happen
UCalgary Giving Day returns April 21, and donating early gives you the chance to double your impact
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us just how important public health is and how research saves lives. But that research can only take place if its funded, and a significant chunk of that funding comes from people just like you. The University of Calgary’s annual Giving Day affords everyday citizens the opportunity to make a difference and donate in support of the O’Brien Institute and its key role in supporting and strengthening public health.
When you give between now and April 21, your gift can go twice as far — but only if you give early. All eligible gifts up to $2,500 will be matched, dollar for dollar, while matching funds last.
Learn more about how the O'Brien Institute is advancing public health through research excellence:
Societal change
Learning from COVID-19 to prepare for the future
Parallel to helping find a path out of the current COVID-19 crisis, O’Brien Institute researchers are examining the handling of the pandemic from all angles, to provide expert analysis and recommendations for future public health crises.
“We will learn from the past to secure a better future,” says Institute Scientific Director Tom Stelfox, MD.
Innovation in times of crisis
O’Brien Institute researchers are using innovative approaches to respond to COVID-19 and to ensure that sustainable high-quality health care is available to all Canadians in times of crisis.
While all eyes were on the pandemic’s impact on patients and on the health system, researchers identified the disproportionate strain COVID-19 placed on care providers. Researchers worked with five homes in Calgary, Edmonton and Okotoks to create and disseminate a mental health support toolkit tailored to long-term care workers in pandemic conditions. Meanwhile...
Supporting the most vulnerable
Improving the health of racialized groups, children, older adults, or those who live in poverty is an important area of focus for O’Brien Institute researchers.
Team members at the O’Brien Institute research platform Refugee Health YYC analyzed the impact of one of North America’s largest COVID-19 outbreak sites – at the Cargill meat-processing plant near High River, Alta. – after it infected more than 1,500 mostly immigrants and racialized people. Researchers then expanded the scope to the second and third largest Alberta meat packing plants, JBS Foods and Harmony Beef. This work is helping public health officials prevent future outbreaks.
Elsewhere...
Leadership in the time of COVID-19
In March 2020, as the most significant pandemic since the Spanish influenza infected a third of the world’s population, then Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi contacted University of Calgary requesting support as the City considered various public health measures to slow the spread of the virus.
The opioid crisis
It’s been called the epidemic in the shadow of a pandemic. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the number of opioid-related deaths in Alberta has risen to an average of more than 100 per month. In response, clinician and social scientists at the O’Brien Institute have tackled this public health emergency from many fronts, such as through real-time research, through public awareness and by supporting frontline healthcare workers.