At least one in three females, and one in five males, will experience a fragility fracture due to osteoporosis or low bone mass at some point in their lifetime.
Fragility fractures occur from a standing height, or less. Individuals experiencing a fragility fracture are two to four times more likely to have another fracture in the following two years.
Alberta Innovates and Alberta Health Services are working together to tackle this problem.
The pair have announced eight projects from the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Health System – Digital Health (PRIHS) program.
Eight researchers from the University of Alberta and University of Calgary will share $9.5 million in funding for digital health projects that will provide promising solutions to priority health system challenges.
“By integrating innovation into our health care system we continue to improve health outcomes for Albertans. Alberta Innovates is pleased to partner with Alberta Health Services and the Strategic Clinical Networks to add innovative new programs to our health system. We congratulate all eight applicants, and we look forward to the results that flow from this partnership,” said Laura Kilcrease, CEO, Alberta Innovates.
One of the successful projects is being led by Dr. Prism Schneider, from the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, in the Cumming School of Medicine, at the University of Calgary, who will look at bone health.
Dr. Schneider is developing an electronic health solution that will alert, monitor, educate, survey, triage, and communicate with patients to ensure engagement in life-long bone health care in order to reduce both the personal and economic burden of fragility fractures on patients, caregivers, and the healthcare system.
35 expressions of interest, and applications, for this year’s PRIHS funding were received and ultimately eight were funded. Investigators will have up to three years to complete their projects. Researchers will use technologies to support the delivery of innovative care models that empower patients, families and health care teams to improve quality of care.
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