HDRN Canada Pragmatic Trials Training Program
Update (February 27, 2024): notices will be sent to all applicants by mid-March.Reference documents:TRAINING PROGRAM OVERVIEW (Updated December 14, 2023) APPLICATION FORM - FUTURE TRIAL LEADERS APPLICATION FORM - POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS APPLICATION FORM - HIGHLY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL (HQP) If you have any questions or concerns, contact taylor.mclinden@hdrn.ca & sarah.oflanagan@uwo.ca. |
Training Program Overview
Pragmatic clinical trials are often embedded in routine care and involve the analysis of routinely collected data (e.g., health registries, electronic medical records, and administrative data). Done well, pragmatic trials yield valid generalizable results faster than explanatory ("traditional") clinical trials and can be completed at a fraction of the cost.
The HRDN Canada Pragmatic Trials Training Program is a Clinical Trials Training Platform funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Coordinated by the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University and embedded within HDRN Canada, this two-year virtual pan-Canadian program will provide training to advanced learners across three streams: (1) future trial leaders, (2) postdoctoral fellows, and (3) highly qualified personnel.
*HQP = highly qualified personnel. HDRN Canada = Health Data Research Network Canada (member organizations).
Program offerings:
- Participants will have access to a learning management system with educational materials focused on pragmatic clinical trials (e.g., trials examining interventions that can be evaluated in routine care settings, with large diverse samples of patients, which produce generalizable evidence that informs real-world decision making).
- As a first time offering, the program will seek routine feedback from participants and adapt to help meet their learning objectives. Acknowledging the various obligations of participants, this largely asynchronous virtual program will facilitate experiential project-based learning opportunities and foster the development of a vibrant community of learners.
- Participants will have access to a pan-Canadian network of HDRN Canada member organizations that have committed to providing further training and career advancement opportunities.
- Participants will have access to the Wabishki Bizhiko Skaani Learning Pathway, and other related training, to enhance their knowledge and awareness of racial biases, Indigenous voices and stories, the impact of colonization on Indigenous health, and culturally safe health research practices.
Please see this explanatory video of the training program from our manager, Taylor McLinden.
Thanks to ICES for permission to post a portion of the recent workshop, HDRN Canada Pragmatic Trials Training Program: Building Capacity for Multi-Jurisdictional Research, from the annual ICES Research Forum.
Resources: ICES Forum 2023 Workshop Training PowerPoint presentation slide deck
Contact us for more information
Taylor McLinden, PhD, Training Manager, Adjunct Research Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Email: taylor.mclinden@hdrn.ca
About Western and HDRN Canada
In January 2023, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) directed over $31M in support of seven clinical trial training platforms. Western University received $3.7M to develop the HDRN Canada Pragmatic Trials Training Program through the leadership of Dr. Amit Garg, Nominated Principal Investigator, and Associate Dean, Clinical Research, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
HDRN Canada is a distributed pan-Canadian network that supports multi-regional data access for transformative and world-leading health data use, working to shape a data future that better supports health and health equity. HDRN Canada supports researchers in accessing multi-regional data housed in data centres across the country through its Data Access Support Hub (DASH).
