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Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement program

Strengthening the links between research, practice, and public policy to reduce the burden of tobacco

 

Principal Investigator

 Dr. Jennifer O’Loughlin

Investigators and Collaborators

Dr. Michele Tremblay
Dr. Joanna Cohen
Dr. Katherine Gray-Donald
Dr. Gilles Paradis
Dr. Rachel Tyndale
Dr. Joseph Di Franza
Dr. Johanne Lague
Dr. Jennifer McGrath
Louise Guyon
Dr. Mark Eisenberg
Dr. Sylvia Kairouz
Dr. Marco Leyton
Dr. Andre Gervais
Dr. Nizal Sarrafzadegan
Dr. Lise Gauvin
Dr. Lise Renaud
Dr. Paul Gendreau
Dr. Ann Royer
Dr. Catherine Sabiston
Dr. Bernard LeFoll
Dr. Chizimuzo Okoli
Dr. Francine Ducharme
Dr. Tracie Barnett
Dr. Nancy Low

Background – There is increasing recognition that, because of its complexity, significant advancements in understanding tobacco use behaviour can best be achieved through collaborative research undertaken by teams of investigators with expertise in multiple disciplines.  This I.C.E. team, funded by the CTCRI (2004-2009) includes 12 investigators with substantial expertise and experience in tobacco research, representing genetic, clinical, psychosocial, health behaviour, epidemiological, and public health program and policy-making perspectives.  Members work in two key public health organizations (INSPQ, DPH-Montreal) and seven universities in three countries (Canada, USA, Iran).  Our overall aim is to investigate the etiology and treatment of tobacco use behaviour.

Objectives

  1. To increase understanding of the genetic, biologic, psychosocial, and environmental determinants of tobacco use, as well as its prevention and treatment use n adults and youth by developing a cross-disciplinary, public health/university-partnered team of new and established tobacco researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers.
  2. To promote networking and collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers to facilitate two-way knowledge exchange that fosters development of research that reflects practitioners’ needs, and translation of results into relevant preventive and clinical practices and policy.
  3. To support the development of a new INSPQ research program to evaluate provincial tobacco control programs
  4. To increase Canadian capacity for innovative tobacco research through salary support for highly qualified PhD and/or Postdoctoral students, as well as engaging established researchers who are not yet involved in tobacco research.
  5. To translate our research findings meaningfully to other researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and to the public.

Team Activities – These focus on team development (annual face-to-face meeting, monthly 2-hour teleconferences, bi-monthly 2-hour research meetings and annual in-house evaluations of team activities; mentoring (creating a summer student program for undergraduate students, training PhD and postdoctoral students, establishing a junior faculty position in one participating university); capacity-building (developing an internship program for public health professionals, extending access to lectures and seminars; creating a Canadian ICE team network); and knowledge translation (developing a website; hiring a knowledge translator; developing workshops for the annual JASP and CPHA conferences).  Team attainment of its aims will be evaluated each year by an outside consultant.

Research Program – The Etiologic Research Axis will improve understanding of the natural history of tobacco use, and investigate the determinants of initiation and sustained smoking in youth.  The Prevention/Cessation Research Axis includes studies on the determinants of cessation, improving health services for adult cessation, community-based prevention, and our new work on cessation in adolescents.  Our objectives will be achieved by coalescing the collective expertise of ICE members to build on, consolidate, and expand this research agenda.  We propose a total of 24 projects (4 in the addiction priority, 10 to identify the determinants of tobacco use, 7 program/policy related projects, and 3 measurement projects), the majority of which will be undertaken using exiting databases by teams of students, ICE researchers and ICE practitioners or policy makers.

Links - Nicotine Dependence in Teens (NDIT) study

www.nditstudy.ca
www.etudenico.ca

More information can be found at their website http://www.ice.crchum.qc.ca.