Research

Department of Pediatrics researcher Dr. Brent Hagel and his team are passionate about child safety and keeping our communities as safe as possible. Together, they have been studying the effects of different features in the built environment on important child safety outcomes for a number of years as part of the CHild Active Transportation Safety and the Environment (CHASE) program of research. For example, Janet Aucoin, a PhD student at the Cumming School of Medicine, is studying the relationship between child bicyclist injuries and the built environment in three Canadian municipalities. Participants were injured child bicyclists who presented to an emergency department in one of three hospitals: BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, and SickKids Hospital in Toronto. Janet and her team captured information on where injured children were bicycling and the circumstances surrounding their injuries. By comparing locations where children were injured to other locations they were riding on the same journey, Janet identified a number of risk factors for bicycling injuries including surface type, uneven surface quality, downhill grades, debris and construction, with intersections and travelling on roads being particular areas of concern for child safety.   

In another investigation, Tate HubkaRao, a PhD student at the Cumming School of Medicine, has examined two types of physical interventions around a sample of Calgary elementary schools: in-street signs and traffic calming curbs. Tate and his team collected data on driver speed and volume while also counting the number of people walking or bicycling to school at these locations. Depending on the time of day and direction of travel, both interventions were associated with lower traffic speeds. There were also promising results in terms of child active transportation prevalence associated with these interventions. Based in part on these findings, the City of Calgary installed in-street signs at all Calgary elementary schools, demonstrating the power of research to effect positive change at a population level. 

These local projects are just two examples of important work with direct implications for the safety of Calgary children walking and bicycling to school. The continued study of features in the built environment will be critical in helping to influence child health outcomes and policies that support reduced motor vehicle speed, as well as deprioritizing private motor vehicle travel in favour of more sustainable transportation modes (e.g., active transportation and public transportation). 

Drs. Belal Alshaikh and Adel Elsharkawy, “Exploring sucking efficiency and readiness in moderate and late preterm infants: Pilot study” (Project theme – Research. Awarded $10,000). 

Drs. Dana Boctor, Michelle Bailey and Genevieve de Caen, “Improving Rates of Pediatric Malnutrition Identification Among Hospitalized Patients” (Project theme – Clinical Improvement. Awarded $5,140). 

Drs. Michael Leaker and Kyle Canton, “Communication Training in Paediatric Haematology/Oncology: A National Needs Assessment” (Project theme – Education. Awarded $7,680 + $500 as Audience Choice winner). 

Dr. Sarah MacEachern, “Development and validation of an instrument to measure behaviours of concern in children with neurodevelopmental disorders” (Project theme – Research. Awarded $9,983).

Dr. Leanne Morris and Kathryn Hynes, “Working together to do better: An Indigenous Child Health Needs Assessment to inform Clinical Curriculum Development” (Project theme – Indigenous health advocacy. Awarded $10,000 + $500 as Audience Choice winner). 

Drs. Amonpreet K. Sandhu, Leanne Morris and AnneMarie Dorland, “Change by Design: Re-envisioning the Pediatric Clinical Teaching Unit using Design Thinking” (Project theme – Education. Awarded $9,500). 

Dr. Jennifer Thull-Freedman, “Improving Care for Children with Low-Risk Fractures: A partnership among orthopedics, emergency departments, and primary care” (Project theme – Clinical Improvement. Awarded $9,998).