Emergency Medicine Research

A friendly group of senior emergency medicine researchers who meet on the 2nd Thursday of every month (with the exception of summer months).
If interested in collaborating with the Department of Emergency Medicine Research Group, we invite you to email our research administrator to arrange a date & time to attend an EMRAC meeting and present a short, informal summary of your research project. Receive assistance with development of a research question, study design, statistical analysis, study population & recruitment strategies as well as general questions/assistance. 

We host R.I.D. rounds on the fourth Thursday of every month during the school year as an opportunity for our research community to informally propose new research ideas or research projects that are under development and have not yet received ethics approval or funding. It is an opportunity to brainstorm ideas and support one another to develop innovative research in Calgary!

To best assist you with your research needs, please fill out and submit the following form:

1. Develop study protocol and statistical analysis plan (SAP)
2. Design Audit Protocols
   With the expectation of auditing 10% of data collected
3. Design and sign off on Chart Review Forms (CRFs)
   - if applicable
4. Submit own ethics, amendments and yearly renewals
   - as needed
5. Design online data entry form, if applicable, prior to study initiation
   For example, using the REDCap online platform 
   https://redcap.ucalgary.ca/

CHREB Documentation
For assistance with documentation required for consent, please see the University of Calgary's Forms and Documents including the CHREB Oral Consent Script template.
 

For more information on obtaining consent in research, please see this video, developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

 

EXPIRY: Every 3 Years

Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2: CORE) 

(Most physicians in the Calgary Zone will already have completed the following and are required submit their certificates of completion)

Health Information Act and Freedom of Information and Protection Act Training

All Emergency Medicine CHREB applications require the signature of the Department Head, Dr.Catherine Patocka. Please fill out the following form with your project details and send to Dr. Patocka and Jillian Vandenbrand for review and approval prior to submitting to ethics. This document should then be uploaded under "Documents" on the CHREB IRISS portal.

Department Approval Form

For assistance with signatures for this form to please contact jill.vandenbrand@ahs.ca

Please visit the University of Calgary's Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board for information about accessing IRISS, ethics forms, templates and contacts.

For IRISS account set up, please visit: https://www.ucalgary.ca/iriss/

If your study is funded, please also ensure you include a budget form and upload it under the "Documents" section in the CHREB IRISS portal.

Budget Summary Form

Submission Concurrent with Your REB Application is Approved

AHS Resource Request (submitted concurrent with your REB application has been approved): You will automatically receive an email from Health Systems Access Assistant, giving you the next steps for obtaining AHS approval to access AHS data, if you require it for your study. This includes access to platforms such as SCM (if research based, you cannot use your clinical Connect Care access but must request Research “view only” access) and any electronic paper charts.

Lately, this email has been delayed by a few months so please email jill.vandenbrand@albertahealthservices.ca directly if you require AHS approvals in an expedited manner (otherwise it could take six months from the time you receive REB approval to when you are granted approval to access AHS data).

Please note: Paper chart requests from Health Information Services (HIM) are $3.00 for each chart, plus applicable taxes. Please ensure you have a valid University of Calgary Project ID/Fund with which to pay the HIM invoice for chart pulls.

Required for study contracts and funding agreements related to multi-site research projects

Contact: csmlegal@ucalgary.ca
 

CSM benefits from a dedicated team of 5 full time staff to review any legal documents where the University of Calgary is a party or University of Calgary facilities and resources are involved. Legal, Research Services, Cumming School of Medicine (CSM Legal) provides legal review of contracts and agreements for the Cumming School of Medicine. They assist with the drafting, negotiation and execution of all types of research-related agreements (non-disclosure agreements, consulting agreements, clinical trial agreements, industry sponsored clinical trial, data sharing, material transfer agreements, service agreements, and research grants).

Legal Research Services
 

Internal Peer Review: 
Disclaimer: You will need to login with your UofC credentials to access this internal link.

https://uofc.sharepoint.com/sites/IPR/SitePages/LearningTeamHome.aspx

External Peer Review opportunities:
National Committee Emergency Researchers (NCER). Accepts and reviews protocols in development at annual NCER conference.

https://ncer.ca/ncer-endorsement/

The Research Service Office requires that grants to external agencies (ie. CIHR) be submitted for review at last 7 business days in advance of the grant’s deadline. The electronic submission tool to send applications to RSO is below.

RSO Electronic Submission Tool

For assistance with funding set-up including project account initiation, please contact our research administrator: jillian.vandenbrand@albertahealthservices.ca

Applies to fully funded projects employing different levels of research staff

Screening Only

• Ability to identify eligible patients based on study inclusion criteria with basic emergency department visit demographics accessible via the electronic emergency medicine dashboard Sunrise Emergency Care (SEC).
• Ability to pull daily lists of emergency department visit by primary CTAS score and triage complaint (generic list of 15+ complaints)
• Ability to use daily lists of emergency department visits to identify missed/control candidates to ensure reliability and minimize selection bias

Cost/Fee structure: Available upon request. Initial Research Assistant Orientation to the study usually takes approximately 2 hours plus hourly rate for research assistant plus/minus support for research coordinator role

Screening and Recruitment

• In addition to the above, research assistants will be trained in study protocol, eligibility criteria and consent procedure for your specific study

Cost/Fee structure: Available upon request. Initial Research Assistant Orientation to the study usually takes approximately 2 hours plus hourly rate for research assistant plus/minus support for research coordinator role

All fees can be discussed on a sliding scale basis for those who are interested in research but unable to meet the fee scales needed, exclusive of industry sponsored initiatives - full fees are applicable.

Members of the Department of Emergency Medicine (including Emergency Medicine Residents, Faculty and Staff clinicians/nurses and allied health professionals) In Kind

Members of other Departments within the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine:

• Assistance with Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board forms and submission: $60/hr
• Startup costs and Research Assistant Orientation: $250-$500 depending on the scope of the research project

Departments and Groups external to the University of Calgary Cumming School Of Medicine:

• Assistance with Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (CHREB) forms and submission: $100/hr in addition to CHREB fee for review (in case of industry sponsored research, the cost of CHREB review is $4000)

Startup costs and Research Assistant Orientation: $250-$500 depending on the scope of the research project

EMED: Evaluating Microdosing in Emergency Departments: A randomized controlled trial of buprenorphine/naloxone microdosing vs. standard dosing

Objective: The primary objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of ED-initiated buprenorphine/naloxone take-home standard dosing and microdosing interventions for patients with opioid use disorder at BC and Alberta EDs, with regard to successful completion of the induction period.

PI: Dr. Jessica Moe (UBC)

Co-PI: Drs. Kathryn Crowder (U of C), Kathryn Dong and Robert Wittmeier (U of A)

Multi-centre cluster-randomized implementation of Canadian Syncope Risk Score based practice - Recommendations for Emergency Department Syncope Management

Objective: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a new clinical pathway for patients with undifferentiated syncope involving structured risk assessment and 15-day wearable cardiac monitors.

PI: Dr. Andrew McRae

Co-PI: Dr. Stephanie VandenBerg

Physiotherapy care in Emergency Departments for patients with musculoskeletal disorders: A pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial and cost analysis

Objective: To analyze the outcomes in a physio-led approach to minor musculoskeletal injuries in the ED would improve outcomes for patients in the ED.

PI: Dr. Francois Desmeules (UMontreal) 

Local PI: Dr. Kathryn Crowder

Co-PI: Dr. Stephanie VandenBerg

RACE study: Rapid, Accurate and Cost-Effective analysis of Glial Fibrillary Acid Protein using a hand-held biosensor for patient with concussion in acute care and at home monitoring

Objective: Compare blood Glial Fibrillary Acid Protein (GFAP) concentrations from the nano-biosensor to the gold-standard SIMOA in patients diagnosed with uncomplicated concussion until recovery.

PI: Dr. Chantel Debert

Co-PI: Dr. Kathryn Crowder, Dr. Amir Sanati Nezhad

RAFF4 Trial: Vernakalant vs. Procainamide for Acute Atrial Fibrillation in the Emergency Department

Objective: To compare intravenous (IV) vernakalant to IV procainamide for the ED management of acute atrial fibrillation patients.

PI: Dr. Ian Stiell (U Ottawa)

Local PI: Dr. Andrew McRae

Co-PI: Dr. Kathryn Crowder