Reimagining Acute Care – Q & A

1. Interdisciplinarity

• In the context of the Reimagining Acute Care Initiative, what is meant by promoting interdisciplinary research that integrates knowledge from diverse research fields and disciplines?

  The Reimagining Acute Care Initiative is designed to address the challenges and systemic gaps in acute care in Canada, including a fragmented care and research ecosystem, delivered through different phases and by different entities. To drive innovation from discovery to implementation, the initiative proposes to support integrated research projects across multiple parameters including, but not limited, to the following:

  • phases of the care continuum: refer to pre-acute, acute and post-acute phases of disease and care
  • research fields: refer to conditions and diseases areas covered by ICRH mandate areas (heart, brain [stroke], lung, blood, blood vessels, sleep and critical care)
  • disciplines: refer to methods, specialization, and approaches used to conduct research
  • pillars of health research: refer to the four (4) categories of research defined by the CIHR, including biomedical, clinical, health system and population health research

2. Acute care phase

• When does the acute care phase of the care continuum start and end?

  The acute phase of the care continuum refers to a critical event or a medical emergency, marked by a sudden onset of severe symptoms requiring immediate intervention for a short, limited amount of time. This phase begins at the point of crisis onset and continues until the patient is medically stable enough to be discharged from the acute care setting. The acute phase includes pre-hospital care if directly linked to the acute crisis (paramedic, emergency medical technicians, emergency numbers). It is preceded by the pre-acute phase, during which warning signs may be identified and the crisis potentially prevented, and followed by the post-acute (recovery) phase, where the focus shifts to rehabilitation, ongoing management, and prevention of recurrence.

3. Across the lifespan

• In the context of the Reimagining Acute Care Initiative, what does “across the lifespan” mean?

  CIHR supports a life-course approach to health, focusing on prevention, intervention, and well-being from prenatal development through older age. Similarly, the Reimagining Acute Care Initiative adopts a research perspective that considers health and its determinants across the entire lifespan. More specifically, the Initiative advances a framework that spans the full continuum of care, from pre-acute disease and acute care to post-acute stages, highlighting the importance of disease prevention, risk factors, timely diagnosis, prevention of acute events, and early intervention. It further emphasizes effective recovery and the reduction of rehospitalizations following acute care. Rather than concentrating on specific ages or life stages, this approach underscores a continuous, integrated view of health, recognizing it as dynamic, interconnected, and shaped by cumulative experiences over time.

4. Partner Linkage tool

• Do I need to use the Partner Linkage Tool to participate in the funding opportunities launched as part of the Reimagining Acute Care Initiative?

  While not mandatory, the linkage tool for the Reimagining Acute Care Initiative is designed to facilitate partnerships between researchers of different career stages and knowledge users (e.g., practitioners, health-care providers/administrators, community-based organizations, persons with lived/living experience, policy/decision makers, Indigenous right-holders, etc.) to improve outcomes for conditions within ICRH's mandate. In addition, this tool will help connect researchers from different CIHR research pillars (i.e., biomedical, clinical, health systems and population health), as well as partners delivering care at different phases along the care continuum (i.e., pre-acute, acute and post-acute care phases) and working on different fields of research related to ICRH's mandate and complementary fields of research. CIHR recognizes the importance of the involvement of the various knowledge users and individuals with lived and living experience in strengthening research relevance and supporting effective implementation.

5. Contact

• Where can I obtain more information about the Reimagining Acute Care Initiative?

  For questions related to the Initiative, please contact: reimagining-acutecare-reinventersoinsaigus@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.
  For the latest information about the Initiative: Subscribe to our newsletter and follow ICRH on LinkedIn.
  For questions specific to a funding opportunity, please contact: support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca