Translating Research into Care (TRIC) Healthcare Improvement Research Program

The Translating Research into Care (TRIC) Healthcare Improvement Research Program was established in 2013 at the IWK Health Centre and the QEII Health Sciences Centre to support Implementation Science*, which aims to incorporate new findings into practice. Projects will yield strong evidence and facilitate the translation of clinical science into improved healthcare policy, service delivery and patient care.

*Implementation science is the study of methods to promote the integration of existing research findings and evidence into healthcare policy and practice. For more information, view a previous TRIC workshop or visit the National Institutes of Health website.

Applicants are asked to pre-register their TRIC project idea by completing a registration form and submitting it by November 1. The application deadline is January 15. Please contact Research & Innovation Advancement (RIA) at research@iwk.nshealth.ca if you have any questions. Please refer to the Program Guidelines for detailed information regarding the grant.

TRIC Grants Must:

Lead to improved health care at the IWK
Be co-led by a researcher and an administrator
Include patient voice
Be able to be implemented and sustained at the Health Centre

Priority will be given to TRIC grant applications that do one or more of the following:

Improve patient reported outcomes
Improve the safety of healthcare
Improve wait times for healthcare
Reduce the need for healthcare
Improve access for underserved populations
Identify and reduce unnecessary healthcare costs
Reduce unnecessary interventions, de-adopt unnecessary tests, interventions or clinical practices that are of low value

Funding from the TRIC program will cover research costs; however, all operational costs must be absorbed by the department/unit involved and signed off by the Administrative Co-PI.

TRIC Grant Funding Levels:

Level 1: up to $ 5,000 over one year
Level 2: up to $ 25,000 over one or two years
Level 3: up to $ 50,000 over two years

Eligibility

The Scientific Co-Principal Investigator must be an IWK researcher or an IWK staff member which is defined as i) holding a current IWK MDSAS or staff position and ii) having their primary research lab or primary clinical office at the IWK or conducting research at the IWK.
Administrative Co-Principal Investigators must be employed at the IWK. They must possess signing authority for the relevant departmental/unit budget that will be impacted by the Implementation Science; have the authority to approve and support the implementation of a healthcare improvement plan; and the authority to sustain a successfully implemented plan over the long term.
All healthcare improvements that require changes to be made to the Health Centre's IT system must be approved by the IM/IT Department prior to submission.

Before considering an application to the TRIC Program, applicants for Level 2 and Level 3 funding should be able to answer 'yes' to all of the following questions about implementation and sustainability:

Will this research change practice?
Will this practice change have an impact on the health system and/or patient care?
Is there rationale and strong support for this practice change evident in the literature?
Is the impact of this practice change likely to be sustainable over the long term?
Is there a clear patient engagement plan?

Level 2 and 3 applications that do not meet the criteria above will not be considered for funding.

Preparing Your TRIC Grant

Research Design: Any study design - qualitative or quantitative - is acceptable as long as it is robust and supported by existing evidence. The evidence needs to be convincing and inform a feasible plan for healthcare improvement that can be successfully implemented and supported by the Health Centre. Designs may include, but are not limited to, Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT), surveys and observational studies.
TRIC grants focused on de-adoption should demonstrate: how the low-value clinical practices were identified; a plan for the de-adoption process; the evaluation of the de-adoption; and how the de-adoption will be sustained.
If you require consultation or assistance with research design, methodology, data analysis and/or research ethics, please contact Dr. Robin Gauthier at robin.gauthier@iwk.nshealth.ca or Dr. Jill Hatchette at jill.hatchette@iwk.nshealth.ca.
To ensure that you are using the most recent TRIC guidelines and application forms, please check this website prior to preparing your grant application. Updates are made to improve these documents after each funding competition.
All applications must be submitted via the ROMEO Research Portal by 11:59 PM on the date specified. When the application due date specified falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline will be the following business day.

Submitting Your TRIC Grant

The registration form can be found here. Please complete and send to priya.damodaran@iwk.nshealth.ca.
Applicants will be notified before November 30 if their submission can move forward with the full application submission.
Incomplete or ineligible applications will not be considered.

Post-Deadline

TRIC awards MUST be held in an IWK Health research account.
Reports: Recipients of Level 1 grants are required to submit a final report. Recipients of Level 2 and 3 grants are required to submit an interim report and a final report. A reminder will be sent to the Scientific and Administrative Co-PI’s in advance of the report deadline.
Funding Acknowledgement: All publications arising from your TRIC grant should be acknowledged appropriately in the funding disclosure section of the manuscript and should state the following: This work was supported by the IWK Foundation’s Translating Research into Care Healthcare Improvement Research Funding Program [followed by the grant number and year of funding award in square brackets].

Additional Resources

Media

CTV Report: Dr. Lee Kirby

Patient Education Library