April

The World Health Organization has designated the Division of Mathematical Modeling at the UBC Centre for Disease Control as the first WHO Collaborating Centre dedicated to bringing together complexity science and health systems decision making.

Complexity science is a field that studies the many interacting parts within the systems of nature, society, and science. Work at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Complexity Science for Health Systems (CS4HS) aims to apply complexity science in health systems to develop new decision-support tools to address serious global health issues. 

Prostate Cancer Canada has announc­ed the recipients of the Rising Star in Prostate Cancer Research program. In its inaugural year, the Movember-funded Rising Star program provides funding to four outstanding scientists working as independent investigators in prostate cancer research. The program allows for research scientists in the first 5 years of their first academic or research appointment to work under the guidance of an experienced mentor, providing career development support in prostate cancer re­search.

Expenditures for the new fiscal year in the 2013–2014 BC budget (tabled in February) are set at $16.6 billion, $234 million less than projected in last year’s budget. Health spending is fore­cast to go up 2.3% in 2013–14, rising by 2.4% and 2.7% in the next two years as part of a 3-year plan.

Australia’s universal health care system outperforms Canada across many measures of access and outcomes, and offers important lessons for Canada on health policy reform, according to a new report from the Fraser Institute.

The study, entitled “Health Care Lessons from Australia,” states that government health spending in Ca­nada is among the highest in the de­veloped world, yet Canadians endure some of the longest waits for medical treatment. The study recommends that Canada follow Australia’s lead on cost-sharing, activity-based funding, and private-sector involvement.

For the most part, Canadians believe the health care system is better than it was 5 years ago, a new Ipsos-Reid survey has found. Ontario comes out on top as the most improved, while the lowest scores come out of British Columbia and the Atlantic region. 

The online survey was conducted from 4–18 January for the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, and results were presented at the CHFI’s annual CEO forum in Montreal.