The Health Evidence Network of Canada, more commonly known as EvidenceNetwork.ca, is a comprehensive and non-partisan online resource designed to help journalists covering health policy issues in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

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Background

EvidenceNetwork.ca was created under the direction of Dr. Noralou Roos, the Founding Director of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and co-founded with Dr. Sharon Manson Singer, adjunct professor at the School of Public Administration, University of Victoria

University of Victoria

The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...

; the initiative is funded with a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the major federal agency responsible for funding health research in Canada. It is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada. It aims to create new health knowledge, and to translate that knowledge from the research setting into real world...

 (CIHR) and the Manitoba Health Research Council (MHRC). Additional support was provided by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF).

The site provides evidence-based information on controversial health policy issues such as the sustainability of the health care system, the impact of the aging population, the rising costs of drugs, accessibility and appropriateness of care, and the role of the private sector. The site offers background papers and provides a comprehensive list of experts from across the country that journalists can contact quickly as they report on breaking health policy stories.

EvidenceNetwork.ca was established to address the complex debates leading up to the 2014 renegotiation of the Canada Health Accord. The co-founder of the site, Roos, says, “Health policy issues are increasingly complex and are too often taken over by politics and ideology. We thought the best way to serve the Canadian public would be to create an accessible and reliable resource where journalists can quickly find independent experts and evidence on issues as they arise.”

EvidenceNetwork.ca was established in consultation with experienced media advisors, health and health policy researchers and third party evidence brokers including the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation, the Canadian Institute for Health Information and the Health Council of Canada

Health Council of Canada

The Health Council of Canada is a national, independent, nonprofit organization funded by Health Canada and mandated to monitor and report on the progress of health care renewal in Canada.- History :...

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Commentaries

The network of scholars dedicated to evidence-based health research and policy direction also regularly publishes commentaries (OpEds) in the mainstream media. Recent commentaries include:

• "The kids aren't all right" by Elizabeth Lee Ford Jones

• "The case against healthcare user fees" by Raisa Deber and Noralou Roos

• "Seniors are not a threat to health care" by Noralou Roos and Nicholas Hirst

• "What aging tsunami? Why some memes are bad for our health" by Alan Cassels

• "Time for Canada to improve our health care performance" by Colleen Flood

• "Preserving medicare means making changes" by Gregory Marchildon

• "North American fads, fallacies and foolishness in health care reform" by Theodore Marmor

• "Our surprisingly expensive pharmaceuticals" by Marc-Andre Gagnon

• "Why the health system is broken" by Marc-Andre Gagnon

• "Médicaments: un gaspillage annuel de deux milliards"by Marc-Andre Gagnon

• "Is drug research turning into a scam?" by Marc-Andre Gagnon and Sergio Sismondo

• "How we can save our healthcare system without going broke" by Cy Frank

• "Diabetes: Profits before evidence" by Alan Cassels

• "Wrestling with big pharma" by Colleen Flood

• "Do we really want to trust more of our health to the private system?" by Alan Cassels

• "Prescription painkillers on the rise in Canada" by Ann Silversides

• "Defined benefit versus defined contribution pension plans: Why all the fuss?" by Robert L. Brown

• "Time for Ottawa to change course on health care" by Allan Maslove

• "Expanding CPP easier said than done" by Robert L. Brown

See also

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the major federal agency responsible for funding health research in Canada. It is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada. It aims to create new health knowledge, and to translate that knowledge from the research setting into real world...
  
  
• Canadian Institute for Health Information
• University of Manitoba
  University of Manitoba
  The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...