Scientific Publications Database

Article Title: The response of Canada's clinical health research ecosystem to the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Lamontagne, Francois; Masse, Marie-Helene; Yarnell, Christopher; Camirand-Lemyre, Felix; Levesque, Simon; Domingue, Marie-Pier; O'Hearn, Katie; Watpool, Irene; Hoogenes, Jennifer; Sprague, Sheila; Menard, Julie; Lemaire-Paquette, Samuel; Hebert-Dufresne, Laurent; Cook, Deborah; Hebert, Paul; Rowan, Kathryn; Yada, Nicole; Menon, Kusum; Fowler, Robert; Fox-Robichaud, Alison; Boutin, Denis; Marshall, John; Kho, Michelle E.
Journal: CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL Volume 196 Issue 23
Date of Publication:2024
Abstract:
Background: The response of Canada's research community to the COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to examine the country's clinical health research ecosystem. We sought to describe patterns of enrolment across Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)-funded studies on COVID-19.Methods: We identified COVID-19 studies funded by the CIHR and that enrolled participants from Canadian acute care hospitals between January 2020 and April 2023. We collected information on study-and site-level variables from study leads, site investigators, and public domain sources. We described and evaluated factors associated with cumulative enrolment.Results: We obtained information for 23 out of 26 (88%) eligible CIHR-funded studies (16 randomized controlled trials [RCTs] and 7 cohort studies). The 23 studies were managed by 12 Canadian and 3 international coordinating centres. Of 419 Canadian hospitals, 97 (23%) enrolled a total of 28 973 participants - 3876 in RCTs across 78 hospitals (median cumulative enrolment per hospital 30, interquartile range [IQR] 10-61), and 25 097 in cohort studies across 62 hospitals (median cumulative enrolment per hospital 158, IQR 6-348). Of 78 hospitals recruiting participants in RCTs, 13 (17%) enrolled 50% of all RCT participants, whereas 6 of 62 hospitals (9.7%) recruited 54% of participants in cohort studies.Interpretation: A minority of Canadian hospitals enrolled the majority of participants in CIHR-funded studies on COVID-19. This analysis sheds light on the Canadian health research ecosystem and provides information for multiple key partners to consider ways to realize the full research potential of Canada's health systems.