After many years of success, EvidenceNetwork.ca is no longer in operation. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the organization over the past decade including our dedicated researchers, newspaper editors, readers and funders. However, now it is time to move onto new ways of looking at knowledge mobilization and policy. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Shannon Sampert at s.sampert@uwinnipeg.ca.

Academics need to make sure their evidence matters

An average paper in a peer-reviewed academic journal is read by no more than 10 people, according to Singapore-based academic, Asit Biswas, and Oxford-researcher, Julian Kirchherr, in their controversial commentary, “Prof, no one is reading you,” which went viral last year.

Why it’s time for a National Autism Strategy

Over a year ago, I was invited to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day on Parliament Hill. It was attended by a dozen or more Senators from both major parties, political staffers and invited guests mostly from an assortment of autism non-profit organizations. I expected a somewhat predictable ‘feel good’ event about how far we’ve come and how far we have still to go. But an hour later there weren’t many dry eyes in the chamber.

Comparing the performance of health systems around the world just got a little easier

One morning, the media headline pronounces Canada’s health system should model that found in the Netherlands; the next week, we should follow Germany’s example, and yet another says Australia is leading the pack. Then there are the inevitable comparisons to the U.S. health system.

What I didn’t learn in medical school

I began medical school optimistic about what becoming a physician meant I could do for my future patients. Naively, I presumed my career would involve treating patients’ illnesses so they could return to lead full and fulfilling lives.

Four things everyone should know about autism in Canada

Canadian governments have done little to address the crisis faced by autism families across the country. This sentiment was true in 2007 when it was put forward in the cross-party Senate report on the state of funding for the treatment of autism in Canada, aptly titled, Pay Now or Pay Later. And until recently, this sentiment could be used to sum up the role of the federal government which has largely left the crisis up to provincial ministries to manage.

Canadians care about healthcare — so why don’t we see more health policy coverage in the news?

For the last thirty years or so, Canadians have repeatedly flagged healthcare as the most important national concern and the issue they want their political leaders to prioritize. Surveys and studies and polls and panels — there have been plenty — all come up with the same finding: Canadians care about healthcare.

Four things every journalist should know before writing about autism in Canada

Every week a new study on autism seems to surface, and too often, there are errors or critical omissions in some of the media coverage on the topic.

Canadians want patient online healthcare options

Eight in ten Canadian adults want online access to their own health information yet fewer than one in 10 currently have it, so says a new study published in Healthcare Papers.