Rural Physician Research Grant Program

The Rural Physician Research Grant Program (RPRGP) empowers rural physicians—or new aspiring researchers—to pursue innovative rural research projects that advance rural health in British Columbia.

Dr. Tandi Wilkinson was awarded a RPRGP grant.

Achievements

Eight Grants Provided to Researchers in 2024 Application Rounds

The following grants were awarded Rural Physician Research Grants during 2024:

Katherine Bell – Intimate Partner Violence Experienced By Canadian Physicians
Caitlin Blewett & Sallie Skinner – Experiences of Rural Maternity Care Providers During the COVID 19 response in BC
Ava Butler – Enhancing Sustainability and Reciprocity: Exploring Best Practices for Recruiting, Supporting, and Retaining Indigenous Standardized Patients in Rural Medical Education
Ilona Hale – Dashboard and Implementation Hub for Sustainable Primary Care – Needs Assessment
Jennifer Kask – Adherence to SOGC Guideline for Progesterone for Prevention of Spontaneous Preterm Birth
David Little – Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in rural female skiiers and relationship to menstrual cycle timing; a retroactive study on risk mitigation and resulting broader implementation of findings
Anurag Singh – Understanding team perspectives on the ‘Hybrid Care Research Collaborative’ to advance health research in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities
Tandi Wilkinson – Qualities of Physician Friendly Health Care Related Organizations

Other projects awarded grants from previous years are still ongoing.

New RPGRP Funded Research Published

A rural physician research project funded in 2021 published their results in February 2024 in the Journal of the Canadian Family Physician.

The objective of the study was to determine the scale and scope of use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in rural BC. Respondents reported ease of access to local POCUS devices, with use highest in emergency departments (87.2%) followed by ambulatory care clinic (54.7%) and inpatient (50.3%) settings. For Canadian rural clinicians practising with limited access to diagnostic imaging services such as radiology ultrasound or computed tomography scanning, POCUS equips providers with a bedside tool that can answer diverse diagnostic questions, such as causes of shock, shortness of breath, or abdominal pain, among other clinical presentations.

Authored by: Tracy Morton, Daniel J. Kim, Tracey Deleeuw, Jason Curran, Paul Olszynski and Virginia W. Robinson

Advancing Support for BC Physician Researchers

Unsuccessful grant applicants are provided specific feedback from the review committee. Where applications are eligible but not deemed fundable, applicants are now supported by being connected with RCCbc staff to further develop their research projects into fundable applications in future funding rounds.

Two of this year’s grant recipients were provisionally approved and developed into fundable projects with the support of RCCbc Research Associate Dug Andrusiek.

Explore the numbers

60% More grants

This year 60% more grants were awarded vs. 2023. Six of these went to first-time recipients.

120% Increase in Applicants

This year, applications increased by 120% over 2023, including nine first-time applicants.

$70,000+ Funding

In 2024, RPRGP funded over $70,000 of new research projects (63% more than 2023) across three regions: Island, Northern and Interior BC.

Project Partnership

The RPRGP works closely with Dr. Videsh Kapoor and the Rural Global Health Partnership Initiative (RGHPI). The understanding of the links between rural and global health is a key contribution of BC to the international academic literature, and close collaboration between these programs advances this understanding.

Plans for the Future

In 2025, RPRGP will prioritize supporting applications conceived and led by rural physicians, encouraging grants to include students and residents as co-applicants, and supporting new and innovative applications relevant to rural practice. The team is working to refresh and clarify the application process. Also, there are plans for opportunities for Knowledge Translation activities to be discussed with grant holders.