EvidenceNetwork.ca creates media content on public policy topics for publication in the mainstream media and links journalists with policy experts to provide access to non-partisan, evidence-based information. According to their annual reports, they have published hundreds of original articles in every major media outlet in Canada every year since 2011, reprinted over 3700 times across media outlets
All of their content carries a
Creative Commons
Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has releas ...
license.
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, professor, School of Public Policy at
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...
.
Dr. Shannon Sampert, former Politics and Opinions Editor at the
Winnipeg Free Press
The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well ...
and academic at the
University of Winnipeg
The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...
edited the project from 2017-2018.
Kathleen O'Grady
Kathleen O'Grady is a Canadian author and academic. She has published two children's books, but is more widely known as a feminist scholar who investigates women's health issues through a cultural lens and whose work addresses the under-researche ...
Research Associate at
Concordia University
Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the th ...
was the Managing Editor from 2011-2019. EvidenceNetwork.ca ceased operations as of the end of 2019 but the content and the site remains online under the direction of
Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI; ) is a non-profit and non-partisan organization based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that collaborates with governments, policy makers, researchers, front-line clinicians, patients and practic ...
until at least 2024.
The initiative was originally funded with a grant from the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; french: Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the M ...
(CIHR), the
Manitoba Health Research Council
The Manitoba Health Research Council (MHRC), was a provincial agency based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that supported health sciences research through grants, awards and fellowships funded by Manitoba's provincial government. The MHRC reporte ...
(MHRC) and the George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation.
Additional support was provided by the
Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI; ) is a non-profit and non-partisan organization based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that collaborates with governments, policy makers, researchers, front-line clinicians, patients and practic ...
(CFHI). It is currently funded by CFHI with support from individual CIHR institutes.
Background
EvidenceNetwork.ca was established to address the complex debates leading up to the 2014 renegotiation of the Canada Health Accord, and after, to highlight evidence on health policy issues across the country. The Director, Dr, 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."
The site provides
evidence-based
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the idea that occupational practices ought to be based on scientific evidence. While seemingly obviously desirable, the proposal has been controversial, with some arguing that results may not specialize to indivi ...
information on controversial health policy issues for journalists 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, pharmaceutical policy,
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...
,
mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...
, and the role of the private sector. There is also a section on the comparison between Canadian and international models of healthcare. 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.
The
British Medical Journal
''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origin ...
's ''Evidence-Based Medicine'' highlighted the work of the network as an example for how to facilitate "the science and art of combining opinion and evidence."
''University Affairs'' says of the initiative, "The project aims to break the traditional pattern of academics writing for other academics in journals that aren’t read by the mainstream press, or of professors avoiding the media, leaving a select few to appear again and again."
''
J-Source
The Jahwist, or Yahwist, often abbreviated J, is one of the most widely recognized sources of the Pentateuch (Torah), together with the Deuteronomist, the Priestly source and the Elohist. The existence of the Jahwist is somewhat controversial, ...
,'' a professional publication for the Canadian media says of the network, "it's an ambitious initiative to get the latest and best findings in health sciences and policy research into the broader public conversation by engaging the media." In an article for ''Healthcare Policy'', Dr. Roos et al. state that the project "seeks to improve the Canadian healthcare system and, ultimately, the health of Canadians by ensuring that our best health policy evidence is understood by journalists and accurately communicated to Canadians and policy makers."
EvidenceNetwork.ca was established in consultation with experienced media advisors, health and health policy researchers and third party evidence brokers including the
Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI; ) is a non-profit and non-partisan organization based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that collaborates with governments, policy makers, researchers, front-line clinicians, patients and practic ...
, the
Canadian Institute for Health Information
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is a government-controlled not-for-profit Crown corporation that provides essential information on Canada's health systems and the health of Canadians. CIHI provides comparable and actionable ...
and the
Health Council of Canada
The Health Council of Canada was a national, independent, public reporting agency based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Announced as part of the 2003 First Ministers' Accord on Health Care Renewal with a mandate to report publicly to Canadians, the H ...
.
Commentaries
The network of more than 80 scholars dedicated to evidence-based health research and policy direction also regularly publishes commentaries (OpEds) and articles in the mainstream media. The network has published more than 1200 commentaries and articles in the Canadian press since its inception, and has made all of the articles available for free re-use and dissemination by putting a
Creative Commons
Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has releas ...
license on the material.
In 2012, the organization published a compendium of their Creative Commons content in an ebook, ''Canadian Health Policy in the News: Why Evidence Matters.'' In 2014, they released a second free ebook collection of commentaries, ''Making Evidence Matter in Canadian Health Policy.''

A sample of the network's published commentaries includes:
*"Four points about the pending challenge against medicare" by Colleen Flood and
Kathleen O'Grady
Kathleen O'Grady is a Canadian author and academic. She has published two children's books, but is more widely known as a feminist scholar who investigates women's health issues through a cultural lens and whose work addresses the under-researche ...
*"We need to talk about poverty and health" by Carolyn Shimmin
*"Age-friendly communities create a healthier society for everyone" by Verena Menec
*"Social assistance reform can lead to better health for all" by Gary Bloch
*"Patent protection for drugs should come at a price" by Marc-Andre Gagnon
*"More health care does not mean better health" by Robert Brown
*"Childhood hunger is a Canadian public health crisis" by Elizabeth Lee Ford Jones
*"Canada Health Transfer changes: The devil is in the details" by Livio Di Matteo
*"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
*"How we can save our healthcare system without going broke" by Cy Frank
*"Wrestling with big pharma" by Colleen Flood
*"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
The Director of the initiative, Dr. Noralou Roos has said in an interview, "There are key discussions going on in health policy, and academics typically have that evidence, and it’s important for those discussions in the media to be informed by evidence as much as possible."
See also
*
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; french: Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the M ...
*
Canadian Institute for Health Information
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is a government-controlled not-for-profit Crown corporation that provides essential information on Canada's health systems and the health of Canadians. CIHI provides comparable and actionable ...
*
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.[Health Council of Canada
The Health Council of Canada was a national, independent, public reporting agency based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Announced as part of the 2003 First Ministers' Accord on Health Care Renewal with a mandate to report publicly to Canadians, the H ...](_blank)
*
Manitoba Health Research Council
The Manitoba Health Research Council (MHRC), was a provincial agency based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that supported health sciences research through grants, awards and fellowships funded by Manitoba's provincial government. The MHRC reporte ...
*
Manitoba Centre for Health Policy
Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) is a public, not-for-profit research unit in the Department of Community Health Sciences within the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada). MCHP provides ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
EvidenceNetwork.ca
Organizations established in 2011
Organizations based in Winnipeg
Medical and health organizations based in Manitoba
2011 establishments in Manitoba
Evidence-based medicine