Saskatchewan children could benefit from another team using HRDP-SK data!

For children with physical disabilities, understanding how they walk is an important part of supporting their health, development, and quality of life. In Saskatchewan, access to walking assessments is inconsistent, with services concentrated in Saskatoon and Regina. Some families must travel out of province for specialized assessments and consultation, creating additional stress and barriers to care.
 

Using data accessed through HRDP-SK, Dr. Valerie Caron, Dr. Katie Crockett, Dr. Amanda Mofina and their research team will help build a clearer picture of children in Saskatchewan who have diagnoses associated with physical disability and/or walking impairment. The team will look at where these children live, how they use healthcare services, which providers they see, and what interventions they receive.
 

These findings will help inform the development of a comprehensive walking assessment pathway for children in Saskatchewan, supporting earlier, more consistent access to appropriate assessment and intervention, regardless of where a child lives in the province.

SCPOR Report: Summer 2026

Summer is coming to the end, but there are still many exciting things ahead! Check them out in the Summer 2026 edition of SCPOR Report!

SCPOR Report: June 2026 Edition

There’s still time to catch up on summer reading! Check out the SCPOR report!

Applications Open: Post-Graduate Medical Education (PGME) Traineeships

Deadline: October 9, 2026

SCPOR and Post-Graduate Medical Education (PGME) are now accepting applications for POR Traineeships for eligible College of Medicine residents. This opportunity supports medical residents interested in developing experience in patient-oriented research and contributing to research that improves health care.

Explore the application guide and submission requirements to learn more about this opportunity.

Learn more and apply.

Another Project Receives HRDP-SK Approval!

Congratulations to another team using HRDP-SK data to answer important health research questions in Saskatchewan! Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) is a brain-based visual disorder that may affect as many as 1 in 30 school-aged children, yet it is often missed or diagnosed late. For families, delays in diagnosis can mean missed opportunities for early interventions that support a child's development, learning, and quality of life. Using data accessed through HRDP-SK, Dr. Meghan Maiani, Dr. Amanda Mofina and their team are examining health service use among children with neurological conditions and visual impairments across Saskatchewan. By combining province-wide health data with the experiences of patients and families, this research aims to identify gaps in diagnosis, referral pathways, and access to care. The findings will help inform the development of clearer, more equitable care pathways so that children with CVI can receive timely diagnosis, support, and intervention, regardless of where they live in Saskatchewan.

Learn more about HRDP-SK: scpor.ca/hrdpsk

SCPOR Report: May 2026 Edition

Check out what we’ve been up to! Read the May 2026 edition of the SCPOR Report!

Another Team Using Linked Data Resources in their Research!

HRDP-SK supports a wide range of health research projects across Saskatchewan. We're excited to highlight another research team using linked data resources to investigate how the way healthcare systems are organized can have a direct impact on patient care. Dr. Kyle Goldstein, Dr. Scott Willms and their team's research is evaluating orthopedic trauma surgery systems in Saskatoon and Regina by comparing wait times and operating room efficiency for common fracture surgeries, including hip, distal radius, and ankle fractures. The study will also examine surgeon experiences within each system. Through secure access to linked datasets provided by HRDP-SK, the research team can analyze surgical timing and access data that would otherwise be difficult to capture and compare across the province. The findings could help identify approaches that improve efficiency, reduce delays to surgery, and support better orthopedic trauma care for patients in Saskatchewan.

Learn more about HRDP-SK: scpor.ca/hrdpsk

Congratulations to Dr. Blackburn and his team for joining those using HRDP-SK data to improve health research in Saskatchewan!

Research using Saskatchewan health data is helping uncover insights into one of the province’s public health challenges. Led by Dr. Blackburn, this research is examining HIV treatment adherence across Saskatchewan to better understand why many people living with HIV are unable to consistently take life-saving medications. By securely accessing linked administrative and clinical data through HRDP-SK, the project is exploring patterns in medication use, health system interactions, and clinical outcomes. The findings will help identify populations at higher risk for poor outcomes and support the development of more targeted strategies to improve HIV care and disease control in Saskatchewan.

SCPOR Report: April Edition

You wouldn’t know it from the weather, but spring has arrived! And with it, events, learning opportunities and so much more here at SCPOR! Check out the April newsletter to find out more.

Another Project is Using HRDP-SK Data to Improve Healthcare

Dr. Nazeem Muhajarine, Syed Jafar Raza Rizvi, and their team are using HRDP-SK data to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic changed healthcare use in Saskatoon. By analyzing administrative health data, they are examining patterns in care related to cardiovascular, respiratory, and mental health conditions before and after the pandemic. The study also looks at how these changes differed across groups, such as age and gender, to help ensure everyone can access the care they need during future crises. By leveraging HRDP-SK’s comprehensive data, this research will provide a clearer picture of how healthcare systems respond during times of emergency and help inform more equitable healthcare planning for the future.

Saskatchewan Data Being Used in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research

Dr. Juan-Nicolas Peña-Sanchez, Dr. Gilaad G. Kaplan, and the Canadian Gastro-Intestinal Epidemiology Consortium (CanGIEC) are using administrative health data across ten provinces, including Saskatchewan, to help Canada’s healthcare system prepare for the rising burden of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) over the next decade. By building forecasting models, this project will estimate future care requirements as more Canadians depend upon treatment and healthcare needs become increasingly complex. The research will also evaluate the increasing cost of new therapies to identify treatment approaches that balance effectiveness, safety, patient preferences, and affordability, thereby helping to guide future policy and care decisions. In partnership with Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, this CanGIEC project will support efforts to improve outcomes for Canadians living with IBD.

SCPOR Report: March Edition

With a new season comes new events, projects and news! Check out the March Edition of the SCPOR Report.

Another Team Accessing HRDP-SK Data!

Dr. Barb Fornssler, Dr. Charles Plante and their team are using HRDP-SK data to examine how the Mental Health and Addictions Information System (MHAIS) captures substance use–related encounters, identifying both strengths and limitations for research and service planning. Their work will help health care providers understand and address patient needs, by enabling personalized care and identifying system gaps for substance use patients. Study results will include comprehensive data that can be used for accurate analysis, trend identification, longitudinal studies, and the training and retention of future researchers. This project will strengthen Saskatchewan’s health data infrastructure, making it more responsive and effective.

SCPOR Report: February Edition

Find out about traineeships, health research data, mentorship opportunities and more in the February edition of the SCPOR Report!

SCPOR’s Top 25 of ‘25

Learn about some of the impact made over the past year through SCPOR’s Top 25 of ‘25! Click here to see the full report.

SCPOR Report: January Edition

It’s a new year and a time to reflect! Check out SCPOR’s Top 25 of ‘25 and see what still to come in the January 2026 SCPOR Report.

HRDP-SK data being used for another project!

On a smoky Saturday at kids’ soccer, three physician parents (emergency, radiology, surgery) discussed how it seemed they had been seeing more ER visits during heavy smoke days, not only for breathing issues, but also for abdominal inflammatory conditions like appendicitis, diverticulitis, and pancreatitis. They wondered if the pattern was real or just coincidence. Using HRDP-SK data from Saskatoon, Regina, and Prince Albert, the research team will compare visits during heavy smoke versus average air quality days. If the data show an association, this could help hospitals plan staffing and resources and guide management strategies.

A new team is accessing HRDP-SK Data!

Dr. David Kopriva’s research team will use the HRDP-SK to understand patterns of care and identify opportunities to improve care in Saskatchewan’s abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) surgical patients. An AAA is a bulge in the main vessel that takes blood from the heart to the rest of the body. AAA ruptures can be life-threatening; the largest are sometimes treated with surgery, which poses post-operative risks, including blood clots in veins. Using HRDP-SK clinical and administrative data, the researchers will be able to identify how common post-operative blood clotting is in the province and how patients could benefit from more preventative treatments.

SCPOR Report: December Edition

Enjoy some holiday reading and catch up on all things patient-oriented research! Read the December edition of the SCPOR rePORt!

Dr. Mamata Pandey has been approved to start research using HRDP-SK data!

Dr. Mamata Pandey who has been approved to start research on youth detox and addiction treatment in Saskatchewan using HRDP-SK data! This project will help drive evidence-driven improvements to detox and addictions treatment for youth in the province. The HRDP-SK research will be used as part of a Ministry of Health and Saskatchewan Health Authority program evaluation in order to address gaps and challenges in the delivery of youth substance use programming in the province.