Dr. Michelle Lobchuk, Manitoba Health Research Council Research Chair in Caregiver Communication, Associate Professor, Nursing, University of Manitoba and Principal Investigator, Caregiver Communication, Psychosocial Oncology and Cancer Nursing Research at St-Boniface Hospital Research, has been granted $188,784 for development of a caregiver research environment (CARE), a naturalistic setting for empathic communication.
The grant is one of several awarded to University of Manitoba research projects from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF).
Family caregivers are at risk for chronic disease according to the American Psychological Association. Four to five million Canadians provide care for aging, disabled, ill or dying family members. With an expected demand for care to rise by 85% in the coming decade, it’s expected that the stressors on family caregivers will only expand. Lobchuk’s CARE project will be housed at Grace Hospital and bring together Faculty of Nursing and Medicine researchers from the U of M, as well as clinicians, nursing and medical students/residents, nurse practitioners, postdoctoral fellows, research associates and visiting scholars, to study empathic communication. This project will support and strengthen inter-professional partnerships that focus on testing innovative empathy-related training interventions for immediate impact. The need to provide sustained, optimal patient care while minimizing stress to family caregivers is essential.
Canada Foundation for Innovation
Dr. Michelle Lobchuk
University of Manitoba Press Release