A review of research related to blood transfusion in Canada, 2000-2002.

The former National Blood Safety Council undertook a comprehensive review of blood transfusion research in Canada for the years 2000 through 2002. Data were acquired by direct contact with agencies which support such research and by searches of the relevant websites. Total grant support increased markedly over the 3-year period, from 4.1 million dollars to 18.5 million dollars. Publicly funded granting agencies, biopharmaceutical companies, the blood services and the province of Ontario were major supporters. Much smaller amounts were granted from charitable organizations. Clinical research attracted the majority of the funding, although a larger number of projects were basic science in nature. Most research was carried out in the provinces of Ontario, Québec and British Columbia. Although we have not assessed the productivity of blood-related research, it appears that substantial amounts of funding were allocated to these projects between 2000 and 2002. These data may provide a helpful perspective to investigators in transfusion medicine elsewhere, who may also be assessing the relative priority given to this field of research in their own countries.

Causal evaluation of impact of support workshop for HIV+ men.

A program logic model was used to design and evaluate a support workshop for men infected with HIV. The model identified three proximal outcomes leading to the ultimate goal of motivating participants to initiate ongoing support relationships. Path analysis was used to evaluate the workshop. The findings indicated the most important motivator to initiating ongoing support was the awareness among participants of the need to talk about their HIV status and risk of transmission and their feeling capable to do so. The proximal outcomes which contributed to this impact were: recognition of their own needs from listening to testimonials by others, developing awareness and skills by engaging in role plays, and learning options for discussion by participating in a sexual issues group. The workshop findings demonstrated the benefits of developing a pre-program logic model and using causal evaluation to understand factors determining impact.