The Stollery Midwifery Research Initiative

The UBC Midwifery Program is excited to announce a new research initiative to fund a number of Midwifery-led and Midwifery-related research projects. This initiative is meant to encourage Midwifery research, enrich midwives’ practice, and inform other health disciplines about Midwifery’s distinct approach to maternity care. With thanks to a gift from the Stollery Charitable Foundation, up to $30,000 in funds will be awarded each year, for up to about 5 projects. There is a funding preference for project budgets falling between $5,000 and $15,000.

The gift from the Stollery Charitable Foundation acknowledges excellent Midwifery care given by Natalie Amram, RM to a family member.

Natalie Amram, RM

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Details on the application and funding process can be found in the sections below.

Intended Recipients:

Those interested in gaining experience or exposure to Midwifery research

Either:

    • Those undertaking a full (small) project or who are coming to the table with partner funds, etc.; or
    • Those needing a funding “boost” or “jumpstart” for an existing Midwifery-related research project
Required Eligibility:

Either:

  • A Midwife; or
  • Other practitioner researching the Midwifery practice or field
Strong preference goes to:
  • Those licensed to practice in BC
  • Residents of BC
  • Midwives
  • An innovative research focus relevant to pregnancy, birth, and/or women’s/birthing parents’ health
  • First-time recipients (although returning recipients are also considered)
  • While applicants are welcome to apply more than once, we prioritize creating diverse opportunities and a broad spectrum of applicants.
  • The UBC Midwifery Program is committed to equity and diversity in research. While we encourage all applicants to apply, preference may go to Indigenous people in accordance with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 23 and 24, as well as other members of visible minorities.

Applicants will submit filled, completed application forms to info@midwifery.ubc.ca. Stollery applications for 2020 are due by November 15, 2019 at 11:59 pm.

Evaluation of proposals will consider potential significance, alignment with the field of Midwifery, clarity of project plan, budget feasibility, and research ethics. Excellent proposals will:

  • Examine a topical and meaningful Midwifery-relevant research question
  • Have a clear and well-defined research question, and solid corresponding research method
  • Articulate feasible, realistic, and well mapped project plans (including budgets)
  • Address any anticipated ethical considerations, detailing what they are, and how they will be attended to (including any applicable ethics approval processes)

There is a funding preference for project budgets falling between $5,000 and $15,000.

Funding decisions will be completed by early December. Applicants will be notified directly of the results, and successful projects will be posted here.

A high-level breakdown will be expected during the Final Report. Reporting every single cost isn’t necessary – all that’s needed is a narrative report. The Program might respond to promising proposals by requesting adjustments to their budgets. Acceptable costs may include:

  • Co-Investigators and other support
  • Clinical buyout time
  • Travel (if necessary for research)
  • Materials
  • Equipment
  • Other direct research costs
  • Other costs associated with successfully running the research project
  • You’re responsible for determining whether a Research Ethics submission is necessary, and for submitting it. Researchers from UBC-affiliated sites may refer to UBC’s “Should I Apply” checklist; or refer to the resources found in their organization.
  • You’re encouraged to begin your ethics application before funding, and submit when you get it.
  • If applying for Ethics you must submit ethics applications specifically to the REB where you’re affiliated or where the research is to be conducted.
  • Each REB may have different criteria for who is eligible to personally apply for an ethics review. If you’re not eligible you may appoint a co‑researcher who is, so long as the eligible party is named the Principle Investigator. Your REB will consider this person directly responsible for the conduct of the study, the activities of the team members, and the protection of its participants.
  • UBC’s REBs require UBC affiliation and PI status in RISe; they generally allow both academic faculty and clinical faculty to apply (or, with the approval of the applicable REB, a staff appointment), though students may need to appoint another Principle Investigator to apply on their behalf. Consult their guidance note for more details.
  •  Funding will be disbursed in 3 installments: after successful application, following your mid-point summary, and upon project completion.
  • There will be a mid-point summary check-in approximately six months into your project.
  • A final report is required at the end of the project or funding period.
  • Recipients agree to complete their projects within 18 months of first receipt of Stollery funding, unless Stollery funding is partial funding within a larger study.

By applying, you agree to produce some form of presentation or publication of your project. The UBC Midwifery Program will support you to meet these goals as best as possible. Potential presentation forums could include the BC Midwifery Network, Family Practice rounds, WHRI rounds, etc.

If you would like any support identifying possible presentation/publication venues, touch base with us early in the process and we can advise you of options and primers.

Please acknowledge the Stollery Charitable Foundation as a Funder when you present and/or publish. For example, “This project was funded by the Stollery Charitable Foundation, with the support of the University of British Columbia’s Midwifery Program.” It is not necessary to acknowledge the funding source in other communications.

The UBC Midwifery Program may use some of the language from your reports on this website or in other communications, to showcase the initiative.

Fifteen midwives or researchers in midwifery-related topics applied to the 2018 UBC Midwifery/Stollery Foundation research grants. The applications were reviewed by a panel of five experienced midwifery and maternal-child health researchers from across Canada and the United States. Three teams of BC midwifery researchers were chosen for support this year.

The application from Kathrin Stoll, Alix Bacon, Petra Pruiksma, and Luba Butska was awarded $11,500. They will work with College of Midwives of BC, the Midwives Association of BC, the health authorities and the Ministry of Health to apply findings from a 2017 survey of BC midwives, who suggested ways to improve the practice environment to reduce occupational stress.

Another $11,500 was awarded to Zoe Hodgson, Ruth Comfort and Arianne Albert, who plan to use Perinatal Services BC data from more than 25,000 births to compare the outcomes of midwife-attended births in water to midwife-attended births on land.

Finally, Hamideh Bayrampour, Jane Wines, and Sarka Lisonkova were awarded $7,000 to use data from the BC Perinatal Data Registry to examine the outcomes of approximately 600 vaginal births after cesarean intended to be attended by midwives at home, compared to approximately 4600 vaginal births after cesarean intended to be attended by midwives in hospitals.

All three studies have tremendous potential to provide new evidence for midwifery practice and perinatal care in British Columbia.

The applicants expect to complete their work by the end of 2019. Another round of Stollery Foundation Research funding will open in September 2019. We hope you will consider submitting your ideas for research.

Five teams applied for Stollery research funding in November 2019. Their requests were modest enough that all five studies were fully funded.

Luba Butska, Allison Campbell and Kathrin Stroll will study changes in midwifery client characteristics over the past 20 years. If the team finds increasing medical complications among midwifery clients, basic midwifery education and continuing professional development will need to be adjusted to meet practice needs. Their data might also provide support for reimbursement changes for midwifery.

Kelly Hayes, Michelle Butler, Patti Janssen, Beth Payne and Cecilia Jevitt were awarded additional funding to support the Oral Probiotics Study in Pregnancy. This study is a double-blinded, randomized trial of probiotic supplements used during pregnancy with the intention to reduce maternal colonization with Group B strep. We hope that your practices will support this unique study for midwifery.

Michelle Turner, Kathrin Stoll, Susan Cox, and Kerry Renwick will complete a study titled, “Midwives at school: the effects of an evidence-based childbirth education intervention on shifting attitudes towards pregnancy and childbirth among Grade 4 students in BC.” The intervention is based on a German program that has been shown to decrease the fear of childbirth in elementary school children in grades 3 and 4.

Tanya Momtazian and Zoe Hodgson will do a qualitative study of the mentoring provided by registered midwives to labor and birth nurses at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake during the summer of 2019. This program is valued by the rural health authorities as an example of how midwifery can assist communities to prevent birth unit closures. Tanya and Zoe’s research will construct a model that could be replicated in the future in BC and other parts of Canada.

Abiola Adeniyi, dentist and doctoral student at the UBC Faculty of Dentistry, was awarded support for her investigation of ways to integrate oral health assessment and care into prenatal care. Cecilia Jevitt and Patti Janssen are members of Abiola’s dissertation research committee. Please respond to Abiola’s requests for interviews if she contacts you. She will be interviewing midwives, family practice physicians and obstetricians about oral health care during pregnancy.

This is the last year of Stollery funding. We anticipate that this cohort of Stollery researchers will be as productive as the midwifery researchers who were funded in 2018.