The Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) is pleased to offer the 2010 Mythbusters Award. The award provides students with the opportunity to write for publication an issue of Mythbusters – a series of reader-friendly research summaries addressing some of today's major debates in Canadian health services management and policy.
The Mythbusters series was launched in 2000. Numerous myths – widely held but false beliefs – exist in Canada’s healthcare systems, and CHSRF uses Mythbusters to counter these myths with research evidence. Articles in the series summarize the evidence and communicate actionable messages to policy makers, managers and others in a conversational, easy-to-read format.
In 2008, CHSRF created the Mythbusters Teaching Resource. This document walks readers through all of the steps for developing a Mythbuster – from spotting a myth to searching for evidence to disprove it to writing a draft. Applicants are invited to use the information in the Mythbusters Teaching Resource to strengthen their application.
The winner will receive:
- an award of $1,500
- the opportunity to work with CHSRF staff to prepare his or her Mythbusters topic for publication
- Travel, accommodations and registration to the 2010 Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR) conference in Toronto (May 10–13), where the award will be presented.
Who is eligible for this award?
Students who are currently enrolled in a program of study at a Canadian university are eligible to apply for the Mythbusters Award.
The application process
The application form must be requested online.
The completed application will include:
- Full contact information
- The proposed Mythbusters article, which includes:
- A short descriptive title
- A section establishing that the myth exists in the Canadian healthcare system (approximately half a page)
- A section establishing the evidence base to debunk the myth (approximately 1.5 pages)
- A conclusion (approximately half a page)
Applications must be received by January 14, 2010 at 12 p.m. (noon) EST (see “Submission instructions” below)
All applicants must adhere to CHSRF’s conflict of interest policy.
The successful applicant will be notified of the results in early May 2010.
Selection criteria
Applications will be assessed by a merit review panel composed of researchers and decision makers. The merit review panel will assess the applications using the following criteria:
- Originality of the topic (the selected topic addresses a myth that has not yet been featured in the Mythbusters series)
- Relevance of the topic to the Canadian health services management or policy sectors
- Suitability of the supporting evidence (for example, is the evidence robust and does it come from reliable sources?)
- Strength of the conclusions (for example, are the main messages actionable and evidence-based?)
- Readability of the Mythbuster (for example, is it written in a reader-friendly way? Does it use lively prose?)
Submission instructions
An original and two full copies of the completed, fully signed application, with attachments, must be received at CHSRF by January 14, 2010 at 12 p.m. (noon) EST.
2010 Mythbusters Award
Grants, Awards, and Partnerships
Canadian Health Services Research Foundation
1565 Carling Avenue, Suite 700, Ottawa, ON K1Z 8R1
In addition to the original, applicants must submit an electronic version of the completed application form in MS Word format (excluding attachments) to grantsandawards@chsrf.ca.
Applications received by fax, or those received by e-mail only, will not be accepted.
