Thank you very much.
It's a pleasure to be back before committee, this time to talk to you about how research work at Veterans Affairs is primarily conducted in partnership with various departments and organizations to strengthen our collective understanding of the health and well-being of veterans.
I would like to acknowledge my research colleagues who represent some of our partners, who are here with us today to join in this discussion.
I lead the VAC research section. Our work is applied, meaning that it directly supports and advances Veterans Affairs Canada's priorities. Although our capacity is modest in size, we have a strong track record of conducting and analyzing military and veteran health research and have produced many studies, reviews, and publications. We also provide technical and administrative support to the Veterans Affairs Canada Scientific Advisory Committee on Veterans' Health.
Our research team includes a gerontologist, an epidemiologist, a health economist, a medical adviser, and statistical experts. Our work supports the advancement of effective policies, programs, and services that respond to the needs of veterans and their families. It also helps play an important role in clarifying and understanding emerging mental and physical health issues that can impact veterans across the life course.
The work we do has two key functions. We produce new knowledge through research studies linked to our priorities. In recent years, a key research priority has been understanding transition from military service to civilian life. For example, the “Life after Service” studies that I spoke to you about in February helped address this priority. This work is essential to understand the health, well-being, and disability of a new generation of today's veterans so we can move forward on a foundation of solid evidence.
We also synthesize existing knowledge, meaning that we interpret and monitor military and veteran scientific evidence and expert opinion. This work informs best practices in disability compensation and care of veterans and their families.
Let me underline that this is a specialized area. Many health problems encountered by military personnel, veterans, and their families are common to civilians, but there are differences owing to the unique aspects or context of military service. For example, the military nature of service-related physical and psychological trauma is rarely encountered by civilians. Consider the extreme mental stress of combat or consider a blast injury. These are relatively rare in a civilian context but are more common in battlefield or military operations. The transition from military service to civilian life is also unique.
Partnerships are absolutely essential, so we can conduct this work more effectively, much more so than doing it alone. Through partnerships, we coordinate our research priorities so that we're working toward complementary goals and avoiding duplication. They also bring some of Canada's best minds to the table to help us work on these problems, minds like Dr. Sareen's. Working as a team also allows us to learn together, leverage resources, and maximize efficiency and outcomes. Some of our research partners are the Department of National Defence, the Canadian Forces, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Other key partners are Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.
We have a very close working relationship with the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces in the area of research. This connection is natural because a veteran's health today is determined by their experiences earlier in life, and of course these experiences include service. Consequently, our research is integrated into a close working relationship on a wide range of issues. Over the past several years a key area of mutual interest and collaboration has been on understanding transition from military service to civilian life, and generally how well released personnel do in life after military service.
Working closely with Susan Truscott's group and Statistics Canada, we completed two studies to inform VAC's work in support of military to civilian transition. One was on income and one was on health and well-being. These studies looked at all former regular force full-time personnel who released over a recent 10-year period.
We also collaborated with the Canadian Forces Health Services Group, Colonel Bernier's group, on a third study, the Canadian Forces cancer and mortality study, for which they are the lead. The mortality study, which compared rates of death in serving and released personnel to the general Canadian population, was released in 2011, and the cancer study is under way. A wide range of analyses are under way from this information that we've collected on topics like mental health, income, suicide, and whether VAC programs are reaching the people they were intended to reach.
Statistics Canada is also a big player. They bring technical expertise and hold secure national registries of information on things like cancer, causes of death, and income. They're essential to do this work.
Regarding the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, VAC researchers have a track record of involvement in a number of projects, including one we led on the challenges of workplace reintegration of veterans with mental health conditions.
Last October, Veterans Affairs, the Canadian Forces, DND, and the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research met with the president of the CIHR and their scientific council to explore opportunities to strengthen collaboration through CIHR research programs. Since that time, VAC researchers have participated in an invitational workshop on traumatic brain injury that will lead to a national network on traumatic brain injury, which we'll be part of. We're also in discussions about participation in a number of other opportunities, including one that can lead to best practices in mental health.
This work is international in scope. A great deal of veteran health research is conducted by our allies in other countries, especially the United States, but also Australia and the U.K. Therefore, we're actively involved in research information exchange. For example, I chair an international research subcommittee of a group called the Senior International Forum. This forum involves senior officials from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. We meet annually to discuss issues and initiatives, and in fact research was the theme of the 2011 forum that was hosted in Ottawa. The discussions at the forum and the preceding ministerial summit focused on this question of transition from military service to civilian life.
As I move towards closing, another key partnership is with the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research. This organization represents a network of about 21 universities across Canada, and it is successfully increasing the engagement of Canada's university community in the area of veteran health and veteran health research. We're very active, providing in-kind support to this organization and participating in its governance structure, on its advisory council, on its scientific direction committee, as well as on other committees. We also contribute heavily and we're very involved in the annual forum that Dr. Sareen talked to you about, through planning, sponsorship, and participation. In fact, our minister, the Honourable Steven Blaney, gave the opening remarks at the forum last year.
We have worked extensively with university-based researchers across the country for many years, but recently the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research has helped us facilitate these relationships even more. As Dr. Sareen mentioned, we are working with his group on three studies, including one on suicide ideation and another on the impact of income on mental health. This work will further inform our work in a number of areas, including suicide prevention.
We're also working with Queen's University on two studies related to chronic pain and well-being, because chronic pain is another problem that's common among veterans.
We're also working with the Université de Sherbrooke on a tool to help in assessment of barriers to workplace reintegration for veterans in our rehabilitation program.
The energy and interest generated among Canadian research continues to strengthen. We look forward to the third Military and Veteran Health Research Forum hosted by the institute this fall. The forum showcases the increasing scope of current Canadian research, which is supporting the needs of veterans and their families.
In closing, despite or perhaps because of the modest size of our research section, VAC has leveraged partnerships to be a national leader in veteran health research, and we're proud to have played a role in the growth of key research partnerships in this area over the past decade. The collaboration in this research area ensures strong evidence to inform VAC programs, policies, and services, with the goal of benefiting Canada's veterans.
Thank you.