Medical Student Research Opportunity

Opportunity Type: Research Assistant

Principle Investigator: Dr. Sarah Lespérance

Posted on SRPC website: 29-Apr-2021

More Information: Are you a medical student interested in rural research, resilience, and generalism? A research study related to systemic challenges and resilience protectors, in relation to scope of practice of rural physicians, is looking to hire a student to help with knowledge translation work, as well as possible development of further research proposals in this domain. The timeframe would be to complete work between now and July 31, 2021 due to grant deadlines. If you might be interested in learning more about this opportunity, please email dr.sarah.lesperance@horizonnb.ca.

Esri Young Scholars Award program

Opportunity Type: Award

Principle Investigator: NA

Institution: Esri Canada

Posted on SRPC website: 5-Mar-2021

More Information: Esri Canada has announced the 2021 Esri Young Scholars Award program. Awards include cash prizes of up to $1,500 and registration in the Esri User Conference (virtual only, July 12-15, 2021) and Education Summit @ Esri UC (virtual only, July 10-13, 2021). More information is available in this Flyer.pdf and FAQ page.pdf

Assessing the Economic Costs of Obstetric Evacuation and Outcomes/Experiences of Indigenous Midwifery in Urban, Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities

Opportunity Type: Research Assistant

Principle Investigator: Dr. Jennifer Leason, PhD

Institution: University of Calgary

Posted on SRPC website: 03-Feb-2021

More Information: GIS Research Assistant.pdf

Would you like to promote a Canadian rural health research opportunity? We'd love to hear about it. Please connect with us at srpc.research@gmail.com

Hosting or aware of a rural health research event and would like to add it to our calendar?  Send us an email

Health-Risk Behaviors and Protective Factors Among Adolescents in Rural British Columbia 

Authors: Géczy I, Saewyc EM, Poon CS & Homma Y 

Journal: The Journal of Rural Health

Summary & Impact: This study characterized the association between rurality and a variety of health-related behaviors, including seatbelt use, obesity, and patterns of alcohol and tobacco use using a school-based survey of adolescents living in rural and remote BC. Many of these potentially harmful health behaviors were found to be more prevalent in rural, relative to urban, settings; however, family/school connectedness and prosocial relationships with peers reduced the likelihood of engaging in these behaviors among rural and remote adolescents. Rural-urban disparities in health behaviors varied between males and females. The results from this study will be helpful in guiding regionally tailored public health interventions aimed at promoting adolescent health in rural Canada.  

DOI: 10.1111/jrh.12389

Meet the Corresponding Author

Dr. Istvan Géczy has a teacher's degree in biology-chemistry and a psychology degree (bachelor's equivalent) from Hungary. After coming to Canada, Dr. Géczy finished a master's degree in experimental psychology at McGill University in 1992. followed by a Ph.D. with summa cum laude at ELTE University, Budapest, Hungary, in the area of neurobiology of behavior.

Since 2001, Dr. Géczy has been an academic instructor in psychology  at various post-secondary institutions in Canada, including the University of Saskatchewan, Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta, and University of Northern British Columbia. Dr. Géczy has been a full-time permanent faculty in the academic program at Northern Lights College (a rural community college in northern BC) since 2007. In this role, he has taught various psychology courses, in addition to being involved in several projects conducted at the McCreary Centre Society in Vancouver under the leadership of Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, Director of UBC School of Nursing and Research Director at McCreary.

Question: Why is studying rural and remote health in Canada important to you? 

Dr. Géczy: An important area of research in epidemiology is to study the health and well-being of young people. We have little empirical data in Canada on the physical and psychosocial health of adolescents residing in rural and remote areas. This is unfortunate, because rural teens have fewer access to health services and they often fare behind their urban counterparts in many indicators of health and health behaviors. Our study published in the JRH is a modest attempt to direct attention of health professionals and service providers to the health needs of rural teenagers in BC.

Photo: Istvan Géczy