Manitoba data building Manitoba solutions

By Danica Hidalgo Cherewyk

Dr. Noralou Roos was in a physician's office when she noticed ledgers tracking Manitobans' hospital visits and physician appointments.

“They were keeping track of what was going on ... and I said, 'You know, this is incredibly interesting for research,'” she said.

She asked whether the records could be used for research.

“Nobody's done that. We haven't done it,” he replied.

That encounter prompted the creation of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) in 1991.

The centre was co-founded by Roos, professor emerita in the College of Community and Global Health, and her husband, Dr. Les Roos, distinguished professor emeritus in the same college.

Thirty-five years later, the co-founders were among 235 guests — including faculty, staff, learners, partners and alumni — who attended MCHP's 35th anniversary gala Oct. 14 at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to celebrate the centre's impact.

Contributions of former director and professor emeritus Dr. Alan Katz, who served as master of ceremonies, and former MCHP directors Dr. Charlyn Black and the late, Dr. Patricia Martens, were highlighted in videos and a historical timeline presented at the gala.

'More than just a database'

MCHP, located within the University of Manitoba’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, manages and curates the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository on behalf of the province. The repository enables researchers from around the world to examine population health and well-being and explore how outcomes relate to factors such as income, education, employment and social status.

“Noralou and Les built more than just a database. They built a way of working: working in partnership with government, working in partnership with community, working in partnership with other researchers, analysts and staff,” said Dr. Nathan Nickel, director of MCHP and professor in the College of Community and Global Health.

“They built something that centres in on academic independence, the freedom to publish what we find.” 

Research that supports an equitable and thriving society

Dr. Joss Reimer, Canada's chief public health officer, former president of the Canadian Medical Association and alumna of the Max Rady College of Medicine, was the evening's keynote speaker.

“Speaking as a policymaker myself, I can attest to the value of the work that this organization does because it provides research evidence that truly can inform policy actions — actions that range from topics like mental health to maternal health to Indigenous health and so many more,” she said.

“For 35 years, the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy has helped turn population data into insights that support equity, inform policy decisions and I'm proud to have worked in partnership a few small times with the centre, but in many more instances, to have been able to use the work of the centre to inform my work in public health.”

In support of the new MCHP Endowment Fund

Nickel said most of the questions MCHP has answered have come from researchers and government, while those closest to the problems and working in communities have issues the centre could help address but lacked the means to access the data.

Cost, he said, is one reason communities have not been able to conduct research with MCHP.

“It takes a lot of responsibility to protect the privacy of the Manitobans that are represented in the data,” Nickel said. “The cost of keeping those data secure are quite high, and they're ended up shouldered by the researchers that access and use the data. For many community-based organizations, those costs keep the data out of reach.” 

Nickel highlighted a collaboration between MCHP and the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg.

The organization wanted to know whether its after-school programs were working. It raised funds to cover MCHP fees, but not enough to pay for the full study.  

To fill the funding gap, Dr. Jennifer Enns, lead research associate at MCHP, secured grants from Research Manitoba and Mitacs.

“What that study found was that when boys and girls attended those programs, they had lower risk of justice involvement,” Nickel said. “They had lower risk of being a witness or accused of a crime, and that the more often those kids attended these programs, the lower the risk became. And if you stop to think about it, for a teenager, that can be life changing.” 

The Boys and Girls Club used that evidence to successfully advocate for funding that restored program hours reduced by 2024 funding cuts following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“But in order to get those answers, it took community organizations like Boys and Girls Club to do tremendous fundraising. It took an academic champion and two successful grants in order to answer that one question,” Nickel said. “A community shouldn't have to rely on having an academic champion.”

The accessibility gap led MCHP to launch its new endowment fund to support community access to the repository. The fund was officially launched at the gala, with proceeds from the event also supporting it.

“It will pay for data access, analyst time, knowledge, products that community members can use to find the answers to the questions that are pressing to them,” Nickel said. “It's going to build stronger answers and stronger solutions for Manitoba. It's going to change who gets to ask the questions — using Manitoba data to build Manitoba solutions.” 

Watch the videos showcased at the gala