Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM) is a national research consortium focused on substance use disorders, comprising four large interdisciplinary regional teams (nodes) representing British Columbia, the Prairie Provinces, Ontario, and Quebec/Atlantic. Each CRISM node is an expert network of research scientists, service providers, policy makers, community leaders, and people with lived experience of substance use disorders. CRISM’s mission is to translate the best scientific evidence into clinical practice and policy change.
CRISM is a 5-year initiative and was modeled, in part, on the US National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Clinical Trials Network
CRISM’s objectives:
- Identify and/or develop the most appropriate clinical and community-based interventions for substance use disorders
- Provide evidence to support the enhancement of prevention and treatment services regarding substance use to decision makers and service providers; and
- Support improvement in the quality of care and quality of life for Canadians living with substance use.
Dr. Evan Wood
The CRISM BC Node is led by Dr. Evan Wood, an addiction medicine physician, Professor of Medicine and clinician scientist at the University of British Columbia. The BC Node is an interdisciplinary expert network of over 100 contributing members, including advocacy groups, policy makers, service providers, and research scientists. The network is affiliated with the BC Centre on Substance Use, the University of British Columbia, and Simon Fraser University, and other institutions, and works closely with regional health authorities and the provincial government. Through the translation of scientific evidence into practice and policy change, the network promotes evidence-based approaches to addiction treatment and provides training to the next generation of leaders through our comprehensive education programs.
To ensure that research priorities align with lived experience of those affected by substance use disorders, we have well-established partnerships with community and advocacy groups, including the BC Association of People on Methadone (BCAPOM), the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), the Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society (WAHRS), From Grief to Action (FGTA), and Moms Stop the Harm. Our linkages to treatment providers, health system administrators and government policy-makers, our training infrastructure, and our national and international collaborations ideally position us to undertake collaborative research and implementation of evidence-based therapeutic approaches.
To learn more about the CRISM BC Node, click here.
