Description:
Sport science has traditionally centered male athletes, either ignoring, or extrapolating findings to female athletes. Focusing on sex as a biological variable and gender as a social variable, this priority announcement (PA) aims to address research gaps in understanding the health of female athletes in the context of organized sport participation.
This PA is the result of a partnership between the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health (CIHR-IGH) and Sports Canada. For the purpose of this PA, sport is defined as “Activities that develop specific skills, and that are organized around competition and governed by rules” and will contribute to the National Women's Health Research Initiative (NWHRI) which is advancing a coordinated research program that addresses under-researched and high-priority areas of women's health and will ensure new evidence improves women's and gender-diverse people's care and health outcomes. The NWHRI promotes an intersectional lens to research and care to tackle persistent gaps for all women, including for Indigenous, Black, and racialized women, women with disabilities, and members of Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse (2SLGBTQI+) communities.
This PA is designed to support research that consider physical, biological, reproductive, psychological, emotional, cultural, and/or spiritual health as it relates to female athletes participating in sports across the life-course together with gender and other intersecting variables.
Expected Results:
This program provides funding for targeted grants and awards aimed at addressing priority areas. Priorities are identified by CIHR in consultation with other government departments and agencies, partners and stakeholders. The program mobilizes researchers, patients, health providers, and decision makers to conduct research, enable knowledge translation and build capacity in the priority areas. It often requires collaboration within and across sectors.
Program Purpose:
This program provides funding for targeted grants and awards aimed at addressing priority areas. Priorities are identified by CIHR in consultation with other government departments and agencies, partners and stakeholders. The program mobilizes researchers, patients, health providers, and decision makers to conduct research, enable knowledge translation and build capacity in the priority areas. It often requires collaboration within and across sectors.