Summer student learns first-hand the impact of community hospitals on healthcare research

Sophia Lagrotteria conducted the research as the summer student researcher and identify the key differences in the research productivity index between the community and academic hospitals. As it has been mentioned above, one of the objectives of the Niagara Health Knowledge Institute is to strengthen the research capacity of community hospitals. 
 
Sophia Lagrotteria came across like typical locations of northern area in a entirely different way on her recent trip North. 

For example, some of the small-town hospitals that used to almost disappear from the researcher’s view whenever she is on a family vacation along the highway now appear as light-houses’ of health-care research owing to Lagrotteria’s data collection activity for the Niagara Health Knowledge Institute (NHKI) on research conducted in the Canadian community and other academic hospitals. 
 
“If they were able to publish any research, that is beyond impressive,” says Lagrotteria, the author of the letter. “Community and academic hospitals are very different entities; academic hospitals crank out thousands and thousands of papers while communities crank out significantly fewer papers. ” 
 
Lagrotteria, a biomedical sciences student at the University of Guelph was given the challenge of comparing the research productivity as well as the work facilities of both-CCTG Network of Network thanks to a grant by the NHKI this summer. 
 
Familiarizing the NHKI to the readers, the author noted that one of its objectives is to strengthen research capacity in community hospitals which form over 90 per cent of the hospitals in the country. However, most of the past medical research practice has largely been conducted in academic centre based hospitals in large cities hence restricting patient access to clinical trials as well as new therapies and health disparities. 
 
The NHKI is also committed to developing future healthcare researchers such Lagrotteria and Zachary Raczywolski who conducted a research on the productivity and research endeavor of Canadian community and academic hospital. 
 
Since the work of identifying species for the NHKI is over, their findings shall be further analyzed and used in a paper authored by NHKI. 
 
Indeed, quality health care research has not been a conventional area of research for Lagrotteria until the present study. Almost all her courses in school include use of a lab to support the in class knowledge she gains. 
 
Overall, it was very amazing and I think that it helped me grow as a better informed person when it comes to health in general she noted. 
 
Her knowledge of health care was important nonetheless to initiate the growth of the program from where she stood. 
 
Lagrotteria is originally from a family back ground of Heathcare professions. Her father Dr, Danny Lagrotteria works at Niagara Health where he serves as the Head of Service for Kidney Care. Her uncle, Dr. David Lagrotteria is, the Director of Anesthesia at the Marotta Family hospital in St. Catharines, and aunt Sheryl is a ward clerk in St. Catharines. 
 
Although she has not figured out what role she will play in the field of medicine, she is convinced it shall fulfill her. Lagrotteria claimed she got inspired by her father. 
 
“He has never worked a day in his life he says because he enjoys what he does. ” “He tries to pack all the appointments he can into one day so that people do not wait for their turn, he just cares so much about it and I know if I go into medicine, I would care as much as he does. ” 
 
She also very much appreciates that she would like to keep using her efforts for healthcare research, volunteering for now and for the future, regardless of her position that she gets in later. 
 
“They have given me a good appreciation of the research side of health care,” Lagrotteria adds: ‘That’s about advancing health care and that is pretty awesome. “Oh I’d like to do both if it’s in a lab or at a computer and have them merge in a way that makes sense. ”