IHSPR-CAHSPR Health Services and Policy Research Impact Award Recipient 2026

The CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) and Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR) are pleased to announce that Dr. S. Monty Ghosh has received the inaugural 2026 IHSPR-CAHSPR Health Services and Policy Research (HSPR) Impact Award for his project: Impacts of the National Overdose Response Service.

IHSPR and CAHSPR are also pleased to recognize three honourable mentions.

The challenge

Most fatal drug poisonings occur when people use substances alone. Yet, few harm‑reduction options exist for people who cannot—or do not feel safe to—access supervised consumption sites (SCSs). Many are limited by geography, childcare responsibilities, stigma, fear, or the lack of inhalation services.

Virtual SCSs emerged as a potential solution, but they lacked rigorous evaluation and faced concern from governments, emergency services, and communities about safety, effectiveness, and risk of inappropriate emergency dispatches.

The research

With the support of a 2021 CIHR Quadruple Aim and Equity Catalyst Grant and a 2023 Planning and Dissemination Grant, Dr. Ghosh and his team conducted the first rigorous evaluation of a virtual, peer‑run overdose response model.

Using a mixed‑methods, implementation‑science approach embedded directly within service delivery, Dr. Ghosh and team co-designed the response model directly with people who use substances to test if real‑time telephone monitoring could prevent overdose deaths – anywhere, anytime in Canada.

The impact

The research directly informed the design, implementation, evaluation, and national scale-up of the National Overdose Response Service (NORS), a peer-run, nationwide, virtual overdose response program. NORS is saving lives, expanding equitable access, and demonstrating value for health systems.

Between 2020-2024, the research demonstrated:

  • Lives saved: Over 18,600 service uses with 164 overdose reversals (now more than 300) with zero deaths and only four false emergency call‑outs, confirming the model’s safety and minimal impact on emergency responders.
  • High reach among equity denied populations: 75% of callers were women or gender‑diverse people, and 57% reported they could not access SCSs due to distance, limited hours, or the absence of inhalation services.
  • Enhanced access: NORS extended access to overdose prevention to rural, Indigenous, and suburban communities where no SCSs exist.
  • Strong economic value: every dollar invested saved the health care system $8.59 and generated $15.84 in broader social return through avoided emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and premature deaths.
  • Economic and social prosperity impacts: meaningful employment and leadership opportunities were created for people with lived experience of substance use, who served as essential operators, researchers, and knowledge translators of NORS.

Dr. Ghosh’s research is actively shaping policy and action across North America. Findings informed provincial and federal harm-reduction strategies, supported the integration of virtual overdose response information into take-home naloxone kit distribution, contributed to the development and province-wide rollout of Alberta’s Digital Overdose Response System (DORS) app, and informed the Never Use Alone and SafeSpot initiatives in the United States - “allowing decisions about overdose prevention to be guided by data rather than ideology.”

NORS has since been recognized with the Governor General's Innovation Award, the Community-Based Research Canada's Excellence in Community-Campus Research Award, and the inaugural IHSPR-CAHSPR Impact Award, among many others.

“The added value of CIHR support transformed a fragile pilot into a nationally funded, evidence-based service that has saved lives and reshaped harm-reduction policy in Canada.” - Dr. Ghosh

"There is often a prominent "gap" between validated research and the reality of participants using social service programs. Monty and his team's research is led with an open heart, curiosity and compassion for self and others. Growth happens when research is not done on people, but with them. We are all working together to understand the human experience and shape unique care methods for our vulnerable populations.” – Lisa Moris-Miller, CEO, NORS.

Key Publications

Media Coverage

About Dr. S. Monty Ghosh, MD, MPH, FRCPC

Dr. S. Monty Ghosh is an Internist, Disaster Medicine physician, and Addiction Medicine Specialist, and Associate Professor at the University of Alberta. He practices Internal Medicine at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton and provides Addiction Medicine services at Foothills Medical Centre and Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary. He holds dual academic appointments at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary. He has addiction certification through the International Society of Addiction Medicine and holds a Master of Public Health from Harvard University. His training integrates clinical medicine, public health, and systems-level policy development.

Dr. Ghosh’s clinical and academic work focuses on addiction medicine, overdose prevention, harm reduction, disaster medicine, and health systems innovation. Dr. Ghosh works extensively with community-based not-for-profit organizations across Alberta to support structurally marginalized populations, including individuals experiencing homelessness, substance use disorders, mental health concerns, and those involved in the correctional system.

The honourable mentions

The IHSPR-CAHSPR HSPR Impact Award competition attracted an impressive number of high-quality submissions to the competition. We are pleased to recognize the exemplary contributions of the HSPR community by highlighting the three projects selected for honourable mention, in recognition of their demonstrated impact.

Equip: Equipping Health Care for Equity – Dr. Colleen Varcoe

From Pilots to Paradigm Shift: Putting Community Leadership and Social Needs on the Health Agenda through pan-Canadian Social Prescribing – Dr. Kate Mulligan

Evaluating Population-Level Impacts of Substance Use Policies in Canada - Hai Nguyen

Date modified: