Funding Priorities: Autism and the Need for a More Balanced Research Agenda in Canada

Krahn, T. M.; Fenton, A.

doi:10.1093/phe/phs027

Cited by 22Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchHealth and Medical Research ImpactsResearch, Science, and Academia

Funding Priorities: Autism and the Need for a More Balanced Research Agenda in Canada

Krahn, T. M., Fenton, A.·2012·Public Health Ethics

DOI 10.1093/phe/phs027

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Abstract

The public purse is responsible for funding almost all autism spectrum disorders (ASD) research in Canada (as per Canadian Institutes of Health Research [CIHR]) and for providing some of the existing services and supports for this population. In this article, we consider various reasons why Canada should be concerned to ensure a more equitable distribution of relevant public funding for ASD research than is currently the case to meet the express needs and interests of the diversity of autism stakeholders. As such, we report data to show that CIHR-supported ASD research from the period of 2000–2010 demonstrates a bias focussed on the aetiology of the condition revealing a disproportionate emphasis on only two (Biomedical and Clinical) out of the four research pillars avowed by CIHR, with a comparative lack of fiscal resources committed to Health Systems and Services and Population and Public Health research. We advance certain normative and prudential reasons for funding more Health Systems and Services and Population and Public Health ASD research in Canada. In our view, this would seem to follow from CIHR’s official mandate ‘as a flexible mechanism that will continually align health research funding with changes in the manner in which health problems and opportunities are identified, understood and addressed’.

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Autism research in Canada disproportionately focusses on the biomedical and clinical aspects of autism rather than the public health or social aspects.
“Autism research in Canada disproportionately focusses on the biomedical and clinical aspects of autism rather than the public health or social aspects (Krahn & Fenton, 2012).”
From Indigenous Autism in Canada: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as Krahn & Fenton, 2012

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Authors: Krahn, T. M., & Fenton, A.
Affiliations: Dalhousie University (CA)
California State University, Fresno (US)
Corresponding author: Krahn, T. M.
ORCID: Fenton, A.
Venue: Public Health Ethics
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published: 2012-11-01
Volume: 5
Issue: 3
Pages: 296-310
ISSN: 1754-9973 (ISSN-L)
1754-9981
DOI: 10.1093/phe/phs027
OpenAlex: W2029661646
Cited by: 22
References: 36
Citations by year: 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
FWCI: 0.33
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Public Health Ethics (publishedVersion)
Funders: Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Topics: Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Health and Medical Research Impacts
Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Research, Science, and Academia
Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, research funding priorities, research agenda, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, health research funding, stakeholder interests, Canada

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Funding Priorities: Autism and the Need for a More Balanced Research Agenda in Canada

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