Alberta Research Centre for Health Evidence (ARCHE)

About ARCHE

The Alberta Research Centre for Health Evidence (ARCHE), located within the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta, was established in 2000 to serve as a resource to individuals and groups interested in using evidence for decision making.

The mandate of ARCHE is to support and foster the development of evidence-informed practice. To achieve this, ARCHE:

1. produces high quality evidence syntheses aimed at high priority issues in health;
2. advances the methods of conducting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and evidence syntheses;
3. provides training and mentoring to health care professionals, trainees and students;
4. conducts knowledge translation activities to help inform clinical and policy decisions.

ARCHE employs a multi-disciplinary team, including epidemiologists, biostatisticians, librarians, project managers, administrative managers, and research assistants, to review evidence for a range of question types (e.g., therapeutic efficacy and effectiveness, safety, diagnosis, prognosis, risk factors, health services delivery) and clinical areas (e.g., emergency medicine, airways diseases, cardiovascular disease, mental health, orthopedics, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, alternative medicine).

The results of ARCHE's research have been used for a variety of purposes, including the development of clinical practice guidelines, decisions for funding and insurance reimbursement, and recommendations for delivery of health services. Results of research conducted by ARCHE are consistently published in high impact peer-reviewed journals.

The University of Alberta Evidence Review Synthesis Centre, supporting the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, is based at ARCHE. ARCHE is also a site for Translating Emergency Knowledge for Kids (TREKK) and Cochrane Child Health. ARCHE partners with the ECHO Research Program in the Faculty of Nursing.

In addition, ARCHE faculty and staff conduct and support investigator-driven research activities in knowledge synthesis and knowledge translation funded through a variety of sources such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), National Advisory Committee on Immunization, Alberta Innovates (AI), Women and Children's Health Research Institute (WCHRI), and Alberta Health Services (AHS)

Education & Training Opportunities

ARCHE provides educational opportunities through a number of means including: working alongside individual clinicians; providing training opportunities for residents, fellows and medical students; supervising summer students, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows; presenting workshops and webinars related to critical appraisal and evidence synthesis; and leading a graduate level course in systematic reviews.

We are currently accepting applications for graduate students (master's and doctoral levels) and post-doctoral fellows. For more information on education and training opportunities please contact us.