Feb 15, 2023
The Saskatchewan Health Quality Council (HQC) is introducing some of its employees, and the work they do to help improve the province’s health system, through the Meet the Researcher/Meet the Research Analyst series. The May 2015 edition features Nianping Hu.
Nianping has a master’s degree in biostatistics from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., and a PhD in molecular biology from China’s Hunan Medical University. Prior to joining HQC as a research analyst in 2012, Nianping worked as a statistician in the Pharmaceutical Economics Research Group in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of Pittsburgh.
Nianping is interested in clinical trials, survival analysis, and health economics, and has many years of experience working in cancer research. Below, he talks about his work at HQC and what he does in his spare time.
Much of your work at HQC involves drug studies, as part of HQC’s participation in the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES) and the Saskatchewan Drug Utilization and Outcomes Research Team (SDUORT). Can you provide an example of a study you have worked on?
CNODES uses collaborative, population-based approaches to provide rapid answers to questions about drug safety and effectiveness. Recently, I was the Saskatchewan site study leader on a project looking at the use of incretins – a class of drugs used to manage blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes – and the risk of acute pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and congestive heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes. I was also engaged in a leading role in a SDUORT project to investigate how people’s economic situations affect their health behaviours, including decisions about whether or not to take a medication.
How do the results of these studies help improve health care in Saskatchewan?
Through using multiple health care databases in Saskatchewan, our studies obtain the complete medication safety and effectiveness profile, which can support clinicians, patients, and decision-makers to know more about the proper use of a particular medication. These studies help to inform provincial and national prescription drug policy, including decisions about the inclusion of medications on the drug plan formulary and the use of safety warning labels on drug packages.
What do you enjoy about working in the area of health research?
I have a great passion for health-related research, and even more so in large database analyses. Through the raw data, we can extract some interesting hidden information pertaining to our project, which leads us to continue to explore the medication safety and effectiveness. For example, in the prescription drug plan data, we can see when prescriptions have been filled and refilled by a patient, which gives insight into medication use in Saskatchewan. We can also link this with other data, such as physician visits and hospitalizations, to look at relationships between medication usage and health outcomes and health services utilization.
You also support the care and maintenance of the data in HQC’s data warehouse. What does this involve?
HQC obtains various electronic data from eHealth Saskatchewan. Most of this data updates every quarter, so it is imperative that we detect and correct errors and verify and structure the data to make sure the data continue to be reliable for use in our research projects.
What do you like best about working at HQC?
The work environment at HQC is very appealing and ideal. My colleagues are positive and willing to share their knowledge and skills with others, and I receive a lot of support and help.
What are some of your hobbies outside of work?
I like to try any kind of sport when I am not working, such as swimming, running, hiking, and badminton. I also enjoy playing chess, listening to music, and watching movies. Photo: Nianping Hu is a research analyst at the Health Quality Council
The Saskatchewan Health Quality Council (HQC) is introducing some of its employees, and the work they do to help improve the province’s health system, through the Meet the Researcher/Meet the Research Analyst series. The May 2015 edition features Nianping Hu.
Nianping has a master’s degree in biostatistics from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., and a PhD in molecular biology from China’s Hunan Medical University. Prior to joining HQC as a research analyst in 2012, Nianping worked as a statistician in the Pharmaceutical Economics Research Group in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of Pittsburgh.
Nianping is interested in clinical trials, survival analysis, and health economics, and has many years of experience working in cancer research. Below, he talks about his work at HQC and what he does in his spare time.
Much of your work at HQC involves drug studies, as part of HQC’s participation in the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES) and the Saskatchewan Drug Utilization and Outcomes Research Team (SDUORT). Can you provide an example of a study you have worked on?
CNODES uses collaborative, population-based approaches to provide rapid answers to questions about drug safety and effectiveness. Recently, I was the Saskatchewan site study leader on a project looking at the use of incretins – a class of drugs used to manage blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes – and the risk of acute pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and congestive heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes. I was also engaged in a leading role in a SDUORT project to investigate how people’s economic situations affect their health behaviours, including decisions about whether or not to take a medication.
How do the results of these studies help improve health care in Saskatchewan?
Through using multiple health care databases in Saskatchewan, our studies obtain the complete medication safety and effectiveness profile, which can support clinicians, patients, and decision-makers to know more about the proper use of a particular medication. These studies help to inform provincial and national prescription drug policy, including decisions about the inclusion of medications on the drug plan formulary and the use of safety warning labels on drug packages.
What do you enjoy about working in the area of health research?
I have a great passion for health-related research, and even more so in large database analyses. Through the raw data, we can extract some interesting hidden information pertaining to our project, which leads us to continue to explore the medication safety and effectiveness. For example, in the prescription drug plan data, we can see when prescriptions have been filled and refilled by a patient, which gives insight into medication use in Saskatchewan. We can also link this with other data, such as physician visits and hospitalizations, to look at relationships between medication usage and health outcomes and health services utilization.
You also support the care and maintenance of the data in HQC’s data warehouse. What does this involve?
HQC obtains various electronic data from eHealth Saskatchewan. Most of this data updates every quarter, so it is imperative that we detect and correct errors and verify and structure the data to make sure the data continue to be reliable for use in our research projects.
What do you like best about working at HQC?
The work environment at HQC is very appealing and ideal. My colleagues are positive and willing to share their knowledge and skills with others, and I receive a lot of support and help.
What are some of your hobbies outside of work?
I like to try any kind of sport when I am not working, such as swimming, running, hiking, and badminton. I also enjoy playing chess, listening to music, and watching movies. Photo: Nianping Hu is a research analyst at the Health Quality Council
