Dr. Charlotte Jones has recently joined the UBC Faculty of Medicine Southern Medical Program as Associate Professor of Medicine. Dr. Jones is an endocrinologist and leading researcher in the field of chronic disease prevention. Her research focuses on increasing awareness, detection and control of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in diverse and “at risk” populations including the elderly, ethnic minority groups and Aboriginal peoples.
Dr. Jones completed her medical degree and residency training in the field of endocrinology with the University of Calgary. Dr. Jones also holds MSc and PhD in Biochemistry from McGill University and completed post-doctoral training in cancer research at the Mayo Clinic. For the past 8 years, she served the University of Calgary as Associate Professor of Medicine and in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and supported by the University of Calgary and Hypertension Canada, Dr. Jones is conducting a nation-wide community-based participatory research project entitled “Know Your Numbers, Chart Your Heart” which aims to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in Canadian South Asians. More than 1200 participants have been screened, educated and referred for care as part of the project that encompasses Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Quebec City.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the number one cause of death in Canada due in large part to poor public awareness and inadequate CVD risk factor control in the community. In 2010, Dr. Jones developed the CHAMP model (Community Health Awareness Management Program) as a way to help address the problem and create a new, cost-effective approach to addressing community vascular health. CHAMP engages undergraduate students from a spectrum of health professional programs to work collaboratively in Community Action Teams whose aim is to increase awareness, detection and control of CVD risk factors in high-risk diverse populations.
Based on the program’s success, CATCH Alberta (Collaborative Action Teams for Community Health Alberta) was created representing the University of Calgary Faculties of Medicine and Nursing, University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy, and the Mount Royal University Faculty of Nursing. The program recently was incorporated into the curriculum and has became one of the most popular option choices offered in the mandatory community practicum for third and fourth nursing students at Mount royal University in Calgary. Alberta.
The model was successfully piloted by medical and nursing students at UBC’s Okanagan campus resulting in a partnership with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, School of Nursing, Institute of Health Living and Chronic Disease Prevention, and the Canadian Diabetes Association.
Now based in Kelowna, Dr. Jones is exploring opportunities to introduce cardiovascular disease awareness and research programs such as CHAMP for ‘at risk’ populations in the BC Interior.