UBC and the BC-PHCRN are currently hosting two international scholars studying primary health care reform.

Janise Braga Barros Ferreira is a Professor in the Department of Social Medicine of the Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP). Before entering academia, she worked as a public health physician for twelve years, primarily in health management for the implementation of the Brazilian national public health system, the Unified Health System.

Currently, her research group at FMRP-USP is studying vulnerable populations in the context of primary care (rural settlements, vulnerable communities, small cities and prison health) and issues related to health planning, evaluation, and management, with an emphasis on primary care and chronic diseases. The main objective of the research is to support decision-makers to include the specific needs of vulnerable populations in public health policies, guided by principles of universality, integrality, equity and social participation.

At UBC, Janise plans to learn more about addressing health inequalities, assessing primary care performance, and the organization of primary care in BC. Contact her at janise.ferreira@ubc.ca.

Ruimei Liang is Director of the Nursing Humanities Teaching and Research Section at Foshan University in China. In recent years, a People-Centered Integrated Care (PCIC) model for primary care provision has been adopted in China, and her research addresses how to establish family doctor teams and community-based medical alliances, and how to evaluate and improve their performance.

At UBC, Ruimei is studying Patient Medical Home (PMH) and other primary health care (PHC) models in Canada, and analyzing the differences and similarities in PHC between Canada and China, hoping to find new and better ways to promote PHC reform in China. She plans to survey family doctors in Canada to better understand how they think about PMH and the barriers they face in PMH implementation.

Ruimei also interested in physical and mental health of children and adolescents. Her research involves community and family care, children and adolescents’ health literacy, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the quality of life of children and adolescents with cancer. She works to promote the integration of mental health care into PHC, and has studied simple and effective tools for mental health screening, especially for younger children.

Contact her at ruimei.liang@ubc.ca.