Professor,
Rural Doctors’ UBC Chair in Rural Health
UBC Northern Medical Program
Please describe your most important contribution(s) to primary care research
My main contributions to primary care research are in the areas of rural physician recruitment and retention and in rural health system changes. In terms of system change I have been part of the team working on how primary care system transformation has been taking place in Northern Health. This is a fascinating project and the research team has fed back its findings on the processes of change to Northern Health Executive on a regular basis. It has helped shaped our understanding of how system change can be enabled in a remote and rural geography.
Please describe your current work or upcoming research projects related to primary care
I am currently working on phase two of the partnering for change study mentioned above, the early primary care physician project led by Ruth Lavergne and on the Rural Coordination Centre of BC site visit project, which is gathering qualitative data from all rural and remote communities in BC over a three year period as part of a project that includes on building relationships and appreciative enquiry focussed on success and innovations.
What are the key messages from your primary care research to share with other stakeholders (e.g. clinicians, policymakers, patients)
Rural Communities are each unique and health care improvement can only take place if there is a willingness to adapt to local context. Such adaptation can only happen if there is true engagement at the local level which ensures the perspectives of all relevant partners are heard and shared. This would include health care providers, local administrators, municipal leaders, community groups and patients.
BC Primary Health Care Research Network 