Faculty, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
Assistant Professor (Partner), UBC School of Population and Public Health
Research Scientist, Foundry
Profile
Dr Kirsten Marchand is an Assistant Professor (Partner) at the UBC School of Population and Public Health and the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research and a Research Scientist at Foundry.
Dr Marchand’s health services research program aims to improve the quality of mental health and substance use services for youth and families. Dr Marchand applies multi-methods, patient-oriented, and integrated knowledge translation approaches to her research. She is currently leading an embedded program of research in two thematic areas: (1) investigating the impacts of innovative models of early intervention and treatment for youth mental health and substance use; and (2) determining the health service needs, experiences, and outcomes of youth who use substances. This program of research builds on Dr Marchand’s PhD in Population and Public Health from UBC.
Dr Marchand’s research has been supported by fellowships and operating grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Michael Smith Health Research BC, and the UBC Institute of Mental Health.
Education
PhD, Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, 2020
BSc, Psychology, Trent University, 2007
Research Interests
- Mental health and substance use services
- Learning health systems
- Patient-oriented research
- Integrated knowledge translation
- Youth and families
Current Projects
- Prevalence of substance use and resilience behaviors and association with the COVID-19 pandemic: A linked data cohort study; 2021-2025
- Co-developing and implementing youth-centred models of care for unregulated opioid use, 2022-2026.
- Improving our understanding, measurement, and mobilization of Foundry data to inform an integrated youth services learning health system in BC; 2025-2029
- Examining the individual, community, and system-level impacts of innovative mental health and substance use services for youth in BC: a multi-methods research program; 2025-2030
Affiliations and Awards
- Member, Institute of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, UBC
- Member, Network of Early Career Researchers in Youth Mental Health
- UBC Institute of Mental Health, Marshall Fellow, 2022
- Michael Smith Health Research BC/Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes, Research Trainee Award, 2021
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Frederick Banting and Charles Best Doctoral (2017) & Masters (2013) Awards
Courses Currently Taught
- SPPH 502 Epidemiological Methods 1
Recent Publications
Marchand K, Turuba R, Hui D, Gunn H, Wright MD, Marshall T, et al. A Scoping Review of Evidence-Based Interventions and Health-Related Services for Youth Who Use Nonmedical Opioids in Canada and the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2025;76(3):348-60.
Wiessing L, Akartuna D, Antoine J, Banka-Cullen P, Barbaglia MG, Belackova V, et al. The OPTIMUS International Consensus Guidance for Monitoring User-Reported Outcomes of Opioid Maintenance Treatment: a Delphi Study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. 2025.
Turuba R, Katan C, Marchand K, Brasset C, Ewert A, Tallon C, et al. Weaving community-based participatory research and co-design to improve opioid use treatments and services for youth, caregivers, and service providers. PLoS One. 2024;19(4):e0297532.
Eekhoudt CR, Sandhu M, Mniszak C, Goodyear T, Turuba R, Marchand K, et al. Looking beyond drugs: A scoping review of recovery in the context of illicit substance use among adolescents and young adults. International Journal of Drug Policy. 2024;133:104598.
Barbic S, Mallia E, Wuerth K, Ow N, Marchand K, Ben-David S, et al. Implementing Foundry: A cohort study describing the regional and virtual expansion of a youth integrated service in British Columbia, Canada. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2024;18(10):877-87.
Ow N, Marchand K, Liu G, Mallia E, Mathias S, Sutherland J, Barbic SP. Patterns of service utilization among youth with substance use service need: a cohort study. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2023;18(1):62. doi: 10.1186/s13011-023-00572-9.
McInerney K, Marchand K, Buckley J, Gao C, Kestler A, Mathias S, et al. Informing youth-centred opioid agonist treatment: Findings from a retrospective chart review of youths’ characteristics and patterns of opioid agonist treatment engagement in a novel integrated youth services program. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2023;17(10):1028-37.
Marchand K, Turuba R, Katan C, Fogarty O, Fairbank J, Tallon C, et al. “The system always undermined what I was trying to do as an individual”: identifying opportunities to improve the delivery of opioid use services for youth from the perspective of service providers in four communities across British Columbia, Canada. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2023;18(1):1.
Kreim S, Marchand K, Mallia E, Dubras R, McMaster WR, Tee K, et al. Identifying early intervention opportunities for illicit stimulant use: A cross-sectional study of factors associated with illicit stimulant use among young people accessing integrated youth services in British Columbia, Canada. J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2023;151:209076.
Marchand K, Liu G, Mallia E, Ow N, Glowacki K, Hastings KG, Mathias S, Sutherland JM, Barbic S. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol or drug use symptoms and service need among youth: a cross-sectional sample from British Columbia, Canada. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2022 Dec 22;17(1):82. doi: 10.1186/s13011-022-00508-9.
Marchand K, Pellatt KM, Barbic S. Centering Young People’s Perspectives, Needs, and Preferences in Researching Barriers to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder. JAMA Pediatr. 2022.
Marchand K, Fogarty O, Pellatt KM, Vig K, Melnychuk J, Katan C, et al. “We need to build a better bridge”: findings from a multi-site qualitative analysis of opportunities for improving opioid treatment services for youth. Harm Reduct J. 2022;19(1):37.