Graduate Training

SPPH students

CHSPR is a leader in educating and empowering graduate students interested in advancing health policy and health services research in Canada

We aim to help our students develop core competencies necessary to become a leaders in the field, while providing students with the flexibility to advance and pursue their own interests. Across sectors and disciplines, students gain critical skills for solving complex problems and have the opportunity to collaborate in policy relevant research with some of the world’s top health services and policy researchers.

Working and studying at CHSPR, students gain an appreciation for the values that underpin strong health services and policy research that is aimed at serving the public interest.

Degree Programs

CHSPR faculty supervise students pursuing graduate degrees focused on health services and policy research. We provide instruction and mentorship within our applied research environment for students enrolled in degree programs offered through the UBC School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) and the UBC School of Nursing, as well as other related programs offered through various UBC faculties and schools. Most of our students are completing SPPH MSc and PhD programs in population and public health, with a focus on health services and policy research.

CHSPR Faculty

As a CHSPR student, you will work with professors that are internationally renowned for their expertise in a number of health services and policy research areas, including health human resources, primary health care, pharmaceutical policy, health care financing and funding, and health care use and effectiveness.

Prospective students are encouraged to contact specific CHSPR faculty, based on research interests.

A Supportive Environment

The Centre provides a positive, interdisciplinary, and inter-professional environment for our students. Student workspaces facilitate access to faculty and an internal seminar series provides opportunity to present work-in-progress and get feedback from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives.

Funding

Where there is close alignment between student research interests and a faculty supervisor’s research program, CHSPR students may be partly funded by a CHSPR faculty research grant, or alternatively may be offered a research assistantship. Students at CHSPR are consistently successful in competing for research grants from major research institutions, including the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and Michael Smith Health Research BC, as well as other more specialized funding sources. CHSPR faculty supervisors support students in developing competitive grant proposals. We proudly acknowledge that our students have been consistently funded and recognized in local and national award competitions year after year.

Publications

CHSPR graduate students have an impressive publication record. Recent journal articles first-authored by CHSPR students include:

Bond M, Beresford A, Noonan V, Rotem-Kohavi N, Dvorak M, Kwon B, Liu G, Sutherland JM. Epidemiology of Spinal Cord Injury in British Columbia, Canada: 20 Years of Population-Based Administrative Data. Neurotrauma Reports. 2025 Apr 9;6(1). DOI: 10.1089/neur.2025.0012. Read more

Sharma K, Cheng L, Dormuth CR, McGrail KM, De Vera MA, Clement F, McCracken RK, Mamdani M, Law MR. The impact of eliminating out-of-pocket payments for medicines on low-income households: a controlled interrupted time series analysis using linked administrative data from British Columbia. Health Policy. 2025 Feb 17;155:105270. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2025.105270. Online ahead of print. Read more

Lukey A, Sowamber R, Huntsman D, Pearce CL, Howard AF, Meza R, Law MR, Phung MT, Hanley GE. Evaluating ovarian cancer risk-reducing salpingectomy acceptance: a survey. Cancer Res Commun. 2025 Jan 9. doi: 10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-24-0566. Online ahead of print. Read more

van Gaal SC, Alimohammadi A, Karim ME, Zhang W, Sutherland J. Investigation of treatment delay in a complex healthcare process using physician insurance claims data: an application to symptomatic carotid artery stenosis. BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Nov 29;24(1):1507. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11860-w. Read more

Bond M, Charest-Morin R, Street J, Fisher C, Dea N, Singh S, Paquet J, Abraham E, Bailey C, Weber M, Nataraj A, Attabib N, Kelly A, Rampersaud R, Manson N, Phan P, Thomas K, Soroceanu A, LaRue B, Ahn H, Marion T, Christie S, Glennie A, Zhi W, Hall H, Sutherland JM. The Influence of Wait Time on Surgical Outcomes in Elective Lumbar Degenerative Spine Conditions: A Retrospective Multicentre Cohort Study. Global Spine J. 2024 Sep 25:21925682241287463. doi: 10.1177/21925682241287463. Online ahead of print. Read more

Wickham ME, McGrail KM, Law MR, Cragg A, Hohl CM. Re-Exposure to Culprit Medication Following Adverse Drug Event Diagnosis in Canadian Emergency Department Patients: A Cohort Study. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2024 Sep;33(9):e70012. doi: 10.1002/pds.70012. Read more

Sharma K, Brophy S, Law M, Sriram V. Health worker protests and the COVID-19 pandemic: an interrupted time-series analysis. Bull World Health Organ. 2024 Sep 1;102(9):650-656. doi: 10.2471/BLT.23.290330. Epub 2024 Jul 4. Read more

Wickham ME, McGrail KM, Law MR, Cragg A, Hohl CM. Validating use of diagnostic codes in Canadian administrative data for identification of adverse drug events. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2024 Apr 11. doi: 10.1111/bcp.16067. Online ahead of print. Read more

Au SW, Law MR, Cheng L, McGrail K, Harrison M. The Impact of reference pricing on prescribing patterns, costs, and health services utilization of proton pump inhibitors: A quasi-experimental study in British Columbia, Canada. Health Policy. 2024 Apr 4;144:105061. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.105061. Online ahead of print. Read more

Bola R, Guo M, Karimuddin A, Liu G, Phang PT, Crump T, Sutherland JM. An examination of rectal prolapse surgery patients' quality of life and symptoms using patient-reported outcome instruments: A prospective cohort study. Am J Surg. 2024 Feb 8:S0002-9610(24)00102-8. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2024.02.014. Online ahead of print. Read more

Interview with Jamie Daw

What did you do this summer?

As part of my training as a graduate student at CHSPR and with the Western Regional Training Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, I spent the summer of my Master’s program working as a policy analyst in the Strategic Policy Branch at Health Canada.

How did you apply your skills to your job?

During my time at Health Canada, I applied the knowledge and skills I've gained through my graduate training to real-world situations where health decisions are made. I had the opportunity to apply my knowledge of the Canadian health care system and health services research methods, and directly experienced the process of transforming evidence into sound health policy decision making.

Did this experience add value to your studies?

Absolutely, I learned more about the organizational structure of the federal government and how to effectively write for a policy audience. In the process, I formed invaluable relationships with high-level decision makers in the Canadian government, with whom I hope to collaborate with in the future. This experience will be one I remember for the rest of my career as a health services researcher.

Jamie Daw is now Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.