Education and Training

Publications

Search for Merrick Zwarenstein's publications in Pubmed.

Research Interests and Expertise

Research Summary:

I have an overarching interest in quality in health care, and strategies for improving it. This requires changing professional clinical choices and behaviours using multifaceted strategies including academic detailing, record based prompts, patient mediated interventions. These interventions are aimed mainly at chronic disease, including asthma and diabetes, and at other respiratory conditions including Tuberculosis. I have a further interest in doctor-nurse collaboration, and patient-carer interactions.

My methodological interests are pragmatic, cluster randomized controlled trials of complex interventions, integrated with qualitative research. I also conduct systematic reviews for evaluation of health care interventions.

My teaching and educational interests have been focused on intensive interactive short courses for in-service training of health care professionals. I designed, convened and taught for ten years an 80-hour introductory, practical course in health services research techniques. I also designed, taught and convened an intermediate level follow up course of similar style and subject lasting 40 hours. Related to my knowledge translation interests mentioned above, I have designed very short educational interventions delivered by academic detailers, developed using qualitative research method to identify barriers to evidence based clinical practice.

My information technology interest is in the use of palm top computers for data collection for surveys, where I have a provisional patent. I have also done work on large datasets describing health professionals, hospitals and their distribution, using geographic information systems to map access to care.