Paula Rowland

Exploring the interplay between digital technologies and the moral imperatives of healthcare work

Paula Rowland began her career as an occupational therapist, working with children and adults in diverse healthcare settings across Canada. Her early practice sparked an enduring interest in how workplaces shape what professionals do, what they know, and how they collaborate. This led to her graduate studies in health systems and organizations, culminating in a PhD in Human and Organizational Systems in 2013. 

Dr. Paula Rowland’s research examines how healthcare reforms shape the everyday work of care and how the professions are responding to these changes. To this end, her research program uses qualitative methodologies to investigate how change imperatives interact with the institutionalized practices and identities of healthcare workers. Drawing on social science theories, her work explores the interplay among technology, knowledge, power, and the moral imperatives of healthcare. 

Her previous studies investigated patient engagement initiatives and patient safety and quality improvement programs. More recently, she focuses on the digitalization of health and healthcare work, including how digital technologies reshape risk, accountability, and professional boundaries. This research also explores how systems of professions are responding to moral and technological dynamics shaping the future of care. 

Dr. Rowland actively collaborates with health professions educators, regulators, and leaders. She welcomes opportunities to work with students using social science theories and qualitative methodologies to understand healthcare reform, care work, and changing carer identities.