Professional Interests
Professor Deber’s current research centers on Canadian health policy. Current projects, conducted with colleagues and students, include: implications of the distribution of health expenditures and public/private roles for financing and delivery of health services (including primary care); examination of where nurses and other health professionals work and the factors associated with differential “stickiness” across sub-sectors; issues associated with the movement of care from hospitals to home and community; approaches to accountability; and factors affecting patient engagement.
Impact
Health policy is inherently interdisciplinary. Working with colleagues and students, I have conducted research on a variety of issues that have had a direct influence on Canadian health policy. This includes my work on the distribution of health expenditures, which helped cast attention on the 1% who account for a significant proportion of health expenditures. My work on preferred roles in medical decision making continues to be highly cited. In 2009, I received one of Canada’s most prestigious lectureships, the Emmett Hall Memorial Lectureship; it recognizes outstanding contributions to the health ideals articulated by Justice Hall: equity, fairness, justice and efficiency.
Distinctions
- Fellow, Royal Society of Canada, Inducted November 2018
- Fellow, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS), Elected 2012.
- Emmett Hall Memorial Lectureship, Justice Emmett M. Hall Memorial Foundation, 2009
Other Affiliations
- Professor, (Cross-appointed): Public Health Policy, Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, Dalla Lana School of Public Health
- Expert, Health Evidence Network of Canada (EvidenceNetwork.ca)
- Adjunct Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto
Thesis Supervision (2011+)
- Carolyn Alice Steele Gray. Accountability in the Home and Community Care Sector in Ontario (2013)
- Christopher Alexander Klinger. Different Approaches to Care for the Terminally Ill: Barriers and Facilitators to (Best Practice) Service Provision (2013)
- David Rudoler. Paying for Primary Care: The Relationship between Payment Change and Primary Care Physician Behaviour (2015)
- Debra Lydia Catherine Zelisko. Managing Conflict of Interest in Health Care: The Roles of Professionalism and Regulatory Colleges (2015)
- Seija Kristina Kromm. Accountability in Ontario’s Acute Care Hospital Sector and its Effect on Organizational Strategic Priorities (2017)
- Anshoo Kamal. Canadian Nursing Labour Force: Examining the Relationship between Job Dissatisfaction, Nurse Dissatisfaction and Intent to Quit (2011)
- Jill Susanne McCartney. Disclosure of Safety Incidents Involving Pediatric Patients: A Review of Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Legislation and Related Policies of Health Care Organizations Providing Care to Pediatric Patients (2013)
- Keira Anne Grant. The Design and Content of Personal Support Worker Training Programs (2016)
- Delia Sinclair Frigault. Responsive Behaviours in Dementia: Developing and Implementing the Behavioural Supports Ontario Initiative (2016)
Thesis Committee (2011+)
Additional Recent Publications
Berta, W., Laporte, A., Deber, R., Baumann, A., & Gamble, B. (2013, November). Exponentiation, Substitution And Boundaries: The Evolving Role Of Health Care Aides In The Long-Term Care And Home & Community Care Sectors In Canada. Gerontologist, 53, 353-354.
Deber, R; Mah, C (Ed.). (2014). Case Studies in Canadian Health Policy and Management, 2nd edition. University of Toronto Press
Rudoler, D., Deber, R., Barnsley, J., Glazier, R., & Laporte, A. (2014, March). Paying For Primary Care: The Factors Associated With Physician Self-Selection Into Payment Models. Toronto: Canadian Centre For Health Economics.
Steele Gray, C., Berta, W., Deber, R., & Lum, J. (2014). Seeking Accountability: Multi-Service Accountability Agreements (MSAAs) in Ontario’s Community Support Sector. Health Reform Observer-Observatoire des Réformes de Santé, 2(1).