Cheryl Barnabe
Professor
Clinician Primary Researcher
MSc, Clinical Epidemiology
Residency, Rheumatology
Residency, Internal Medicine
MD and BScMed
Contact information
Phone
Research
Research areas
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Indigenous health
- Equity
- Health services research
- Epidemiology
Current research projects
Emergency Department Use by Patients with Inflammatory Arthritis Conditions: Health System Impact and Solutions for Ensuring Appropriate Care Access
Data captured that better describes emergency department use by patients with arthritis conditions can improve understanding how health systems, disease management decisions, and patient factors influence emergency department use, and inform new or improved models of rheumatology care.
Patients across Alberta with inflammatory arthritis may participate in an online survey and/or focus groups to share their emergency department experiences. Questions center around factors contributing to a patient’s decision to present to the emergency department, their experiences in the department and with follow-up care.
https://albertarheumatology.com/arthritis-in-the-emergency-department-research-study/
You may contact the research coordinator at arthritis@ucalgary.ca, or ph. 403-210-9305 for further information regarding ongoing research studies.
Arthritis Care in Indigenous Populations’
The overarching goal of the program of research is to characterize and resolve inflammatory arthritis care and outcome disparities in Canada’s Indigenous populations. Specific objectives are:
- Characterize the impact of inflammatory arthritis on mortality, health services use, and societal cost in the Indigenous populations of Canada.
- Determine Indigenous patient preferences for inflammatory arthritis care and treatment.
- Develop tools to assist Indigenous patient-provider discussions to align treatment choices, expectations and values in the context of the evidence-base for inflammatory arthritis therapy.
A Needs Assessment to Determine the Role of Shared Decision Making Strategies for Inflammatory Arthritis Treatment Decisions - Indigenous Population
Patient-centered models of care that provide culturally safe environments are recommended to improve health outcomes by meeting individual patient objectives, preferences, and values for treatment in the context of existing evidence. Preferences differ across Indigenous peoples thus this research will assist with determining the extent to which patients want to be involved in shared decision making.
Health Service Considerations for Equity in Rheumatoid Arthritis Care in Canada
Variations in RA outcomes are recognized in several populations, with both physical (i.e. Inflammation, pain, joint damage) and psychosocial (i.e. effects on quality of life) manifestations differentially impacting population groups at risk for inequities. Ultimately, our goal is to reduce unwarranted variation in care and outcomes, avoid health intervention-generated inequity in implementation of recommendations, and identify where patient preferences for treatment or outcomes are different
Biography
Dr. Cheryl Barnabe is a Métis rheumatologist with a graduate degree in Clinical Epidemiology. She is a Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences within the Cumming School of Medicine. She is the Director of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. She has held numerous national level leadership positions in rheumatology research and Indigenous health, and is on the CIHR Standing Committee on Science.
Dr. Barnabe’s research program, Arthritis Care for Indigenous Populations, has helped contribute knowledge on the epidemiology of arthritis and contemporary outcomes of inflammatory arthritis conditions for Indigenous people. In response to the identified accentuated disease burden, she co-develops promising health services interventions to bridge existing care gaps, and leads the delivery of curricular initiatives for rheumatology residents and practitioners that help support the provision of culturally safe arthritis care environments. Her research program also seeks to reduce avoidable acute care use through improved ambulatory care service models.
Dr. Barnabe is a CIHR Canada Research Chair in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Autoimmune Diseases (Tier 2, 2018-28) and the Arthur J.E. Child Chair in Rheumatology Outcomes Research.
Awards
- CIHR Canada Research Chair in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Autoimmune Diseases (Tier 2, 2018-23)
- Killam Emerging Research Leader Award (2018)