Contributing to our Health -- A Series About StFX Research Making A Difference In Our Communities
StFX is a leader in health innovation and entrepreneurship in Nova Scotia. In this ongoing series, we proudly shine a spotlight on our health research leaders, research and community health partnerships and their impact. For more on the Contributing to our Health series, click the link below.
Contributing to our Health series
“There are significant challenges within our healthcare system that are impacting providers, patients, and the public so it is highly motivating to be involved with research that may contribute to some solutions.” ~ Dr. Bobbi Morrison
Dr. Bobbi Morrison is an associate professor and Acting Dean of Business in the Gerald Schwartz School of Business, where she teaches consumer behaviour, introductory marketing, and social media marketing. She has been on faculty at StFX since 2002. Her research focuses on patient access to primary care and public perceptions of the health system. Recent research has been focused around pharmacy, exploring such areas of extended scope of practice and experiences of unattached patients.
Could you tell me about your research program?
My research centres around patient access to primary care and public perceptions of components of the health system. Most of my recent research has been situated in the context of pharmacy and has explored multiple intersecting areas including patient medication safety, pharmacists’ expanded scope of practice, the role of trust amongst various system stakeholders, experiences of unattached patients, and health system effects of COVID-19.
What drew you to health research?
I have been interested in health research for most of my life and was initially drawn to explore the life sciences. The breadth of my interest in health research has grown over the years and now includes an interest in health systems, policies, and practices. After completing my PhD, I was invited by my colleagues Dr. Todd Boyle and Dr. Tom Mahaffey to join a team of health researchers investigating patient medication safety. At the same time, pharmacy policy was changing to expand pharmacists’ scope of practice and I found the system changes, the potential inherent in the changes, and implications for stakeholders including patients, pharmacists and pharmacy regulatory authorities fascinating and an area in which I could apply some of my expertise to help understand.
For personal reasons, I am also very interested in understanding how unattached patients (those without a primary care provider) navigate the health system in addition to the system changes precipitated by COVID-19 and have been fortunate to be invited to collaborate on projects led by Dalhousie University researchers Dr. Emily Gard Marshall and Dr. Jennifer Isenor in these areas. There are significant challenges within our healthcare system that are impacting providers, patients, and the public so it is highly motivating to be involved with research that may contribute to some solutions.
What impact do you hope it will have?
My research has been used to inform the strategic plan of a pharmacy regulatory authority and I hope that my work will be used to further inform healthcare policy and practice innovations to ultimately improve access to care.
Could you tell me a bit about yourself and any awards/accomplishments?
I am an associate professor in marketing and am currently serving as the Acting Dean of the Gerald Schwartz School of Business. Previously I have served as Chair of the Department of Marketing and Enterprise Systems. I earned a Bachelor of Science (Biology) from the University of Prince Edward Island, a Master of Business Administration from Dalhousie University, and a PhD in Marketing from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK. I am currently a co-investigator on research projects funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Nova Scotia Health Authority Research Fund. I have also held a research grant as the principal investigator from the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (NSHRF) and have consulted for provincial pharmacy regulatory authorities.
What excites about being a researcher at StFX?
The people I have had the great fortune to work with is the best part of being a researcher at StFX. The opportunities to collaborate with and be mentored by outstanding research colleagues at StFX are exceptional. There are also ample opportunities to connect and collaborate with research colleagues at other institutions, though I do really appreciate being situated in rural Nova Scotia to be able to effectively engage with and include rural perspectives in health system research.
What’s something surprising about yourself that people wouldn’t know?
Highland dancing has been an important part of my life since I was four years old. While I no longer dance myself, I am a tremendously proud highland dance mom and volunteer with a highland dance association in the area.
