Special Seminar: Preparing for the next pandemic: What鈥檚 trust got to do with it?
Stephanie Law, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Medicine
McGill University
WHEN: Wednesday, January 15, 2025, from 3 to 4 p.m. EST
WHERE: In-Person | 2001 McGill College, Rm 1135 |
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with a worrisome trend towards medical mistrust and misinformation. This has had real world consequences, such as a global increase in vaccine hesitancy and resistance against public health measures. Trust towards medical and health care institutions, including the health care workers who provide care, is a crucial factor in peoples鈥� acceptance and adherence to public health and medical interventions. Our role as public health researchers is to identify effective strategies to safeguard this trust in preparation for the next pandemic. In this talk, I will highlight previous and current research to discuss: 1) the structural and interpersonal dynamics that influence patient-provider trust within tuberculosis care in South Africa; 2) tuberculosis treatment adherence trajectories within the multicentre endTB observational study, and what they might tell us about the role of patient-provider relationships and trust; and 3) the value of engaging trusted community members to increase uptake of tuberculosis screening in Nunavik, Quebec. I will then talk about my research plans aimed at building, and rebuilding, community trust toward health care institutions with the goal of improving pandemic and emergency readiness, particularly in vulnerable communities.
Speaker Bio
Stephanie Law, Ph.D., is a mixed methods researcher who completed her postdoctoral training under Dr. Faiz Ahmad Khan at McGill University and Dr. Carole D. Mitnick at Harvard Medical School. Her research involves using qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the sociocultural aspects of tuberculosis care, with a particular focus on the role of trust between tuberculosis patients and their health care providers over the course of treatment. Her research projects, spanning different topics in tuberculosis treatment and care, include collaborations with the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, McGill International TB Centre, Partners In Health/Socios en Salud, MSF, IRD and the WHO. Dr. Law received her MSc and Ph.D. degrees in epidemiology from McGill University, as well as her Master of Journalism degree from the University of British Columbia.
