3D Research: Driving Decisions with Data

Dawn Guthrie, PhD, leads a team that works with large datasets in order to improve the health and well-being of older adults and their families. Our primary goal is to harness existing electronic information to create decision-support tools for front-line providers and health care managers. We focus on several groups including individuals with sensory impairments, those receiving home care services and recipients of community-based palliative care.

Dr. Guthrie is a fellow with interRAI, an international research consortium including researchers and clinicians from 35 countries that develops and tests standardized assessments for individuals with disabilities. These assessments are used throughout Canada and around the world and generate a wealth of electronic information. The analysis of these large datasets enables us to ask questions about the health of individuals with disabilities and about how the health care system is working to meet their unique needs. Access to these datasets, paired with input from experts in the field, enables us to create practical tools that can be used by health professionals and decision makers to optimize the health care system.

Benefits of Our Research

Health care is an important value to Canadians and it is something we all come to rely on at some point in our lives. We all want a high-quality system that is there when we need it, especially as we get older or experience some type of disability or life-limiting illness. Our group is pioneering new ways to use existing information. What we learn from the information we collect and analyze can help to improve the system and ensure that it is working in the best possible way to serve the needs of older people and those with disabilities.

Learn more about how data can support decision-making in health care (video)

Learn more about how data can support decision-making in health care (PDF)