Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Social Equity and Health Policy Research
Research interests: Healthcare policy; health and social equity, cancer screening; women's health; interdisciplinary health research and education
Dr. Manisha Pahwa’s research explores how healthcare policies can better reflect the diverse values and experiences of Canadians, particularly amongst marginalized communities whose ethical perspectives and beliefs about health and well-being are underrepresented in health policy. Her work focuses on the intersection of health policy, ethics, and social equity, using breast cancer screening as a key area of study. Through a mix of community-engaged, arts-based, qualitative, and mixed methods research approaches, she aims to bring diverse perspectives and lived experiences into healthcare decision-making to help shape more equitable and inclusive policies that better serve communities in Canada.
“Good health policy needs to reflect what matters to the people it serves. By bringing diverse values, lived experiences and community perspectives into health-care decision-making, we can help create a system that is not only more effective, but also more equitable and inclusive.”
Inspiring students
Professor Pahwa is passionate about mentoring the next generation of health policy and ethics researchers, creating opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to contribute to research projects using diverse approaches including qualitative, quantitative, mixed, and arts-based methods. Through research assistantships and thesis supervision, she aims to strengthen research capacity in applied ethics and health policy, grounded in the values of health and social equity.
