DEBORAH A. MARSHALL, B.Sc., M.H.S.A., Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences
Tier II Canada Research Chair in Health Services and Systems Research
Arthur J.E. Child Chair in Rheumatology Outcomes Research
Director, Health Technology Assessment, Alberta Bone Joint Health Institute
Member, O’Brien Institute for Public Health and McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health
Research Interests and Activities
Key Words: patient preferences, conjoint analysis, health services research, technology assessment, quality indicators,
health care service delivery, dynamic simulation modeling, health policy, cost-effectiveness analysis, personalized medicine,
musculoskeletal disease, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, , arthroplasty, hip replacement, breast and colorectal cancer
Dr. Marshall’s research interests include economic evaluation of health care programmes using decision analysis
methodologies, particularly testing and treatment interventions in personalized medicine, methods for measuring patient
preferences in the evaluation of medical interventions, and health technology assessment, particularly health system
evaluation using system dynamics modeling.
Research in Progress
Principle Investigator
Funding Agency
Arthritis Society, Canada
Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (AIHS)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR)
National Institutes of Health Research (NIH)
Canada Research Chair (CRC)
Co-Investigator
Funding Agency
Canadian Initiative for Outcomes in
Rheumatology Care (CIORA)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (AIHS)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Alberta Innovates Health Solutions
Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI)
Ontario Genomics Institute
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Project Title
National symposium on single-entry models (SEMs) for scheduled
services: Towards a roadmap for the implementation of best practices
Optimizing centralized intake to improve arthritis care in Albertans
Towards better surgical outcomes through improved decision making
about appropriateness for total knee arthroplasty in patients with knee
osteoarthritis
Evidence based planning of an optimal triaging strategy for arthritis care
in Alberta
A post-policy implementation review of the Winnipeg of health research
Central Intake Service (WCIS): a single-entry model to manage referral
and waiting times for hip and knee replacement
Developing an innovative evidence-based decision support tool to
improve osteoarthritis care planning and health service management for
diverse patients populations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba
Weighing risks and benefits of cancer treatment decisions in the genomic
era
Tier 2 Health systems and services research, Renewal
Project Title
Testing of system-level performance measures for inflammatory
arthritis
Bayesian models for synthesizing RCTs and patients’ preferences in
rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease
An innovative health service delivery and spine management model
Consequences of knee joint injury in youth sport: Implications for knee
osteoarthritis and other health outcomes
Alberta program in youth sport and recreational injury prevention
An integrative approach for translating research to improve
musculoskeletal health
Enhanced CARE for RARE genetic diseases in Canada
Total joint replacement: Strategic management for timely treatment
Recent Publications (selected from 110)
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Marlett N, Shklarov S, Marshall DA, Santana MJ, Wasylak T. Building New Relationships in Research: A Model of Patient
Engagement Research. Qual Life Res 2015 May. 24(5): 1057-67
Phillips KA, Ladabaum U, Pletcher MJ, Marshall DA, Douglas MP. Key emerging themes for assessing the cost-effectiveness
of reporting incidental findings. Genetics in Medicine 2015, 17(4): 314-5
Suter E, Birney A, Charland P, Misfeldt R, Weiss S, Howden J, Hendricks J, Lupton T, Marshall DA. Optimizing the
interprofessional workforce for centralized intake of patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid disease: case study.
Human Resources for Health 2015, 13(1):41 (Doi: 10/1186/s12960-015-0033-3)
Bombard Y, Rozmovits L, Trudeau M, Leighl NB, Deal K, Marshall DA. The Value of Personalizing Medicine: Medical
Oncologists’ Views on Gene Expression Profiling in Breast Cancer Treatment. The Oncologist. 2015 April; 20(4): 351-60
Marshall DA, Burgos Liz L, IJzerman MJ, Crown W, Padula WV, Wong PK, Pasupathy KS, Higashi MK, Osgood ND, ISPOR
Emerging Good Practices Task Force. Selecting a dynamic simulation modeling method for health care delivery research –
Part 2. Report of the ISPOR Dynamic Simulation Modeling Application in Health Care Delivery Research Emerging Good
Practices Task Force. Value in Health. March 2015 18(2): 147-160
Barber CEH, Smith A, Esdaile JM, Barnabe C, Martin LO, Faris P, Hazlewood G, Noormohamed R, Alvarez N, Mancini GBJ,
Lacaille D, Keeling S, Aviña-Zubieta JA and Marshall DA. Best Practices for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Rheumatoid
Arthritis: A Systematic Review of Guideline Recommendations and Quality Indicators. Arthritis Care and Research 2015;
67(2):169-79.
Barnabe C, Hemmelgarn B, Jones A, Peschken CA, Voaklander D, Joseph L, Bernatsky S, Esdaile J, Marshall DA. Imbalance of
Prevalence and Specialty Care for Osteoarthritis for First Nations People in Canada. Journal of Rheumatology Feb 2015.
42(2): 323-328
Marshall DA, Burgos-Liz L, IJzerman MJ, Osgood ND, Padula WV, Higashi MK, Wong PK,, Pasupathy K, Crown W. Applying
Dynamic Simulation Modeling Methods in Health Care Delivery Research—The SIMULATE Checklist: An ISPOR Emerging
Good Practices Task Force Report. Value in Health 2015, 18(1): 5 - 16
Garfield S, Douglas MP, MacDonald KV, Marshall DA, Phillips KA. Consumer familiarity, perspectives and expected value of
personalized medicine with a focus on applications in oncology. Per Med Jan 2015. 12(1); 13-22
Barber C (on behalf of Jewett L; Mosher DP; Baillie C, Ahluwalia V, Thorne C, Zummer M, Cividina A, Averna HL, Marshall
DA). What is the CRA doing for you ? Stand up and be counted. CRAJ 2014, 24(4): 6 – 11.
Hazlewood GS, Akhavanc P, Schieird O, Marshall DA, Tomlinson G, Bykerk V, Bombardier C. Adding a ‘GRADE’ to the quality
appraisal of rheumatoid arthritis guidelines identifies beyond AGREE-II. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 2014 Sept 15.
67(2014) 1274-1285
Connor-Spady BL, Marshall DA, Hawker GA, Bohm E, Dunbar MJ, Frank C, Noseworthy T. You’ll know when you’re ready.
How do patients decide when the time is right for joint replacement surgery? BMC Health Services. BMC Health Serv Res
Oct 2014; 14:454
Pykerman K, Sanmartin C, Langlois K, Marshall DA. For how long do people with osteoarthritis self-manage before seeking
physician care? Findings from the Survey on Living with Chronic Diseases in Canada. Health Reports. 2014;25(9): 10-17
Lacny SL, Marshall DA, Currie G, Kulin NA, Meeuwisse WH, Kang J, Emery CA. Reality check: the cost-effectiveness of
removing body checking from youth ice hockey. British Journal of Sports Medicine. Sept 2014; 48(17): 1299-1305
Bombard Y, Rozmovits L, Trudeau M, Leighl NB, Deal K, Marshall DA. Access to personalized medicine: Factors influencing
the use and value of gene expression profiling in breast cancer treatment. Current Oncology, 2014 June; 21(3): e426-33.
Smith J, Lee D, Bali K, Railton P, Kinniburgh D, Faris P, Marshall DA, Burkhart B, Powell J. Does bearing size influence metal
levels in large head metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty? A comparison of three total hip systems. Journal of Orthopaedic
Surgery and Research. 2014; 9:3
Husereau D, Marshall DA, Levy AR, Peacock S, Hoch JS. Health Technology Assessment and Personalized Medicine: Are
Economic Evaluation Guidelines Sufficient to Support Decision Making? International Journal of Health Technology
Assessment. 2014 Apr; 30(2): 179-87
Johnson P, Bancroft T, Barron R, Legg J, Li X, Watson H, Naeim A, Watkins A, Marshall DA. A discrete choice experiment to
estimate breast cancer patients’ preferences and willingness-to-pay for prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factors.
Value in Health, 2014 June; 17(4): 380-89
Thurston WE, Coupal SA, Jones CA, Crowshoe LFJ, Marshall DA, Homik J, Barnabe C. Discordant indigenous and provider
frames explain challenges in improving access to arthritis care: a qualitative study using Constructive Grounded Theory.
International Journal for Equity in Health. 2014 June, 13:46
Bombard Y, Rozmovits L, Trudeau M, Leighl NB, Deal K, Marshall DA. Patients’ perceptions of gene expression profiling in
breast cancer treatment decisions. Curr Oncol. 2014 Apr 21(2):e203-11.
Marshall DA, Pykerman K, Werle J, Lorenzetti DL, Wasylak T, Noseworthy T, Dick D, O’Connor G, Sundaram A, Heintzbergen
S, Frank C. Comparing Hip Resurfacing and Total Hip Arthroplasty Failure Rates: A Systematic Review Using Standardized
Outcome Metrics. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 2014 July; 472(7): 2217-2230
Connor-Spady BL, Marshall DA, Bohm E, Dunbar MJ, Loucks L, Hennigar A, Frank C, Noseworthy T. Patient factors in referral
choice for total joint replacement surgery. Medical Care April 2014; 52(4): 300-306
Fyie K, Frank C, Noseworthy T, Christiansen T, Marshall DA. Evaluating the primary-to-specialist referral system for elective
hip and knee arthroplasty. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice February 2014; 20(1): 66-73
Current Graduate Student Supervision
Behnam Sharif, PDF, University of Calgary
Thesis Topic: Predictive microsimulation model for knee-OA progression and cost-effectiveness of early nonpharmacological therapies to improve long term patient outcome
Zaheed Damani, MD/PhD Leaders in Medicine, University of Calgary
Thesis Topic: Evaluating the effectiveness and acceptability of an orthopaedic surgery central intake service in the Winnipeg
Regional Health Authority: A single-entry model to manage waiting times for hip & knee replacement
Toni Tagimacruz (co-supervisor), PhD, University of Calgary
Thesis Topic: Operations research in musculoskeletal disease
Glen Hazlewood (co-supervisor), PhD, University of Toronto
Thesis Topic: Conjoint analysis in early rheumatoid arthritis
Claire Barber (co-supervisor), PhD, University of Calgary
Thesis Topic: Development of cardiovascular quality indicators rheumatoid arthritis patients
Katherine Jensen, MSc, University of Calgary
Thesis Topic: What is the cost-effectiveness of implementing IMRT adjuvant treatments for breast cancer patients
compared to the standard tangential breast (Tan RT) currently offered at Alberta cancer centres?