Infographic: What is health services research?

Health services research helps improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Canada’s health care system so all Canadians can get the help they need, when they need it.

By studying how health care services are organized, supported, and delivered across the country, this multidisciplinary field of research has four primary goals:

• Enhance the quality of care for patients
• Improve the health care provider experience
• Reduce costs by maximizing the value of care
• Improve the overall health of the population

Health services research addresses a wide range of service, system, and policy challenges, such as:

• What are the best ways to address growing wait times in emergency departments?
• Are some health care policies becoming outdated? How could we update or improve them to support all Canadians?
• How can we make sure the health care system is fair, efficient, seamless and sustainable for everyone involved?
• How can we make sure everyone in Canada has a family doctor or primary care provider?
• When, where, and how can virtual care play a role in supporting patients?
• With limited resources, how can we make improvements in one area of our health care system without making other areas worse?

What does health services research look like?

In collaboration with multidisciplinary experts (such as health care providers, policy makers, health economists and statisticians, program administrators, and patients themselves), health services researchers find answers to these big questions by:

• Collecting and analyzing health data across Canada to identify trends and gaps
• Interviewing health care professionals, providers and patients to learn about their experiences
• Running pilot studies and larger interventions
• Examining successful health services, systems and technologies used in other countries
• And much more!

Learn more by visiting the Health services research webpage.