Bio: Julia Abelson, Ph.D., a 2005-06 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Associate in Health Care Policy, is an associate professor in the department of clinical epidemiology and biostatistics, an associate member of the department of political science, and director of the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis at McMaster University. In 2003 she was awarded a five-year Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award and is a past recipient of an Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Career Scientist Award. She holds a doctorate in social and policy sciences from the University of Bath, England (1998) and an M.Sc. in health policy and management from the Harvard School of Public Health (1991). Her research interests include public values and health policy, health system governance and accountability, and health policy analysis. She publishes in the areas of health policy and democratic participation in journals such Social Science and Medicine, Health Affairs and the Journal of Health Services Research and Policy. She has also produced commissioned papers for the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada and Canadian Policy Research Networks, a national non-profit think tank specializing in social and economic policy research and public engagement. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in health policy. Through her research, education and service activities, she has worked closely with provincial, regional and local decision makers across Canada and is a member of several health research boards and committees.
Project: Informing and Becoming Informed: The Public, the Media and Coverage Policies for New and Emerging Health Care Technologies
Description: Abelson investigated the role of the media in shaping public opinion regarding new and emerging health care technologies--particularly opinion on whether these technologies should be covered by insurance--and how public attitudes influence health policy decisions. Using the example of Herceptin as a promising new therapy for breast cancer patients, she undertook a content analysis of newspaper coverage in the U.K., Canada, U.S. and France from 2005 to 2006. She also interviewed key players in Canada (reporters, columnists, cancer care organizations, and government officials) regarding media coverage of Herceptin.