Bio: Mark Dobrow, Ph.D., a 2008-09 Canadian Harkness Associate in Health Care Policy and Practice, is an assistant professor in the department of health policy, management and evaluation at the University of Toronto. He is the lead investigator on a project funded by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation that examines the role of deliberative methods in the development of health policy guidance, and he currently leads another study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, that examines how financial incentives influence clinical accountability in cancer system contexts. His current research interests focus on optimizing decision-making by organizations that manage, organize, finance, and/or deliver health services, especially in the area of cancer care, and his research has been published in journals such as Social Science and Medicine and Healthcare Policy. He holds a Ph.D. in health services and policy research from the University of Toronto, a master's degree in epidemiology from the University of Edinburgh, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of public health and policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Placement: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Mentors: Terrence Sullivan, Ph.D.; Peter Bach, M.D., MAPP
Project: Shared Accountability for Performance: Comparison of Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the USA and Canada
Description: Mark Dobow examined how comprehensive cancer centers are defined and measured, how they are made accountable for performance, and how "shared accountability" for performance within cancer centers is perceived. He conducted key document analysis and informant interviews with executive leadership at comprehensive cancer centers in the U.S. and Canada.