Dr. Kelli Stajduhar

I am a Professor in the School of Nursing, a Research Fellow at the UVic’s Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health, and a Research Affiliate with Island Health and Vancouver Coastal Health. I have productive research collaborations with scientists across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Sweden. I also work closely with knowledge users and decisions makers locally, provincially, and federally.

My clinical background is primarily oncology, palliative care, and gerontology. Prior to joining UVic as a faculty member, I worked as a nurse clinician, clinical nurse specialist, and a researcher with local health authorities. I began my nursing career at the height of the AIDS/HIV epidemic and that experience continues to impact my practice and research methodology.

My research focuses on advancing knowledge needed to inform the development of health and social support services in palliative and end of life care with a particular focus on equity. This includes various aspects of care for the dying, family caregiving, and health and social policy issues related to chronically ill and vulnerable populations. I am especially interested in family caregivers and marginalized and vulnerable populations across diverse settings. I currently lead a number of funded studies focused on family care work at the end of life, knowledge translation in acute and long term care settings, and on the integration of a palliative approach into areas not traditionally served by palliative care, for instance, support for those without homes.

I use both qualitative and quantitative methods in my research, often combining knowledge synthesis, interviews, and participant observation to deepen understanding of complex issues. My work is rooted in community leadership and engagement, incorporating arts-based methods to ensure that diverse voices and experiences are reflected. By drawing on multiple approaches, I aim to generate insights that are both rigorous and relevant to the communities I work with.

Selected Awards and Honours

• New Investigator Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• Scholar Award, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research
• CRNBC Award of Excellence for Nursing Research
• Craigdarroch Award for Excellence in Knowledge Mobilization, University of Victoria
• Award of Excellence in Nursing Research, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (2016)
• Ehor Boyanowsky Academic of the Year Award, Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC (2017)
• Fellow, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2017)
• Centenary Medal of Distinction, UBC School of Nursing (2019)
• Fellow, Canadian Academy of Nursing (2020)
• Barer-Flood Prize in Health Services and Policy Research, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2023)
• Hood Fellowship, University of Auckland Foundation (2024)

Student supervision is an important part of my research program. I work with undergraduate, Master’s, PhD, medical, and post-doctoral students. My affiliations are primarily with the School of Nursing and the Social Dimensions of Health program; however, I also collaborate with Interdisciplinary Studies and the Island Medical program. In the community, I mentor clinical scientists and other highly qualified personnel to support engagement in research projects.

I teach in the undergraduate and graduate program. My beliefs about learning and teaching in higher education are a reflection of those things that I have always believed in my life – that is, that we learn and grow from each other. In this sense, I do not see myself as a "teacher" of knowledge, but rather as a "facilitator" of learning.

From my perspective, one of the most important aspects of teaching and learning is that we all come away from each experience with more than we brought. My overall goal as a facilitator of learning is to provide the opportunity for students to reflect on what is known and to open up the space to allow for a critical reconsideration of existing knowledge. As such, theoretical guidance for my learning and teaching approaches are situated within participatory and critical theoretical perspectives. Within this, my approach to learning and teaching is decidedly pragmatic in that I believe that the content that we teach and how we facilitate learning ought to have applicability in the "real world." Because of this, much of my teaching builds not only on theoretical knowledge, but also on practical, real-life experience in nursing. I believe that this approach is particularly important in a practice discipline such as nursing.

I place a high value on a collaborative approach to learning and teaching. We each come with professional and life experiences that I believe contribute to the educational process. For me, the expectation is that students will complete their studies understanding the importance of integrating lived experience with theoretical frameworks and nursing philosophies.

2025

Mollison, A., Gagnon, M., McNeil, R., Stewart, A., Giesbrecht, M., Bourgeois, A., & Stajduhar, K. I. (2025). “None of it turned out the way she wanted, so it left a hole in me”: Informal caregiving at the end of life in contexts of inequity. Health & Social Care in the Community. Online First. https://doi.org/10.1155/hsc/8788241

Horrill, T., Crawford, J., Beck, S., Bourgeois, A., Kaur, J., Lambert, L. K., McKenzie, M., Stajduhar, K. I., & Browne, A. J. (2025). “There’s just such a mismatch” : A qualitative exploration of health systems and organizational‑level barriers to accessing cancer services among people experiencing structural marginalization. BMC International Journal for Equity in Health, 24, 181. https://doi.org./10.1186/s12939-025-02554-8

Mollison, A., Stajduhar, K., Gagnon, M., & McNeil, R. (2025). A critical examination of “family” caregiving at the end of life in contexts of homelessness: Key concepts and future considerations. Palliative Care and Social Practice, 19:26323524251336765. https://doi.org./10.1177/26323524251336765

Seow, H., Bainbridge, D., Winemaker, S., Myers, J., Kortes Miller, K., Kibertus, F., Levine, O., Incardona, N., Steinberg, L., Pond, G., Marshall, D., Stajduhar, K. I., & Pereira, J. (2025). Does facilitated palliative care education improve patient identification? A cluster randomized controlled trial of primary care providers in the CAPACITI training program. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 28(6), 739-747. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2024.0453

Gardiner, C., & Stajduhar, K. (2025). International transferable policy solutions for supporting employed end of life family caregivers: Canadian compassionate care benefit. Progress in Palliative Care, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/09699260.2025.2524231

Sawatzky, R., Schick-Makaroff, K., Ratner, P. A., Kwon, J-Y., Whitehurst, D., Öhlen, J., T. G., Maybee, A., Stajduhar, K., Zetes-Zanatta, L., & Cohen, S. R. (2025). Did a digital quality of life (QOL) assessment and practice support system in home health care improve the QOL of older adults living with life-limiting conditions and of their family caregivers? A mixed-methods pragmatic randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0320306

Sanders, T., Duncan,  S., Jakubec, S., & Stajduhar, K. (2025). “I feel the pressure of racing the clock”: An institutional ethnography examining home care nursing in Canada. Empirical Research Qualitative, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.70038

Booker, B., Sawatzky, R., Sinnarajah, A., Qi, S., Link, C., Watson, L., & Stajduhar, K. (2025). Symptoms, symptom profiles, and healthcare utilization in patients with hematologic malignancies: a retrospective observational cohort study and latent class analysis. Current Oncology, 32(2), 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32020062

Whitlock, K., Premji, Z., Mollison, A., Posada, C., Arias-Rojas, M., Futcher, C., & Stajduhar, K. (2025). Work-related grief and bereavement experiences of inner-city workers working with people experiencing social disadvantage: A rapid scoping review. BMC Palliative Care, 24, 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-025-01668-8

2024

Funk, L., Mackenzie, C., Rapaport, L., Cherba, M., Cohen, S., Krawczyk, M., Rounce, A., & Stajduhar, K. (2024). How the COVID-19 pandemic shaped Canadian’s preferences for setting of dying: comparison of two panel surveys. Healthcare Management Forum. 38(2), 135-140. https://doi.org/10.1177/08404704241297037

Smith, K., & Stajduhar, K. (2024). Using relational ethics to approach equity in palliative care. Palliative Care and Social Practice, 18, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/26323524241293820

Horrill, T., Varcoe, C., Brown, H., Stajduhar, K., & Browne, A. (2024). Bringing an equity lens to participant observation in critical ethnographic health research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069241270397

Rietze, L., Stajduhar, K., Purkis, M.E., & Cloutier, D. (2024). The challenges of advance care planning for acute care registered nurses. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 56(3), 293-302. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08445621241244532

Horrill, T. C., Bourgeois, A., Kleijberg, M., Linton, J., Leahy, K., & Stajduhar, K. I. (2024). Services, models of care, and interventions to improve access to cancer treatment for people who are socially disadvantaged: A scoping review protocol. PLOS ONE, 19(2), e0296658. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296658

Bourgeois, A., Horrill, T., Mollison, A., Stringer, E., Lambert, L., & Stajduhar, K. (2024). Barriers to cancer treatment for people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage in high-income countries. A scoping review. BMC Health Services Research, 24, 670-687. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11129-2

Hoben, M., Dymchuk, E., Doupe, M. B., Keefe, J., Aubrecht, K., Kelly, C., Stajduhar, K., Banerjee, S., O'Rourke, H. M., Chamberlain, S., Beeber, A., Salma, J., Jarrett, P., Arya, A., Corbett, K., Devkota, R., Ristau, M., Shrestha, S., & Estabrooks, C. A. (2024). Counting what counts: Assessing quality of life and its social determinants among nursing home residents with dementia. BMC Geriatrics, 24, 177. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-024-04710-1

Stajduhar, K. I., Giesbrecht, M., Mollison, A., Whitlock, K., Burek, P., Black, F., Gerke, J., Dosani, N., & Colgan, S. (2024). “You can’t die here”: An exploration of the barriers to dying-in-place for structurally vulnerable populations. BMC Palliative Care, 23(12). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-024-01340-7

Scruton, S., Warner, G., Kendell, C., Pfaff, K., Stajduhar, K., Patrick, L., Dujela, C., Fauteux, F., & Urquhart, R. (2024). Navigation programs to support community-dwelling individuals with life-limiting illness: determinants of implementation and scale-up. BMC Health Research, 24(39). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-10541-y

2023

Carter, R. C., Siden, E., Husband, A., Barwich, D., Soheilipour, S., Kryworuchko, J., Sawatzky, R., Kazanjian, A., Stajduhar, K., & Hassan, E. (2023). Community-led, peer-facilitated Advance Care Planning workshops prompt increased Advance Care Planning behaviours among public attendees. PEC Innovation, 3, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecinn.2023.100199

Scott, E., Funk, L.M., Cherba, M., Krawczyk, M., Rounce, A., Stajduhar, K., & Cohen, S.R. (2023). Naturalizing of dying at home for older adults: A critical analysis of Canadian public policy texts. Canadian Public Administration, 66(4), 533-555. https://doi.org/10.1111/capa.12546

Cherba, M., Funk, L., Scott, E., Salman, B., Rounce, A., Krawczyk, M., Mackenzie, C., Stajduhar, K., Dujela, C., & Cohen, S. R. (2023). How initial policy responses to COVID-19 contributed to shaping dying at home preferences and care provision: Key informant perspectives from three Canadian provinces. BMC Health Services Research, 12, 1330. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-10340-x

Urquhart, R., Kendell, C., Pfaff, K., Stajduhar, K., Dujela, C., Patrick, L., Scruton, S., Fauteux, F., & Warner, G. (2023). How do navigation programs address the needs of those living in the community with advanced, life-limiting illness? A realist evaluation of programs in Canada. BMJ Palliative Care, 22(1), 179. https://doi.org/ 10.1186/s12904-023-01304-3

Mróz, L., Soheilipour, S., Siden, E., Carter, R. Z., Sawatzky, R., Husband, A., Stajduhar. K., Barwich, D., & Hassan, E. (2023). “Now I get what’s important” - Shifting philosophies of hospice staff and trained volunteers involved in peer-facilitated Advance Care Planning workshops for the public. Patient Education and Counseling, 115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2023.107925

Borenko, C., Simon, J., Myers, J., Diedrich, K., Stajduhar, K., Cash, C., Wikjord, N., Cory, S., & Schock, B. (2023). Evolution and current state of Advance Care Planning in Canada. Evolution and current state of Advance Care Planning in Canada. Zeitschrift für Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen, 180(August), 36-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zefq.2023.04.009.

Yamamoto, C., Funk, L., Ethier, A., Carrier, A., Contandriopoulos, D., & Stajduhar, K. (2023). Painted in broad strokes: English-language news media coverage of home care in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Journal of Canadian Studies, 57(2), 205-232. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcs-2022-0025

Chan, W-s., Funk, L., Krawczyk, M., Cohen, S. R., Cherba, M., Dujela, C., & Stajduhar, K. (2023). Community perspectives on structural barriers to dying well at home in Canada. Palliative and Supportive Care, 22(2), 347-353. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1478951523001074

Booker, R., McLennan, A. I. G., Beattie, S., Stajduhar, K. I., & Sawatzky, R. (2023). Integrating palliative care in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A qualitative study exploring patient, family caregiver, and clinician perspectives. Oncology Nursing Forum, 50(3), 313-323. https://doi.org/10.1188/23.ONF.313-323

Stajduhar, K. I., & Gott, M. (Eds.). (2023). Editorial: Closing the health equity gap in palliative care: The time for action is now. Palliative Medicine, Special Issue: Equity-Oriented Palliative Care, 37(4), 424-425. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692163231164729

Stajduhar, K., Sawatzky, R., Funk, L., Cohen, S. R., Bitschy, A., Donald, E., & Votova, K. (2023). Shifts in homecare nursing practices and their implications for families and clients receiving palliative care at home. Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership, 36(1), 75-86. https://doi.org/10.12927/cjnl.2023.27122

Bainbridge, D., Bishop, V., Myers, J., Marshall, D., Stajduhar, K., & Seow, H. (2023). Effectiveness of training programs for a palliative care approach: A systematic review of intervention trials for health care professionals. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 26(4), 564-581. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2022.0051

Seow, H., Bishop, V. C., Myers, J., Stajduhar, K. I., Marshall, D. I., Incardona, N. K., Levine, O. H., Steinberg, L. J., & Bainbridge, D. B. (2023). Outcome measures in palliative care training interventions: A systematic review of trial-based studies. Annals of Palliative Medicine, 12(2), 399-417. https://dx.doi.org/10.21037/apm-22-947

Bourgeois, A., Horrill, T., Mollison, A., Stringer, E., Lambert, L., & Stajduhar, K. (2023). Barriers to cancer treatment for people experiencing structural vulnerability: A secondary analysis of ethnographic data. BMC Health Services Research, 22(58), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01860-3

Levitt, S., Cooper, R. B., Gupta, M., Kirby, J., Panko, L., Rosenbaum, D., Stajduhar, K., Trachsel, M., Vinoraj, D., Westermair, A., Woods, A., & Buchman, D. Z. (2024). Palliative psychiatry: Research, clinical & educational priorities. Annals of Palliative Medicine. Advance online access. https://doi.org/10.21037/apm-23-471

Sawatzky, R., Porterfield, P., Donald, E., Taylor, C., Stajduhar, K., & Thorne, S. (2023). Voices lost: Where is the person in evaluating a palliative approach to care? Palliative Care and Social Practice, 17. https://doi.org/10.1177/26323524231193041

Funk, L., Krawczyk, M., Cherba, M., Cohen, S., Dujela, C., Nichols, C., & Stajduhar, K. (2023). “The beauty and the less beautiful”: Exploring the meanings of dying at ‘home’ among community and practitioner representatives and advocates across Canada" Palliative Care and Social Practice, 17. https://doi.org/10.1177/26323524231156944

Lambert, L. K., Horrill, T. C., Beck, S. M., Bourgeois, A., Browne, A. J., Cheng, S., Howard, A. F., Kaur, J., McKenzie, M., Stajduhar, K. I., & Thorne, S. (2023). Health and healthcare equity within the Canadian cancer care sector: A rapid scoping review. International Journal for Equity in Health, 22(20). Open access https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01829-2

Seow, H., Bainbridge, D., Winemaker, S., Stajduhar, K., Pond, G., Kortes-Miller, K., Marshall, D., Kilbertus, F., Myers, J., Steinberg, L., Incardona, N., Levine, O., & Pereira, J. (2023). Increasing palliative care capacity in primary care: Study protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial of the CAPACITI training program. BMC Palliative Care, 22(2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-01124-x

2022

Funk, L. M., Mackenzie, C. S., Cherba, M., Cohen, S. R., Del Rosario, N., Krawczyk, M., Rounce, A., & Stajduhar, K. (2022). Where would Canadians prefer to die? Variation by situational severity, support for family obligations and age in a national sample. BMC Palliative Care, 21(139). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-01023-1

Giesbrecht, M., Stajduhar, K., Mollison, A., & Whitlock, K., (2023). “Once you open that door, it’s a floodgate”: Exploring work-related distress and grief among community service workers providing care for structurally vulnerable populations at the end-of-life.  Palliative Medicine, 37(4), 558-566. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692163221139727

Seow, H., Bainbridge, D., Stajduhar, K., Marshall, D., Howard, M., Brouwers, M., Barwich, D., Burge, F., & Kelley, M. L. (2023). Building palliative care capacity for generalist providers in the community: Results from the CAPACITI pilot education program. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care, 40(7), 737-746. https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091221134709

Maze, C., Wilkinson, C., Stajduhar, K., Daudt, H., & Tysick, S. (2022). Perceptions of bereaved family members of nursing care on an inpatient hospice palliative care unit. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 28(9), 406-418. https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/epub/10.12968/ijpn.2022.28.9.406

Contandriopoulos, D., Stajduhar, K., Sanders, T., Carrier, A., Bitschy, A., & Funk, L. (2022). A realist review of the home care literature and its blind spots. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 28(4), 680-689. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13627

Hoben, M., Banerjee, S., Beeber, A. S., Chamberlain, S. A., Hughes, L., O’Rourke, H. M., Stajduhar, K., Shrestha, S., Devkota, R., Lam, J., Simons, I., Dymchuk, E., Corbett, K., & Estabrooks, C. (2022). Feasibility of routine quality of life measurement for people living with dementia in long-term care. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, (23)4, 1221-1226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2021.07.018

Schick-Makaroff, K., Sawatzky, R., Cuthbertson, L., Öhlén, J., Beemer, A., Duquette, D., Karimi-Dehkordi, M., Stajduhar, K. I., Suryaprakash, N., Terblanche, L., Wolff, A., & Cohen, S. R. (2021). Knowledge translation resources to support the use of quality of life assessment tools for the care of older adults living at home and their family caregivers. Quality of Life Research, 31, 1727-1747. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-021-03011-z

Donald, E., Whitlock, K., Dansereau, T., Sands, D. J., Small, D., & Stajduhar, K. I. (2022). A co-development process to advance methods for the use of PROMs and PREMs with people who are homeless and experience chronic illness. Health Expectations. 25(1), 2264-2274.http://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13489

Horrill, T., Browne, A. J., & Stajduhar, K. I. (2022). Equity-oriented healthcare: What it is and why we need it in oncology. [Commentary]. Current Oncology, 29(1), 186-192. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol29010018

Wu, E. X., Collins, A., Briggs, S., Stajduhar, K. I., Kalsi, A., & Hilliard, N. (2022). Prolonged grief and bereavement supports within a caregiver population who transition through a palliative care program in British Columbia, Canada. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 39(3), 361-369. https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091211030442

2021

Cloutier, D., Stajduhar, K., Roberts, D., Dujela, C., & Roland, K. (2021). "‘Bare-Bones’ to ‘Silver Linings?’: Lessons on integrating a palliative approach to care in long-term care". BMC Health Services Research, 21, 610. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06606-x

Giesbrecht, M., Stajduhar, K., Cloutier, D., & Dujela, C. (2021). “We are to be like machines…fill the bed before it gets cold”: Exploring the emotional geographies of healthcare providers caring for dying residents in long-term care facilities. Social Science and Medicine, 272, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113749