Research Discipline(s): Health Services, Epidemiology, Population Oncology
Primary Title: Senior Scientist
Additional Titles & Affiliations: Associate Professor
RESEARCH TOPICS
Health Services Research, Cancer Epidemiology, Population Oncology, Cancer Screening
Research Summary
The goal of Dr. Decker’s research is to identify and support the most effective ways to organize, manage, and deliver high-quality, equitable cancer care for Manitobans. Her research focuses on three areas: conducting innovative and rigorous studies to improve the availability of novel data for cancer research, enhancing our knowledge about the impact of health care delivery on cancer outcomes, and studying methods to promote the adoption and integration of evidence-based practices, interventions, and policies into routine health care to improve the impact on population health. As the Director of the Health Services Research Lab, she leads a multi-disciplinary team working in each of these areas and collaborates closely with the Clinical Informatics Platform, the Department of Epidemiology, and many clinician scientists at CancerCare Manitoba.
Goals
My research goal is to identify and support the most effective ways to organize, manage, and deliver high-quality (equitable, appropriate, accessible, safe, efficient, and effective) cancer services for Manitobans.
Research Biography
Dr. Kathleen Decker is a Senior Scientist in the Paul Albrechtsen Research Institute CancerCare Manitoba and the Director of the Cancer Health Services Research Lab. She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Decker’s research is supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute, Research Manitoba, and the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation.
Achievements
- Academic Excellence Award, CancerCare Manitoba, 2020
- Manitoba Medical Students’ Association Teaching Award Nomination, 2018-2022
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Featured Publications
- Decker KM, Lambert P, Bravo J, Demers A, Singh H. Time trends in colorectal cancer incidence from 1992 to 2016 and colorectal cancer mortality from 1980 to 2018 by age group and geography in Canada. Am J Gastroenterol. October 10, 2022. doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000002058.
- Kaka H, Michalopoulos G, Subendran S, Decker K, Lambert P, Pitz M, Singh H, Chen H. Pretrained neural networks accurately identify cancer recurrence in medical record. Stud Health Technol Inform 2022, 294:93-97. doi: 10.3233/SHTI220403.
- Thiessen M, Soriano A, Park J, Decker K. Fit theory: A cancer experience grounded theory emerging from semi-structured interviews with cancer patients and informal caregivers in Manitoba Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS ONE 2022, 17(7), 1-27: e0269285. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0269285.
- Decker KM, Bucher O, Feely A, Singh H, Turner D, Lambert P. Evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer screening in a central Canadian province. Prev Med 2022, 155; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.106961.
- Decker KM, Lambert P, Feely A, Bucher O, Kim JO, Hebbard P, Thiessen M, Fatoye T, Pitz M, Koul R, Czaykowski P. Evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on new cancer diagnoses and oncology care in Manitoba. Curr. Oncol 2021, 28(4), 3081-3090; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol28040269.
- Decker KM, Lambert P, Bravo J, Demers A, Singh H. Time trends in colorectal cancer incidence rates by income and age at diagnosis in Canada from 1992 to 2016. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(7):e2117556. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.17556.
- Ratnayake I, Park J, Biswanger N, Feely A, Musto G, Decker K. Colorectal cancer surgery quality in Manitoba: a population-based descriptive analysis. Curr Oncol 2021; 28:2239-2247.
- Decker K, Lambert P, Galloway K, Bucher O, Pitz M, Goldenberg B, Singh H, Kristjanson M, Fatoye T, Bow E. Predictors of Urgent Cancer Care Clinic and Emergency Department Visits for Individuals Diagnosed with Cancer. Curr Oncol 2021; 28:1773–1789.
