Established in October 2015, APERSU is an intermediary office that connects the EuroQol foundation with non-commercial users of EQ-5D instruments and other patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) in the province of Alberta, Canada. This unit secures licensing for the use of EQ-5D instruments, and supports research and use of other PROMs in Alberta.
Vision
APERSU’s vision is “to improve decisions by end-users and stakeholders about health and health care in Alberta by promoting, coordinating, and supporting the use of EQ-5D and other patient-reported outcome measures for the measurement and valuation of health”.
Objectives
APERSU’s objectives include:
- Provide expertise, advice and support for the application of the various EQ-5D instruments and other patient-reported outcome measures by provincial end-users.
- Provide oversight and coordination of various non-commercial applications of the EQ-5D instruments in Alberta.
- Serve as a liaison between Alberta-based end-users and the EuroQol Foundation.
- Facilitate collaborative research among EuroQol Group members with Alberta end-users working with EQ-5D data in the context of large-scale health applications.
- Generate information for population health and economic modeling studies to support health policy.
Partnerships and Agreements
APERSU was developed in partnership with Alberta Health Services (AHS), Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA), the EuroQol Foundation, and Alberta Health, and is hosted at the School of Public Health, University of Alberta.
Organizational Structure
The APERSU Team includes Co-Directors Dr. Jeff Johnson & Dr. Arto Ohinmaa, Research Manager Dr. Fatima Al Sayah, and Research Administrator Sherry Lydynuik. The team is supported by a Board of Directors with representatives from Alberta Health Services, Health Quality Council of Alberta, University of Alberta – School of Public Health and the EuroQol Foundation, and a Scientific Advisory Committee, with provincial, national and international representatives.
APERSU Members
Jeffrey A. Johnson, PhD
APERSU Co-Director
Professor
School of Public Health
University of Alberta
APERSU Co-Director
Dr. Johnson is a pharmacist and health services researcher. He is a Centennial Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta, and a Senior Health Scholar with Alberta Innovates Health Solutions. Dr. Johnson leads the “Alliance for Canadian Health Outcomes Research in Diabetes”.
Dr. Johnson has a long history of working with national and provincial agencies, both government and non-government, in areas of diabetes and public health policy and research. He has worked closely with Alberta Health, leading the Alberta Diabetes Surveillance System (ADSS) from 2005 to 2009, and the Alberta’s Caring for Diabetes Project from 2008-2015. From 2012 to 2014 Dr. Johnson served as the inaugural Scientific Director for Diabetes, Obesity and Nutrition, Strategic Clinical Network, Alberta Health Services.
Dr. Johnson also leads a productive line of research and application of health-related quality of life measurement, including various applications in controlled trials, population health, and health care system evaluation. Dr. Johnson has been an active member of the EuroQol Group since 1996 and serves on the Board of Directors of the EuroQol Research Foundation.
Arto Ohinmaa, Ph.D
APERSU Co-Director
Professor
School of Public Health
University of Alberta
APERSU Co-Director
Arto Ohinmaa is a Professor and Program Director of the Health Policy and Management program at the School of Public Health, University of Alberta.
He received his Master’s of Science in Economics and his PhD in Economics from the University of Oulu in Finland.
His research interests include health economic analysis, health-related quality of life measurement, assessment of telemedicine, health technology assessment, distribution of health and health care costs in the population, health care performance measurements, and economic models of preventive programs.
He is a Canadian member of the EuroQOL group, Associate Editor of the Quality of Life Research journal.
Fatima Al Sayah, PhD
APERSU Research Manager
APERSU Research Manager
School of Public Health
University of Alberta
Fatima is a health outcomes researcher at the School of Public Health, University of Alberta, and the research manager of APERSU. She has a PhD in Public Health, and over 12 years of epidemiological and clinical research experience, particularly in the area of chronic disease. Her current work focuses on the measurement of health outcomes including clinical and patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and the use of these measures in clinical and cost-effectiveness research, as well as in generating real-world evidence. She is an active member of the EuroQol Group, and as such, serves as an advisor on valuation studies of the EQ-5D around the world. Fatima is passionate about enhancing the QUALITY, EFFICIENCY, and EQUITABILITY of healthcare services and interventions, and in building capacity in the field of health economics and outcomes research.
APERSU Administrative Manager
Sherry Lydynuik
APERSU Administrative Manager
APERSU Administrative Manager
Sherry is from Saskatchewan originally and has been working in Research Administration for many years now.
Sherry started working part time at the University of Alberta in September 1996 at the Ocular Genetics Laboratory. In April 2006, Sherry joined Jeff Johnson and the ACHORD Laboratory working as Jeff’s assistant and Office Manager of ACHORD.
Sherry is now the Research Administrator for the APERSU Unit and is looking forward to working with all the different groups of people involved in the creation and sustainability of the unit.
APERSU Research Coordinator
Hilary Short, MSc
APERSU Research Coordinator
Research Coordinator
Hilary graduated from the University of Alberta in 2012 with a Bachelor in Physical Education and again in 2014 with a Master of Science in Health Policy Research. Hilary’s thesis research focused on adult obesity management in primary care and surveyed family physicians across Alberta on their attitudes, knowledge, and practices in obesity management.
Upon completing her graduate degree, Hilary worked for the Clinical Trials Program in the Division of Nephrology and Transplant Immunology at the University of Alberta Hospital, coordinating various drug and observational trials in renal transplant, dialysis, and renal insufficiency patient populations.
Hilary joined APERSU in January 2017, primarily responsible for coordinating the EMPATHY trial.
APERSU End-User Support Lead
Allison Soprovich, BScN, MPH
APERSU End-User Support Lead
End-User Support Lead
Allison completed her BScN from the University of Alberta in 2004. She worked as a Registered Nurse in community and primary care for 5 years before completing her MPH degree in Global Health, also from the University of Alberta, in 2011. Her main interest areas are improving access to health care, using research to develop and improve health programming, and health program evaluation. She loves the interdisciplinary aspects of public health and health promotion, working with many sectors towards common health goals.
Allison’s main role for APERSU is end-user support and knowledge translation. She also coordinates and supports a number of other research project initiatives for the ACHORD group. Her other side is a contemporary dancer, with occasional shows around Edmonton. She also enjoys biking to work through the river valley, skiing and camping.
APERSU End-User Support Coordinator
Oacia Fair, MSc
APERSU End-User Support Coordinator
Born and raised in the United States, Oacia completed her BSc in Environmental Sustainability at Michigan State University in 2017. She was involved in participatory research in Tanzania and Nicaragua to understand food security challenges and their impact on indigenous communities. In 2021, she earned an MSc in Natural Resource Sciences from McGill University. She conducted a case study in the Eastern Caribbean with the goal to improve child nutrition by identifying how to build a local and sustainable food procurement system in the school meals program. This community-based research project sparked Oacia’s passion for improving health outcomes through research and using patient’s perspectives to inform healthcare.
Oacia is happy to join APERSU (since 2023) as a research coordinator. She will be supporting research on understanding PROMs use in Primary Care Networks in Alberta.
Stafford Dean, PhD [Chair]
Board of Directors
Senior Program Officer – Analytics
Alberta Health Services
Stafford has been using administrative and clinical data to support decision making for over 20 years in Alberta’s Health system.
He has worked at the Alberta Ministry of Health, the Calgary Health Region, Health Quality Council of Alberta and now in his current role as Senior Program Officer, Analytics at Alberta Health Services. The Analytics Departments role is to enable decision making by providing timely relevant data and reporting services.
Stafford’s research interests include health system demand forecasting and clinical analytics to support continuous quality improvement.
Stafford’s education includes a BSc in Actuarial Science, a MA in Economics, and a PhD in Health Research.
A. Simon Pickard, PhD
Board of Directors
Professor
Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes, and Policy (PSOP)
College of Pharmacy
University of Illinois at Chicago
Dr. Pickard is a professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy at the University of Illinois.
His research interests focus on the measurement of health outcomes and on the evaluation of outcomes of medications and health care services in terms of safety, effectiveness and value.
Simon is past-president of the Chicago Region Chapter of International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), and faculty advisor for the ISPOR student chapter at UIC. Since 2006, he has served on the Executive Committee of the EuroQol Group, and was elected Chair in 2014.
Simon has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, and is on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, including Medical Decision Making and Quality of Life Research.
Markus Lahtinen, PhD
Board of Directors
Measurement Team Lead
Health Quality Council of Alberta
Markus joined HQCA in 2009, assuming responsibility for the biennial Satisfaction and Experience with Health Care Services: Survey of Albertans. In addition, Markus is involved in survey and administrative data analytics, survey development and methodology, and report writing.
Prior to the HQCA, he managed and coordinated the Statistics Canada’s Research Data Centre at the University of Calgary. Primary duties included administering daily operations, overseeing staff (i.e. training, supervising, and evaluating personnel), and conducting population research. He also collaborated with other multidisciplinary teams from across Canada to identify and implement strategic and systematic changes to the program.
Markus holds a PhD in sociology with a specialization in health research. He has training in both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Alex Alexander, MD
Board of Directors
Dr. Alex Alexander is a Provincial Health Analytics Officer and an Executive Director of Performance Reporting and Analytics for Alberta Health.
Previously Alex held a position of Executive Director for Research and Innovation for Alberta Health, where he worked on establishing evidence-informed, high value innovation in policy and clinical practice through health evidence reviews, policy and strategy development, and strategic alliances with stakeholders, including Alberta Health Services, Primary Care Networks, Strategic Clinical Networks as well as University of Calgary and University of Alberta.
Alex has broad range of experiences working in healthcare and health research. This includes professional research and development engagement in the field of novel drugs development, complex analytics implementations, clinical decision support, health informatics and patient care improvement. Over the past 19 years, Alex has worked for a number of Canadian healthcare organizations with a focus on improving clinical pathways and patient care using health analytics, health evidence reviews and health technology assessments with the focus on how health care services can be delivered better in a certain part of the health care system, or for a specific disease or condition.
Alex has a Doctor of Medicine degree and is currently registered member of Canadian Medical Association and Medical Council of Canada.
Outside of work, Alex enjoys spending his free time outdoors and has a passion for education, technology, global affairs and international cuisine.
Jiabi (Jacqueline) Wen
APERSU Research Trainee
Training Program: MSc in Health Policy Research, School of Public Health, University of Alberta
Jacqueline was born and raised in Hunan, China. Jacqueline graduated from Renmin University of China in 2018 with BSc in Mathematics and BEcon in Economics. During her summer internship in the Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics at York University, Jacqueline realized her interests were in health-related issues, aiming to focus on health economics in her Master’s degree. Jacqueline is now an MSc student in Health Policy stream.
Jacqueline is happy to join APERSU and ACHORD, and hope to explore the world in health academy with everyone here. Outside of study and research, Jacqueline loves cooking, singing and traveling.
Ademola Itiola
APERSU Research Trainee
Ademola is originally from Nigeria and is a pharmacist by training. He holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy Degree (with distinctions) from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, coupled with a Master of Public Health Degree (cum laude) from the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, and a fellowship in Public Health Pharmacy from West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists. He has also completed an MSc Degree in Population and Public Health at The University of British Columbia where he evaluated the impact of blood glucose test strips reimbursement limitations in the British Columbia PharmaCare Plan on utilization, costs, and health outcomes.
He has practiced within the community, hospital, and public health settings and his work in the last decade has been in the public health space. As a public health practitioner, his efforts were primarily directed toward the strengthening of supply chain systems for improved access to medicines and vaccines.
Ademola is excited to join APERSU for his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Jeff Johnson. In his spare time, Ademola likes volunteering, enjoys watching soccer, and spending time with friends and family.
Lilla Roy
APERSU Research Trainee
Training Program: PhD in Health Services and Policy Research, School of Public Health, University of Alberta
Born and raised in the Maritimes, Lilla received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Laurentian University in 2008, and a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of British Columbia in 2013. In between, and since then, Lilla has worked as a Registered Nurse in emergency departments across the country, in large and small centers of Nova Scotia, Ontario, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. Lilla’s masters research focused on measuring health utilities and preferences related to respiratory disease in infants. Lilla later worked in health technology assessment at SickKids, before returning to nursing practice. Most recently, Lilla has been working with the Nursing Department at Cape Breton University, in Nova Scotia. Lilla joined the research group this fall with an interest in the use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in sub-populations. She will be working as a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Jeff Johnson.
![Stafford Dean, PhD [Chair]](https://apersu-uat.srv.ualberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Stafford-Dean-270x260.jpg)
