探花系列

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School of Public Health & Social Policy

Karen Urbanoski

Karen Urbanoski

Professor

Public Health and Social Policy

Status:
On leave

Accepting graduate students

Contact:
Office: HWB 267 250-853-3238
ORCID:
Credentials:
BSc (McGill), MSc (Western), PhD (University of Toronto)
Area(s) of expertise:
substance use, harm reduction, treatment, toxic drug crisis, implementation science, social determinants of health

Background

Dr. Urbanoski is a Scientist with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and Professor in Public Health and Social Policy at the 探花系列. She formerly held the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Substance Use, Addictions and Health Services (2015-2025). Prior to coming to the 探花系列 in 2015, she was a Scientist at the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Ontario, where she still holds a position as an Affiliate Scientist. Dr. Urbanoski’s research program focuses on the social determinants of substance-related problems, and the accessibility, equity, and effectiveness of the continuum of care for substance use (inclusive of treatment, harm reduction, and other health services). Her research takes a holistic approach to understanding substance use, in the context of overall mental, physical, and emotional health across the lifespan, and considers how population substance use and health are shaped by structural determinants that promote and constrain people’s access to resources that are needed to support health.

Select publications

Urbanoski KA, van Roode T, Selfridge M, Hogan KC, Fraser J, Lock K, Beck McGreevy P, Burmeister C, Barker B, Slaunwhite A, Nosyk B, Pauly B. Access and barriers to safer supply prescribing during a toxic drug emergency: A mixed methods study of implementation in British Columbia, Canada. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, & Policy 2024;19(1):44.

 Kolla G, Pauly B, Cameron F, Hobbs H, Ranger C, McCall J, Majalahi J, Toombs K, LeMaistre J, Selfridge M, Urbanoski K. “If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would be here”: Experiences of the first year of a safer supply program during the dual public health emergencies of COVID and the drug toxicity crisis. Harm Reduction Journal 2024;21(1):111. 

 Urbanoski K, Iwajomo T, Gomes T, de Oliveira, C, Milligan K. Integrated treatment programs for pregnant and parenting people support longer retention compared to standard treatment programs: A population-based cohort study. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment 2025;174:209701.