Monika Viktorin
PhD in Health Sciences
Particularly interested in how virtual care is reshaping the delivery of primary care and chronic disease management, Monika Viktorin's research explores the intersection of virtual primary care, health outcomes, and service utilization鈥攁sking how virtual care is being used, by whom, and with what outcomes.
Monika Viktorin began her journey in health research during her undergraduate studies at SFU鈥檚 Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), majoring in health sciences, minoring in Kinesiology and completing a certificate in Applied Human Nutrition. Here she built a strong foundation in both biological and social determinants of health that helped spark her interest in health services research, patient-centered care, and the social factors shaping health outcomes.
After graduation, she completed an overseas internship with the Health Systems Trust in Cape Town, South Africa, where she was introduced to program evaluation, fieldwork, and applied health systems research. After returning to Canada and meeting her mentor Dr. Beth Snow in HSCI 826, she confirmed her interest in applied evaluation and completed a Master of Health Evaluation at the University of Waterloo.
鈥淚 developed a deep curiosity to expand my academic foundation and apply more advanced methodological and theoretical insights to the research and evaluation projects I lead,鈥� she explains. 鈥淧ursuing a PhD in FHS was a natural next step, allowing me to deepen my expertise in evaluation and advance knowledge in virtual care research鈥攁 field of growing importance in Canadian health policy."
This training supports her goal of bringing greater rigour, innovation, and value to health services research. Over the past decade, Monika has contributed to a wide range of health system and evaluation projects. These include coordinating a professional development program for rural health providers through the Rural Coordination Centre of BC, evaluating undergraduate medical education courses at the Faculty of Medicine, and supporting the Clinical Systems Transformation project to implement Cerner-based electronic health records. She has also worked on overdose response initiatives at Fraser Health and led evaluations related to paramedic operations, strategic planning, community health programs, and health services.
These roles have allowed her to lead and contribute to evaluations of community health programs, electronic health record rollouts, rural and urban service models, and workforce initiatives. This breadth of experience has strengthened her commitment to applied, evidence-based research that supports timely and practical decision-making. Strategic insight, performance improvement, accessibility, and patient experience are core values that guide Monika鈥檚 professional and academic work. These values are evident in the design of her research, which integrates administrative data with patient perspectives to build a comprehensive understanding of how virtual care is functioning. She prioritizes research that is both rigorous and practical鈥攄esigned to produce actionable insights for healthcare organizations and policymakers.
Monika is particularly interested in how virtual care is reshaping the delivery of primary care and chronic disease management. Her research explores the intersection of digital health, health outcomes, and service utilization鈥攁sking how virtual care is being used, by whom, and with what impact. She is especially drawn to research that informs real-world decisions, improves system performance, and supports innovation in how care is delivered as health systems increasingly integrate digital tools.
鈥淢y work focuses on understanding how virtual primary care is being used by people with type 2 diabetes, and examining the health outcomes and patient experiences associated with its use.鈥� she explains. 鈥淏eyond individual care, my research has broader implications for how health systems plan, evaluate, and invest in digital health services. As new technologies emerge and patient needs shift, I believes it is critical to ensure care models evolve without compromising quality, continuity, or patient experience.鈥�