Sukhpreet Tamana, PhD

Research summary

The goal of my research program is to improve psychosocial outcomes for children and adolescents living with diabetes and other chronic health conditions, and their families. I am a clinician–scientist focused on the implementation of evidence-based psychosocial clinical practice guidelines in routine care, with the aim of integrating mental health as a core component of chronic disease management.

A key area of my research is the translation of evidence into practice across diverse clinical settings. I aim to improve the consistency, quality, and accessibility of psychosocial care by identifying and addressing barriers to implementation at the patient, provider, and health system levels.

I am interested in the development and evaluation of digital tools to improve access to mental health care, strengthen self-management and promote equitable service delivery for children and families living with chronic health conditions. I am also interested in developing brief mental health interventions that can be integrated into routine clinical care to support children and families.

Overall, my work aims to advance integrated models of pediatric and chronic disease care that combine medical and psychosocial treatment to improve health outcomes, patient and family experience, and equity in access to care.

Keywords

• Adherence and self-management
• Family-centered care
• Health equity in access to services, digital health and implementation
• Integration of mental health into chronic illness care
• Pediatric diabetes
• Psychosocial assessment and intervention

Research groups

• Investigator, Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM)
• Psychology researcher, DREAM - Diabetes Research Envisioned and Accomplished in Manitoba
• Academic, PRIME

Dr. Sukhpreet Tamana (she/her) is an assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Health Psychology in the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba.

She is also a clinical psychologist with Shared Health, specializing in paediatric psychology. Her clinical work primarily focuses on providing psychosocial support for children and adolescents living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Education

• PhD, University of Alberta
• Masters of Science, University of Wales

Training

• Mitacs Postdoc, Pediatric Endocrinology, University of British Columbia & BC Children's Hospital
• Postdoctoral Scholar, Simon Fraser University, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Alberta, Division of Respirology - CHILD Birth Cohort Study
• Clinical training, University of Alberta/Stollery Children's Hospital