Tara Horrill, BN, PhD

  • Portrait of Tara Horrill

  • Assistant professor

    College of Nursing
    Helen Glass Centre for Nursing
    89 Curry Place
    University of Manitoba
    Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2

    Phone: 204-474-7452
    Fax: 204-474-7682
    Email: tara.horrill@umanitoba.ca

Teaching philosophy

I believe that as nurses, we are lifelong learners, and I believe all students are capable of learning.

I aim to approach teaching with humility, and I value an environment in which students and teachers demonstrate mutual respect.

In my experience, the most impactful teachers for me are those that have been able to connect not only on an academic level but also on an emotional level, which requires a certain level of authenticity and vulnerability.

I want to be a catalyst for learning by making content understandable, accessible and applicable.

My goal in teaching is to develop an environment where students feel comfortable enough to question their assumptions, think about issues from multiple angles, and to be creative in addressing health problems.

I am most interested in developing students’ ability to think critically about health and social issues, and to be able to think about health and illness as situated within and influenced by intersecting individual, community, social, and structural factors.

Research summary

Grounded in critical and intersectional theoretical perspectives, my program of research examines health equity and equity-oriented healthcare, with a particular focus on systems-level changes to improve care for people who are highly marginalized and living with cancer.

Research indicates that people who experience significant health and social inequities are dying of preventable or treatable cancers because they cannot access the care and treatment they need, and that shifts are urgently needed in the design and delivery of services across the cancer continuum (i.e., community-based cancer screening and prevention through to end-of-life care).

Using multiple methodologies (e.g., critical ethnographic approaches, scoping reviews) and community-engaged approaches, the ultimate aim of my research is to improve care for people with cancer through advancing and applying evidence to strategically address health inequities and support health systems change.

  • Keywords

    • cancer
    • cultural safety
    • healthcare access
    • health disparities
    • health equity
    • health services research
    • oncology
    • social determinants of health
    • social justice
    • trauma and violence-informed care

  • Research groups

    Research groups include:

Biography

Dr. Tara Horrill is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Manitoba.

Her research takes a critical approach to investigating health inequities within the context of the cancer care system, with a particular focus on equitable access to cancer care and equity-oriented approaches to care.

Dr. Horrill's doctoral research, which focused on inequities in access to oncology care among Indigenous Peoples in Canada, was nominated for a University of Manitoba Distinguished Dissertation award and a Governor General's Gold Medal.

Her postdoctoral research (University of British Columbia/BC Cancer) focused on understanding the organizational factors that impact uptake of equity-oriented healthcare strategies in cancer care, laying the foundation for future implementation and evaluation of equity-promoting interventions in the cancer care sector.

In her current role, Dr. Horrill is engaged in collaborative research and knowledge mobilization initiatives in partnership with interdisciplinary researchers, health care practitioners, health system leaders, policymakers, and patients to generate evidence-informed improvements in care that will strategically address health inequities in the cancer care sector.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Nursing, University of Manitoba, 2021
Bachelor of Nursing (BN), Nursing, University of Manitoba, 2005

Awards

2024:

  • Association of Regulated Nurses of Manitoba Award of Excellence in Research

2021:

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship Award - Michael Smith Health Research BC
  • Helene Hudson Memorial Lectureship Award - Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology
  • Dr. Shannon Scott Prize for Excellence in Nursing Research - University of Manitoba

2020:

  • Dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Student Achievement Prize
  • Murphy Scholarship in Graduate Oncology Nursing Research, University of Manitoba
  • Penny Stevenson Brydon Memorial Scholarship in Nursing - University of Manitoba
  • Foundation of Registered Nurses of Manitoba Scholarship
  • Helen Preston Glass Fellowship - Canadian Nurses Foundation
  • Nancie J. Mauro Graduate Scholarship in Oncology Research - University of Manitoba

2019:

  • Murphy Scholarship in Graduate Oncology Nursing Research - University of Manitoba
  • Rising Stars of Research & Scholarship Award - Sigma Nursing
  • Emerging Leader Award - University of Manitoba

2018:

  • Murphy Scholarship in Graduate Oncology Nursing Research - University of Manitoba
  • Joanne Greene Memorial Scholarship - University of Manitoba
  • Nancie J. Mauro Graduate Scholarship in Oncology Research - University of Manitoba

2017:

  • PhD Fellowship Award - Research Manitoba
  • Murphy Scholarship in Graduate Oncology Nursing Research - University of Manitoba

2016:

  • University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship
  • Manitoba Training Program for Health Services Research Fellowship - University of Manitoba
  • Margaret Elder Hart Graduate Study Award - University of Manitoba
  • Murphy Scholarship in Graduate Oncology Nursing Research - University of Manitoba

2015:

  • Masters Scholarship - Oncology Nursing Foundation

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Contact us

College of Nursing
Helen Glass Centre for Nursing
89 Curry Place
University of Manitoba (Fort Garry Campus) 
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada

nursing@umanitoba.ca
204-474-7452
204-474-7682