Wasem Alsabbagh
Biography
Dr. Alsabbagh’s research interests are in examining the impact of advances in pharmacy practice, as well as the effect of medications on large populations with a focus on disadvantaged Canadians as they unfortunately suffer more adverse health events and receive less care. He uses the analysis of large administrative data sets – big data analysis to unravel and mitigate systematic barriers faced by disadvantaged Canadians to achieve Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in healthcare.
He uses pharmacoepidemiology research techniques to evaluate the implementation and effects of pharmacists’ new services within an expanded scope of practice -- from the management of chronic diseases to minor ailments -- on patient outcomes and health-care system expenditures. He places emphasis on practical interventions that utilize pharmacists’ clinical skills to fill the gaps in patient care plans. His research program also, particularly, tracks the pharmacoepidemiology of chronic medications, including opioids, on population health using a variety of databases. In both cases, his work is equity–focused, exploring ways to mitigate Canadian health inequalities.
He uses pharmacoepidemiology research techniques to evaluate the implementation and effects of pharmacists’ new services within an expanded scope of practice -- from the management of chronic diseases to minor ailments -- on patient outcomes and health-care system expenditures. He places emphasis on practical interventions that utilize pharmacists’ clinical skills to fill the gaps in patient care plans. His research program also, particularly, tracks the pharmacoepidemiology of chronic medications, including opioids, on population health using a variety of databases. In both cases, his work is equity–focused, exploring ways to mitigate Canadian health inequalities.
Research Interests
- Pharmacoepidemiology of chronic medications
- Health-outcomes of chronic medications
- The effects of pharmacists’ expanding scope of practice
- Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice
- Pharmacoepidemiology
- Pharmacoeconomics
Scholarly Research
Pharmacoepidemiology of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes medications.
The assessment of drug effectiveness and safety using real life data.
Pharmacoeconomics including the effects of health policy on drug utilization and costs
Education
- 2015 PhD Pharmacy, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada
- 2000 Bachelor of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria
Service
- 2015 Member, Board, Canadian Association for Population Therapeutics
- 2015 Member, Alberta Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Graduate Studentship Review Committee
Professional Associations
- Ontario College of Pharmacists
- Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists
Teaching*
- PHARM 120 - Pharmacy in an Evolving Healthcare System
- Taught in 2023
- PHARM 222 - Integrated Patient Focused Care 3
- Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
- PHARM 223 - Integrated Patient Focused Care 4
- Taught in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
- PHARM 227 - Health Systems in Society
- Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022
- PHARM 655 - Physical Assessment and Clinical Laboratory Testing
- Taught in 2022
* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.
Selected/Recent Publications
- Deep Patel, Tim Mickleborough, Ali Elbeddini, Alsabbagh MW. The association between a pharmacist’s country of qualifying education and practicing in a hospital setting: A cross-sectional Ontario study. [Accepted CJHP]
- Cho Hanna*, Houle SKD. Alsabbagh MW. The trends and determinants of seasonal influenza vaccination after cardiovascular events in Canada: a repeated pan-Canadian cross-sectional study. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2023 Feb;43(2):87-97. doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.43.2.04.
- Alsabbagh MW, Houle SKD. The association between the rate of potentially pharmacist-manageable emergency department visits and community income level and primary care provider availability: A spatial analysis. Can Pharm J (Ott). 2022 Mar 30;155(3):164-168. doi: 10.1177/17151635221087621.
- Alsabbagh MW, Martin Cooke, Susan J Elliott, Feng Chang, Noor-Ul-Huda Shah, Marco Ghobrial *. Stepping up to the Canadian opioid crisis: a longitudinal analysis of the correlation between socioeconomic status and population rates of opioid-related health outcomes (2000 – 2017). Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2022 Jun;42(6):229-237. doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.42.6.01.
- Alkabbani W, Zongo A, Minhas-Sandhu JK, Eurich DT, Shah BR, Alsabbagh MW, Gamble JM. Five comparative cohorts to assess the risk of genital tract infections associated with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors initiation in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabet Med. 2022 Apr 23:e14858. doi: 10.1111/dme.14858. Epub ahead of print.
- Alkabbani W, Gamble JM, Eurich DT, Minhas-Sandhu JK, Shah BR, Alsabbagh MW, Zongo A. Risk of hospitalization and death associated with sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors: A comparison with five other classes of antidiabetic drugs. Diabetes Metab. 2022 Mar;48(2):101305. doi: 10.1016/j.diabet.2021.101305. Epub 2021 Nov 19.
- ResearchGate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Wasem_Alsabbagh
- PubMed profile: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Alsabbagh+MW&sort=date
- Google Scholar profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-rN48dMAAAAJ&hl=en
- ORCiD profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2426-9528.