Paul Peters
Associate Professor
| Degrees: | MES (University of Waterloo), PhD (University of Texas, Austin) |
| Email: | paul.peters@carleton.ca |
| CV: | View |
| Website: | Browse |
| Twitter: | Follow |
Primary field of Specialization:
Population Health; Rural Health; Spatial Data Analysis; Health Geography & Geographic Information Systems
Research Interests:
Despite decades of universal healthcare in Canada and elsewhere, there still remains pronounced inequalities in the social determinants of health and in health outcomes. These inequalities are manifest between social groups across a range of factors, such as income, education, or ethnicity. At the same time, these inequalities are spatially evident, with differences between provinces, regions, villages, and neighbourhoods. Perhaps counterintuitively, the patterns and processes of these inequalities can be measured using large data sources, sometimes termed “big data.” The focus of my research is on these persistent social and structural inequalities of health in small places and small spaces.
The substantive areas of my research are varied, but they are connected methodologically by the use of linked administrative and survey data, whether analysing problems manifest in small areas, or in small places. I prefer research projects that are collaborative in nature and engage with diverse international colleagues across disciplines and domains. My active research projects include development of the Canadian Accessibility and Remoteness Index (CARI+), Postal Code geocoding, small-area rate variation for high health system users in rural areas and, data methods for modelling environmental health. Each of these projects is grounded in a commitment to conduct research informed by the communities and the subjects under study.
Visit the Spatial Determinants Lab to learn more!
Select Recent Publications:
McGaughey T, Kephart G, Dang U, & PA Peters. (2025) “Creating an Inclusive Definition for High Resource Inpatient Hospital Users Between and Within Rurality.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 22(3), 381. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22030381
Golestani R, Farahani K, & PA Peters. (2025) “Exploring Barriers to Accessing Health Care Services by Young Women in Rural Settings: A Qualitative Study in Australia, Canada, and Sweden.” BMC Public Health. 25:213. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21387-2.
McGaughey, T. & Peters, P. A. (2024) “Where should we go – Estimating travel times for modelling accessibility to 24-hour emergency departments in Canada.” Scientific Data 11, 853. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03691-5.
Dissanayake A, Dupuis A, Burton CL, Soreni N, Peters PA, Gajaria A, Arnold P, Crosbie J, & R Schachar. (2024) “Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Youth Mental Health Traits and Diagnoses within a Community-based Sample.” Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1177/07067437241233936.
Sheppard-Perkins M, McGaughey T, Peters PA & F Darroch. (2024) “Exploring the Use of Geographic Methods to Understand Sexual- and Gender-based Violence: A Scoping Review.” Gender, Place & Culture. 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2024.2307583.
Petrie S & PA Peters. (2023) “Health Service Implementation and Antifragile Characteristics in Rural Communities: A Dirt Research Approach.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20(14): 6418. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20146418.
LeBlanc M, McGaughey T, & PA Peters. (2023) “Characteristics of High-Resource Health System Users in Rural and Remote Regions: A Scoping Review.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20(7): 5385. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20075385.
Petrie S, Carson D, Peters PA, Hurtig A-K, LeBlanc M, Simpson H, Barnabe J, Young M, Ostafichuk M, Hodge H, Glademan J, Smale M, & M Gonzalez Garcia. (2021) “What a Pandemic Has Taught Us About the Potential for Innovation in Rural Health: Commencing an Ethnography in Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Australia.” Frontiers in Public Health. 9: 768624 https://10.3389/fpubh.2021.768624.
Petrie S & PA Peters. (2020) “Untangling complexity as a health determinant: Wicked problems in healthcare.” Health Science Inquiry. 11(1):131-135. https://doi.org/10.29173/hsi299
LeBlanc M, Petrie S, Paskaran S, Carson DB, & PA Peters. (2020) “Patient and Provider Perspectives of Rural eHealth Interventions.” Rural and Remote Health. 20(3): 5754. https://doi.org/10.22605/rrh5754
Peters PA, MT Hidalgo, & E Skop. (2020) “Building a Just City: A Retrospective of Social Segregation in Metropolitan Lima.” Journal of Latin American Geography. 19(4): 269-279. https://doi.org/10.1353/lag.2020.0088
Asher K & PA Peters. (2020) “Meat reduction, vegetarianism, or chicken avoidance: U.S. omnivores’ impressions of three meat-restricted diets.” British Food Journal. 123(1): 387-402. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-04-2020-0307
Asher K & PA Peters. (2020) “Go the Whole Nine Yards? How Extent of Meat Restriction Impacts Individual Dietary Experience.” Ecology of Food and Nutrition. 59(4): 436-458. https://doi.org/10.1080/03670244.2020.1737043
Johnson M, Brook J, Brook R, Oiamo T, Luginaah I, Peters PA, & JD Spence. (2020) “Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Carotid Plaque Burden in a Canadian City with Low-Level Ambient Pollution.” Journal of the American Heart Association. 9(e013400). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.119.013400
Harris MA, MacLeod J, Kim J, Pahwa M, Tjepkema M, Peters PA, & PA Demers. (2020) “Use of a Canadian Population-Based Surveillance Cohort to Test Relationships Between Shift Work and Breast, Ovarian, and Prostate Cancer.” Annals of Work Exposures and Health. 64(4): 387-401. https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxaa017