Provision of equitable and effective publicly-funded health care is a pressing challenge of our time. Carol Herbert, MD was a pioneer in addressing social determinants of health by developing services for victims of sexual assault, both adults and children, and delivering community-based health care. Vancouver’s Sexual Assault Service, in continuous operation since 1981, was the first dedicated service of its kind in Canada. A passionate advocate for social justice, her integrated interdisciplinary research and practice embrace family violence and sexual assault; clinical health promotion and patient-physician decision-making; participatory research on ecosystem health issues in aboriginal communities, and health care and health professional education as complex adaptive systems. She is internationally known and honoured for her leadership in primary care research and for her innovations in health care education, notably as Dean of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario. Mentor to a multitude of individuals, recipient of numerous awards, author of important guidelines for participatory research in health promotion, member and fellow of many boards and institutes, Dr. Herbert has championed physician advocacy, citizen participation in health care and improved access for underserved and marginalized populations.
