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HATLab Summer gathering
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Jordana Sommer (PhD student) and Bronwen Grocott (alumni) piloting VR technology

Research Areas

The HATlab has three related primary streams of research.

(1) How does mental health impact adverse health events (medical trauma), and what are common psychological outcomes following such events?
Understanding psychological sequelae (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), delirium) of adverse health events such as the onset of a life threatening illness, major surgery and associated complications, admission to the intensive care unit, and COVID-19. Dr. El-Gabalawy is interested in what pre- and peri-event factors might contribute to particular outcomes. A significant proportion of her research focuses on perioperative mental health.

(2) What are feasible interventions to improve health outcomes in adverse health events?
Developing targeted interventions aimed at reducing negative psychological outcomes following adverse health events. For example, Dr. El-Gabalawy is interested in perioperative psychological interventions using medical technologies (e.g., virtual reality) aimed at improving both mental and physical health surgical outcomes.

(3) What is the impact of anxiety and trauma-related disorders on physical health and chronic pain?
Understanding the relationships between anxiety and trauma-related disorders (e.g., PTSD) and physical health conditions including chronic pain. These investigations include understanding co-occurrence, mechanisms that elucidate co-occurrence, and correlates/outcomes of co-occurring conditions (e.g., healthcare utilization).

Research Modalities

Dr. El-Gabalawy conducts both primary clinical data driven studies including randomized clinical trials and secondary epidemiological studies using rich data repositories such as Statistics Canada. She also collaborates on a number of qualitative studies.
Dr. El-Gabalawy's publications can be found on google scholar or research gate.

Funding

PictureDr. El-Gabalawy and colleague trialing virtual reality software
As primary investigator, Dr. El-Gabalawy receives generous research support from:
  • Winnipeg Foundation Innovation Fund
  • University of Manitoba
  • Tri-Agency New Frontiers
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  • National Research Council of Canada
  • Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine Academic Oversight Committee
  • Health Sciences Centre Foundation
  • Chronic Pain Network

Media

Dr. El-Gabalawy regularly provides print, radio and live media interviews. Media requests can be sent directly to her or through the University of Manitoba or Shared Health Communications Office. She also occasionally publishes through media platforms (e.g., op-ed, opinion).

Selected Op-Ed/Opinion Publications

El-Gabalawy, R., Reynolds, K., & Mota, N. (January 10, 2021). The silver linings of COVID-19. Published on CBC. Accessed here.
 
El-Gabalawy, R. & Sommer, J. (March 23, 2021). COVID-19’s parallel pandemic: Why we need a mental health “vaccine”. Published in The Conversation. Accessed here.


Selected Media Features

1) UM Today (Feb 1 2024): "The Winnipeg Foundation Innovation Fund supports cutting edge projects"
2) CTV News (March 20 2023): "New online portal helping people deal with chronic pain"
3) Shared Health Manitoba (Feb 28 2023): "Toward health: the broad reach of Clinical Health Psychology"
4) UM Today (May 4 2021): "Rehearsing for reality"
5) UM Today (Oct 22 2020): "UM studies show negative effects of surgical cancellations and postponements"