Elham Esfandiari, PhD
Elham completed her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Prosthetics and Orthotics in 2011 in Iran, where she became aware of the lack of educational resources available for people managing their amputations. Motivated by this realization, Elham embarked on a mission to design an online self-management program for individuals with amputations. To pursue this goal, she commenced her PhD studies at UBC in 2016 and successfully completed in March 2022. Since October 2022, Elham has been employed as a postdoctoral fellow at UBC, working under the supervision of Dr. Maureen Ashe. Her research focus has shifted towards social prescribing, which is an integrated health and social model of care. Social prescribing aims to connect individuals with community resources, including social groups, arts, and physical activities, as part of their overall care plan. In her current role, Elham conducts in-depth semi-structured interviews with social providers and individuals who have accessed social prescribing in British Columbia. Through these interviews, she gains valuable insights into the practical implementation of social prescribing and gathers information about the local context. This knowledge will be instrumental in developing an online program to assist social prescribers in referring individuals to appropriate programs. Additionally, the findings from her research will contribute to guiding future research and practice in social prescribing, not only in British Columbia but also in other parts of Canada.