Faculty of Health Professions
School of Health Administration
5161 George Street, Suite 700, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2

Faculty


Dr. Sara Kirk, PhD
Associate Professor
Canada Research Chair in Health Services Research

T: (902) 494-8440
F: (902) 494-7567
E: Sara.Kirk@dal.ca    

Dr. Sara Kirk 

Biography

Sara Kirk holds a Canada Research Chair in Health Services Research at the School of Health Administration, with cross-appointments In the School of Health and Human Performance and the IWK Health Centre. Her research program uses a social-ecological approach to understand lifestyle factors influencing health status and health services utilization, particulary in relation to excessive weight gain. Sara is also the Dalhousie Site Principal Investigator for the Atlantic Regional Training Centre.

Sara obtained her Bachelor of Science Degree in dietetics from Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK and spent 10 years working as a dietitian in the UK health system, where she specialised in mental health, obesity and eating disorders. She then received her PhD in nutrition and psychology from the University of Leeds, UK before moving into a research position with the Nutritional Epidemiology Group at the University of Leeds. She moved to Canada in 2006 to take up her CRC position.

 

Research Interests

  • Lifestyle factors influencing health status and health utilization, in particular weight status
  • Social-ecological approaches to health
  • Applied health research
  • Health policy

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Publications

Recent Publications
  • Whelan AM, Kirk S, Jurgens TM, Foy E. Green tea for weight loss and weight maintenance in overweight or obese adults [protocol]. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2010) issue 7.

  • Kirk SFL, Cramm CL, Price SL, Penney TL, Jarvie L, Power H (2010). The state of obesity management for women giving birth in Atlantic Canada. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 14:453–458.

  • Flodgren, G., Deane, K., Dickinson, H. O., Kirk, S., Alberti, H., Beyer, F. R., et al. (2010). Interventions to change the behaviour of health professionals and the organisation of care to promote weight reduction in overweight and obese people. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, March (3) Retrieved from http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD000984/frame.html

  • Greenwood DC, Alwan N, Boylan S, Cade JE, Charvill J, Chipps C, Cooke MS, Dolby VA, Hay AWM, Kassam S, Kirk SFL, Konje JC, Potdar N, Shires S, Simpson N, Taub N, Thomas JD, Walker J, White KLM, Wild CP (2010) Caffeine intake during pregnancy, late miscarriage and stillbirth. European Journal of Epidemiology, published online March 21st 2010.

  • Kirk, S. F. L., & Penney, T. L. (2010). Managing obesity in healthcare settings: Stigma or support? Obesity and Weight Management, 6(1), 21-24

  • Kirk SFL, Penney TL, McHugh TL (2010) Characterizing the obesogenic environment: The state of the evidence with directions for future research. Obesity Reviews, 11, 2, 109-117

  • Kirk SFL, Penney TL, Freedhoff Y (2010) Running away with the facts on food and fatness (invited commentary). Public Health Nutrition, January 2010, 13, 1, 147-148

  • Kirk S, Bornstein S, Navarro P, Swanson E (2009). Effective Non-clinical Interventions to Prevent and Treat Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Newfoundland & Labrador. St. John’s, NL: Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research, Memorial University. Available from www.nlcahr.mun.ca/research/chrsp/EIC_Childhood_Obesity_Full_Report.pdf

  • Cade JE, Kirk SFL, Nelson P, Hollins L, Deakin T, Greenwood DC, Harvey EL (2009). Can peer educators influence healthy eating in people with diabetes? Results of a randomised controlled trial. Diabetic Medicine, 26, 1048-1054.

  • McConnon A, Kirk SFL, Ransley JKR (2009). Process evaluation of an Internet-based resource for weight control – use and views of an obese sample. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour, 41, 4, 261-267.

  • Kirk SFL, Cramm CL, Price SL, Penney TL, Jarvie L, Power H (2009) BMI: A Vital Sign for Patients and Health Professionals. Canadian Nurse Journal, 105(1), 25-38

  • Care Study Working group (co-author) (2008) Maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy and risk of fetal growth restriction: a large prospective observational study. British Medical Journal, 337;a2332.

  • Boylan SM, Cade JE, Kirk SFL, Greenwood DC, White KLM, Shires, S, Simpson NAB, Wild CP, Hay AWM (2008) Assessing caffeine exposure in pregnant women. British Journal of Nutrition, published online 11 March 2008.

  • Kirk S (2008) Researchers and Doctors must work together to manage obesity. Doctors Nova Scotia Magazine, April 2008, 7, 1, p11

  • Kirk SFL, Cockbain A, Beazley J (2008) Obesity in Tonga: a cross-sectional comparative study of perceptions of body size and beliefs about obesity in lay people and nurses. Obesity Research and Clinical Practice, 2, 35-41

  • McConnon A, Kirk SFL, Cockroft JC, Harvey EL, Greenwood DC, Thomas JD, Ransley JK, Bojke L (2007) The Internet for weight control in an obese sample: results of a randomized controlled trial. BMC Health Services Research, 7:206

  • National Institute of Clinical Excellence (2006). Obesity: the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children. http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG43 (member of working group).

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