Researcher

Title

• Adjunct Professor, School of kinesiology and physical activity sciences (EKSAP), Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, 2017

• Postdoctoral, Social determinants of health, Institut Armand-Frappier (IAF) & Research centre of the Sainte Justine university hospital, 2015
• Postdoctoral, Health Education, McGill University, 2013
• Invited researcher, Bowling Green State University (BGSU), United States, 2012
• Ph.D., Sport, Exercise, and Health Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, 2012
• M.Sc., Sport, Exercise, and Health Psychology, Distance Education National University (UNED), Madrid, Spain, 2002
• Cognitive Psychology complementary training, Buenos Aires National University (UBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2000
• B.Sc., Educational Psychology, Lomas de Zamora National University (UNLZ), Lomas de Zamora, Argentina, 1995

Researcher Sandra Peláez is specialised in behaviour change aimed at health promotion and prevention of chronic and acute diseases (e.g., adherence to prescribed treatment). She is particularly interested in the influence of the psychosocial determinants of health. In collaboration with colleagues from the Research Center, as well as professionals from other research centres, Sandra Peláez has developed: (a) a guided self-management framework to understand how different stakeholders’ approach health-related issues and (b) interventions that better meet stakeholders’ needs.

• Behaviour change
• Guided self-management
• Psychosocial determinants of health
• Patient-physician partnership
• Knowledge translation
• Educational and motivational health-related interventions
• Patient-led strategies
• Patient-physician partnership
• Equity, diversity, and inclusion

Career Summary

Researcher Sandra Peláez is an educational psychologist by training, specialised in behaviour change aimed at health promotion and chronic and acute disease prevention. She completed her education with a master's degree (Spain) and doctoral and postdoctoral studies (Quebec). Throughout her career, she has trained and mentored health care students interested in qualitative research as a methodology to gain insight into the perspectives of patients, physicians, and healthcare professionals.

Sandra Peláez is a researcher at the CIRCUIT center of the CHU Sainte-Justine (Pediatric Center for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation), which offers innovative strategies for the treatment or prevention of cardiovascular disease in children. She also actively collaborates with the Empowering Next-Generation Researchers in Perinatal and Child Health/Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program (ENRICH/CCHCSP) program as a member of the curriculum development and selection committees.

Awards and Distinctions

• 2012-2014, Postdoctoral fellowship, Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture
• 2007-2011, Doctoral fellowship, Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture
• 2010, 2007, 2006, University award, Concordia University

Major financing

• Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada (IRSC), Mesurer l'engagement de la famille dans les soins : l'étude FAME, 100 000 $, 2022-2023; NPI: Michael Godfarb ; Co-I: K. Burns, S. Debigare, M. Gulati, G. Graffigna, & S. Peláez ; Knowledge user: N. Fosterrôle 
• Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada (IRSC), Effets de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur les résultats des patients dans un programme provincial de ventilation à domicile, 100 000 $, 2022-2023; NPI: Marta Kamiski ; Co-I:      P. Basil, A. Benedetti, F. Maltais, C. Minville, S. Peláez, & D. Zielinski
• Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada (IRSC), Encourager les chercheurs de la prochaine génération en périnatalité et en santé infantile, 2 400 000 $, 2021-2023; NPI: Susan Samuels ; Co-PI: B. Andrade, M. Archibald, E. Benchimol, C. Birken, R. Chafe, A. N. Chaillet, J. Jans, R. Keijzer, A. King, M. King, P. Mandhane, N. Poonai, T. Regnault, B. Salami, J. Stinson, J., C. Tersigni, R. Thomson, C. Walsh, L. Wiart Prichard, & J. Zwicker ; Co-I : … S. Peláez…
• Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada (IRSC), Projet SunFit : prévention du cancer de la peau par la modification des facteurs de risque comportementaux ciblant les pratiques d'exposition au soleil et aux ultraviolets en utilisant des approches spécifiques au sexe/genre et à la communauté, 193 315 $, 2022-2023; NPI: Ivan Litvinov ; Co-I: S. Peláez, W. Gulliver; I. Turchin; E. Netchiporouk; J. Claveau; R. Gniadecki; T. Salopek; W. Miller; E. Rahme ; Collaborators: J. Logan; F. Lagacé; S. Conte; M.B. Rosa; F. Ghazawi; Derstenfeld; F. Al-Badarin; S. Nath; S. Zhou; B. Rehany; J. Roesler; M. Toofany; A. Abduelmula; H.H. Xu
• Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada (IRSC), Encourager la confiance dans le vaccin COVID-19 chez les migrants, les femmes et les personnes handicapées vivant avec le VIH ou souffrant de maladies rhumatismales, 99 500 $, 2021-2023; NPI : Inés Colmegna ; Co-PI:     S. Peláez & C. Costiniuk ; Co-I: L. Ruppenthal, L. Merry, A. Mathelier, & V. Valerio ; Knowledge user: J. Légaré, A. Dokumaci, & G.H. Godin        
• Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada (IRSC), L'association entre les attitudes, les préoccupations et les comportements liés au COVID-19 par rapport aux politiques de santé publique : une approche de la science du comportement pour optimiser les stratégies politiques et de communication afin d'améliorer les résultats sanitaires, économiques et de qualité de vie (l’étude iCARE), 638 750 $, 2021-2023; NPI:            Kim L. Lavoie & Simon L. Bacon ; Co-I: S.D. Aaron, T.A. Barnett, A. Bélanger-Gravel, S. Bondy, L. Booij, J. Bourbeau, T.S. Campbell, L.E. Carlson, K.M. Corace, O. Drouin, R.P. Fleet, G.E. Garber, L. Gauvin, J.L. Gordon, V. Gosselin-Boucher, S. Gupta, C.M. Herba, L. Kakinami, S. Peláez, L. Pilote, P. Poirier, J. Presseau, E.M. Puterman, J.A.  Rash, S.H. Stewart, J. Stojanovic, & M.T. Vallis
• Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada (IRSC), Développement d'interventions comportementales complémentaires à la chirurgie bariatrique pour améliorer le changement de comportement à long terme et les résultats, 110 430 $, 2020-2021; NPI: Simon L. Bacon ; Co-I: K.L. Lavoie, A. Alberga, J. Cassandre, L.A. Mercier, S. Peláez, R. Yousefi ; Collaborators : E. Dumais-Roy, M. Goulet, & L. Lessard ; Knowledge user: Garneau, P., Gauthier, A., Raymond-Carrier, S., Marion, P., & Pescarus, R.
• Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada (IRSC), Développer une intervention guidée pour améliorer l'activité physique dans la sclérodermie : l'étude SPIN-PACE, 40 000 $, 2019-2020; NPI: Ian Shrier; Co-PI: B.D. Thombs & S. Peláez; Co-I: S. Bartlett, M. Hudson, L. Mouthon, & L. Kwakkenbos ; Knowledge user:        M. Sauve, C. Fortune, D. Goddard, K. Gottesman, G. Guillot, M. Hudson, C. Leite, K. Nielsen, A. Portales, & J. Welling  

*Corresponding author; ꬷsupervised student

Presentations

• Peláez, S., Gosselin-Boucher, V., Valerio, V., Labbe, S., Hazel, S., Lavoie, K., Ward, B., & Colmegna, I. (October, 2019). Causes of Influenza Vaccine Hesitancy in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Adults with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. 2019 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, US.
• De Cillis, M.V., Semerano, A., Pérez Dávila, A., Bohr, A., Peláez, S., & Scheines, E. (October, 2018). Implementation of a health diary for patients with fibromyalgia. 2018 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, US.
• Peláez, S., Alexandre, S., Roberge, J.B., Henderson, M., & Barnett, T.A. (June, 2018). Life in the time of screens: Parent perspectives on a 24-hour no screen-time challenge. Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise Conference (QRSE), Vancouver, BC, Canada.
• Peláez, S., Hendricks, KN, Safarian, J.K., Merry, L.A., Redden, K.L., & Gagnon, A.J. (October, 2017). Facilitators to migrant women maternity care: Health care professionals’ perspectives. 23rd Canadian Conference on Global Health, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
• Peláez, S., Alexander, S. Roberge, J.B., Henderson, H., Bigras, J.L. Barnett, T.A. (October, 2016). A 24-hour no screen time challenge: A qualitative inquiry regarding barriers and facilitators to increase physical activity from the parents’ perspective. Oral presentation at the Canadian Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (CACPR), Montreal, QC, Canada.

Publications

• Brosseau, D.C.ꬷ, Peláez, S., Annang, B., & Körner, A. (2022, in press). Contextualizing measurement: Establishing a framework for the assessment of cancer-related dyadic efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology Cumin, J.ꬷ, Peláez, S., & Mottron, L. (2021, in press). Positive and differential diagnosis of autism in verbal women of typical intelligence: A Delphi study. Autism. DOI: 10.1177/13623613211042719 Colmegna, I., Valerio, V., Gosselin-Boucher, V., Lacoste, G., Lavoie, K.L., Hazel, E., Ward, B., Hudson, M. & Peláez, S.* (2021). Barriers and facilitators to vaccine hesitancy in rheumatoid arthritis: A qualitative study. Rheumatology, 60(11), 5257-5270. DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab471 
• Merry, L., & Peláez, S. (2021). Knowledge translation and better health and healthcare for migrants in Canada: What is the responsibility of health funders and researchers? Canadian Family Medicine, 67(6), 403-405. DOI: 10.46747/cfp.6706403
• Tremblay, S., Castiglione, S., Audet, L.A., Desmarais, M., Horace, M., & Peláez, S.* (2021). Conducting qualitative research to respond to COVID-19 challenges: Reflections for the present and beyond. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. DOI: 10.1177/16094069211009679
• Milette, K.ꬷ, Thombs, B.D., Dewez, S., Körner, A., & Peláez, S.* (2019). Scleroderma patient perspectives on social support from close social relationships. Disability and Rehabilitation, 42(11), 1588-1598. DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2018.1531151
• Farnesi, B.C.ꬷ, Ducharme, F.M., Blais, L., Collin, J., Lavoie, K.L., Bacon, S.L., McKinney, M., & Peláez, S.* (2019). Guided asthma self-management or patient self-adjustment? Using patients’ narratives to better understand adherence to asthma treatment. Patient Preference and Adherence, 13, 587-597. DOI: 10.2147/PPA.S195585
• Peláez, S., Bacon, S.L., Lacoste, G., & Lavoie, K.L. (2016). How can adherence to asthma medication be enhanced? Triangulation of key asthma stakeholders' perspectives. Journal of Asthma, 53(10), 1076-1084. DOI: 10.3109/02770903.2016.1165696
• Peláez, S., Alexandre, S., Roberge, J.B., Henderson, M., & Barnett, T.A. (2016). Life in the age of screens: Parent perspectives on a 24-hour no screen-time challenge. Clinical Obesity, 6(4), 273-280. DOI: 10.1111/cob.12150
• Peláez, S., Lamontagne, A.J., Collin, J., A., Gauthier, A., Grad, R.M., Blais, L., Lavoie, K.L., Bacon, S.L., Ernst, P., Guay, H., McKinney, M., & Ducharme, F.M. (2015). Patients’ perspective of barriers and facilitators to taking long-term controller medication for asthma: A novel taxonomy. BMC Pulmonary Medicine, 15, 42. DOI: 10.1186/s12890-015-0044-9