معرفی
Dr. Louisa Polak serves as a Visiting Researcher at the Primary Care Unit (PCU) within the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge. With over 30 years of clinical experience as a General Practitioner and practice partner in Essex, she established GP training programs and taught Cambridge medical students through practice placements, seminars, and examinations.
Educational Background:
- Qualified in Medicine at University of Cambridge and University of Oxford
- Clinical training completed in Edinburgh
- PhD in Sociology (part-time) from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (2017), focusing on qualitative analysis of preventive medication decision-making
Research Interests: Dr. Polak's work centers on palliative and end-of-life care in community settings, with specialized focus on advance care planning as a form of shared decision-making. She employs qualitative methodologies to investigate patient perspectives on preventive treatments like statins, symptom management, cross-cultural bereavement, and communication about uncertainty in future care planning. Her research directly bridges clinical practice and academic inquiry through the Palliative and End of Life Care Group in Cambridge (PELiCam).
Awards:
- Joint winner of Jerry Morris prize for outstanding research (2017)
Professional Activities: As an active member of PELiCam, Dr. Polak supports qualitative research through data analysis assistance and co-authoring publications. She regularly presents findings at UK Medical Sociology conferences and contributes to academic discourse through essays and opinion pieces on community-based palliative care.
