David Ponka
MD, CM, CCFP(EM), FCFP, MSc
Affiliate Investigator
Professor
Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa
Director
Besrour Centre for Global Family Medicine, College of Family Physicians of Canada
About:
Dr. David Ponka is a family doctor in Ottawa and a Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa. Dr. Ponka has extensive experience in caring for vulnerable and migrant populations in Canada and abroad in nations such as Haiti, Chad and Guyana, where he tries to support integrating research into the new discipline of family medicine.
Dr. Ponka currently sits as the Director of the Besrour Centre for Global Family Medicine at the College of Family Physicians of Canada. He has also served as the Besrour Centre Research Director and the Chair of the Besrour Centre Advisory Council.
He has served as a Medical Advisor to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and is a member of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Knowledge Translation and Health Technology Assessment in Health Equity.
Dr. Ponka earned his medical degree from McGill, holds a CCFP(EM) and FCFP, and has a Master of Science degree in International Primary Care from the University of London. There, he focused on alcohol harms using GIS analysis.
He enjoys raising his three young girls in Ottawa to think and act as global citizens.
Research Interests:
Global health, vulnerable populations, integrated primary care, medical education, spatial analysis, home visits, end of life care.
Select Publications:
Dahrouge S, Seale E, Hogg W, Russell G, Younger J, Muggah E, Ponka D, Mercer J. (2016). A Comprehensive Assessment of Family Physician Gender and Quality of Care: A Cross-Sectional Analysis in Ontario, Canada. Medical Care.
Arya N, Gibson C, Ponka D, Haq C, Hansel S, Dahlman B, Rouleau K. (2017). Family medicine around the world: overview by region: The Besrour Papers: a series on the state of family medicine in the world. Canadian Family Physician.
Ponka D, Agbata E, Kendall C, Stergiopoulos V, Mendonca O, Magwood O, Saad A, Larson B, Sun A, Arya N, Hannigan T, Thavorn K, Andermann A, Tugwell P, Pottie K. (2020). The effectiveness of case management interventions for the homeless, vulnerably housed and persons with lived experience: A systematic review. PLos One.
Ponka D, Rouleau K, Arya N, Redwood-Campbell L, Woollard R, Siedlecki B, Dunikowsk L. (2015). Developing the evidentiary basis for family medicine in the global context: The Besrour Papers: A series on the state of family medicine in the world. Canadian Family Physician.
Ponka D, Coffman M, Fraser-Barclay KE, Fortier R, Howe A, Kidd M, Lennon RP, Madaki J, Mash B, Mohd Sidik S, van Weel C, Zawaly K, Goodyear-Smith F. (2020). Fostering global primary care research: a capacity-building approach. BMJ Global Health.
Contact:
dponka@uottawa.ca