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Headshot of Kim Widger

Kimberley Widger

Title: Nursing Research Associate, Paediatric Advanced Care Team
Designations: RN, PhD
Pronouns: She/her
Email: kim.widger@sickkids.ca
External Email: kim.widger@utoronto.ca
U of T Positions: Associate Professor, Pediatric Palliative Care, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing
Chair Positions: Tier 2 Canada Research Chair
Other Positions: Adjunct Scientist, Lifespan Program, ICES

Research Positions

Project Investigator, Child Health Evaluative Sciences

Biography

Professor Kimberley Widger comes from a strong clinical background as a paediatric oncology nurse, then Clinical Nurse Specialist in pediatric palliative care; providing a solid foundation for her research. She effectively leads large multisite teams in conducting clinically relevant research and translating findings into improved care for seriously ill children and families. As one of the few paediatric palliative care nurse researchers in Canada, she will continue to make significant contributions to the international understanding and delivery of high quality paediatric palliative care and build capacity for the next generation of researchers.

Research

Widger’s research is focused on the quality of pediatric palliative care. Her vision is that every family of a child diagnosed with a life-threatening illness receives optimal pediatric palliative care throughout the illness regardless of where they receive care and the outcome of the illness. To achieve this vision, the overarching goal of her program of research is to identify, examine, and enhance the structures, processes, and outcomes of palliative care provided to children living with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

Education and experience

  • 2019–present: Associate Professor, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto
  • 2013–present: Nursing Research Associate, Paediatric Advanced Care Team, SickKids
  • 2013–2019: Assistant Professor, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
  • 2012: Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Nursing and Child Health Evaluation Sciences Program, Hospital for Sick Children and Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
  • 2006–2012: Doctor of Philosophy, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
  • 1999–2006: Clinical Nurse Specialist / Care Team Coordinator, Pediatric Palliative Care Service, IWK Health Center, Halifax, NS
  • 1995–1999: Staff Nurse, Pediatric Oncology, Alberta Children’s Hospital, Calgary, AB
  • 1994–1996: Master of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
  • 1992–1994: Staff Nurse, Pediatrics, American Mobile Nurses, USA
  • 1991–1992: Staff Nurse, Pediatric Oncology, Alberta Children’s Hospital, Calgary, AB
  • 1986–1991: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (With Distinction), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK

Achievements

  • 2022: Award of Excellence in Paediatric Palliative Care, Hospice Palliative Care Ontario
  • 2020–present: Editorial Board Member, Cancer Nursing
  • 2019: Pediatric Award of Excellence, Canadian Network of Palliative Care for Children and Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association
  • 2018: Dorothy M. Pringle Award for Excellence in Nursing Research, Sigma Theta Tau International, Lambda Pi-At-Large Chapter, Toronto
  • 2017–2018: Council of Canadian Academies, Medical Assistance in Dying Panel Member – Workgroup on MAiD for Mature Minors
  • 2016: Betty Burcher Mentoring Award, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto
  • 2015–2019: Associate Editor, Knowledge, Education, and Training Section, BMC Palliative Care
  • 2014–2017: Career Development Award, Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program and CIHR Strategy for Patient Oriented Research
  • 2012: Fellowship (Post Doctoral), CIHR
  • 2009–2011: Fellowship (Doctoral), CIHR

Publications

  1. Widger, K., Medeiros, C., Trenholm, M., Zuniga-Villanueva, G., & Streuli, J. (2019). Indicators used to assess the impact of specialized pediatric palliative care: A scoping review. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 22(2), 199-219
  2. Widger, K., Brennenstuhl, S., Duc, J., Tourangeau, A., & Rapoport, A. (2019). Factor structure of the quality of children’s palliative care instrument (QCPCI) when completed by parents of children with cancer, BMC Palliative Care, 18(23).
  3. Widger, K., Wolfe, J., Friedrichsdorf, S., Pole, J. D., Brennenstuhl, S., Liben, Greenberg, M., Bouffet, E., Siden, H., Husain, A., Whitlock, J. A., Leyden, M., Rapoport, A. (2018). National impact of the EPEC-Pediatrics train-the-trainer model for delivering education on pediatric palliative care, Journal of Palliative Medicine, 21(9), 1249-1256.
  4. Widger, K., Sutradhar, R., Rapoport, A., Vadeboncoeur, C., Zeltzer, S., Kassam, A., Nelson, K., Liu, Y., Wolfe, J., Earle, C., Pole, J., Gupta, S. (2018). Predictors of specialized pediatric palliative care involvement and impact on patterns of end-of-life care in children with cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology, 36(8), 801-807.
  5. Widger, K., Davies, D., Rapoport, A., Vadeboncoer, C., Liben, S., Sarpal, A., Stenekes, S., Cyr, C., Dauost, L., Gregoire, M.C., Robertson, M., Hodgson-Viden, H., Laflamme, J., & Siden, H. (2016). Pediatric palliative care in Canada in 2012: A cross-sectional descriptive study. CMAJ Open, 4(4), e562-568.

View a full list of Kimberley Widger's publications

  • 2022–2028: The KIdney aNd blooD prESsure ouTcomes - Determining best fOllow-up in hospitalized Children (KINDEST-DOC) study: A national study of the FILTR-CKD study group, Co-Principal Investigator, CIHR, $1,074,825 CAD
  • 2021–2022: Family Experiences with Clinical Team Meetings: A Scoping Review, Co-Investigator, Kindred Foundation, $7,500 CAD
  • 2021–2022: What Matters Most: Identifying a Core Indicator Set for Quality Pediatric Palliative Care, Principal Investigator, CIHR, $100,000 CAD
  • 2020–2021: Understanding Approaches to Decision-Making among Caregivers of Children with Medical Complexity: A Qualitative Study, Co-Investigator, Norman Saunders Complex Care Initiative, $25,335 CAD
  • 2019–2024: Predictors of Pediatric Palliative Care Involvement and its Impact on Healthcare Intensity, Utilization, and Cost, Principal Investigator, CIHR, $271,576 CAD
  • 2019–2021: Development and Validation of a Patient-Reported Outcome Measure for Children with Chronic Kidney Disease (PRO-Kid), Co-Investigator, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba Operating Grant, $60,000 CAD
  • 2018–2026: Patterns of Pediatric Palliative Care for All Children’s Costs, Outcomes, Heath-care Utilization and Non-utilization Trajectories (PPC-ACCOUNT), Principal Investigator, CIHR, $657,900 CAD
     
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