Veena Sriram is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair Tier 2 in Global Health Policy, with a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) and the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) at the University of British Columbia. Her research sits at the intersection of global health, social science and public policy, and her interests are in understanding power and politics in health policy processes in low- and middle-income countries. She draws upon theory and methodologies from the social sciences in conducting her research, and has a particular focus on qualitative approaches. Her work has been published in journals such as the BMJ, Social Science and Medicine, BMJ Global Health and Health Policy and Planning.

Dr. Sriram has a particular focus on health workforce policy and health sector governance. She has conducted extensive research at the national and state level in India, exploring a range of health policy and system questions, including medical specialization, health workforce policy development, the functioning of national health authorities and emergency care systems. She has also contributed to expanding the application of theory and concepts to study power in health policy and systems research. Dr. Sriram also writes regularly on contemporary issues in global health policy in forums such as International Health Policies, and is involved with Health Systems Global and Emerging Voices for Global Health.

Dr. Sriram has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. She has previously been awarded fellowships from the American Institute of Indian Studies and the U.S. Fulbright Program. She has led the design and execution of qualitative research funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (Fogarty International Center and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality), the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She has also consulted for the World Health Organization.

Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications 

Sriram, V., Brophy, S. A., Sharma, K., Elias, M. A., & Mishra, A. (2023). Associations, unions and everything in between: contextualising the role of representative health worker organisations in policy. BMJ Global Health, 8(9). (Link)

Essex R, Brophy S A, Sriram V. Strikes, patient outcomes, and the cost of failing to act BMJ 2023; 380. (Link)

Kalocsányiová, E., Essex, R., Brophy, S. A., & Sriram, V. (2023). Social media opposition to the 2022/2023 UK nurse strikes. Nursing Inquiry, e12600. (Link)

Brubacher, L.J., Hasan, M.Z., Sriram, V. et al. Investigating the influence of institutions, politics, organizations, and governance on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia, Canada: a jurisdictional case study protocol. Health Res Policy Sys 20, 74 (2022). (Link)

Bandara S, Bhaumik S, Sriram V, et al. Stronger together: a new pandemic agenda for South Asia. BMJ Global Health, 2021. 6 (8): 1-3. (Link)

Sriram V, VR Keshri, K Kumbhar. The impact of colonial-era policies on health workforce regulation in India: lessons for contemporary reform. Human Resources for Health, 2021. 19 (1), 1-10. (Link)

Sriram V, S Hariyani, U Lalani, RT Buddhiraju, P Pandey, S Bennett. Stakeholder perspectives on proposed policies to improve distribution and retention of doctors in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, India. BMC Health Services Research, 2021. 21 (1), 1-16. (Link)

Sonderegger S, Bennett S, Sriram V, Lalani U, Hariyani S, Roberton T. Visualizing the drivers of an effective health workforce: a detailed, interactive logic model. Human Resources for Health, 2021. 19 (1), 1-15 (Link)

Mishra A, Elias M and Sriram V. ‘This is a draconian law’: Negotiating policy reforms by professional medical associations in India’ (Journal of Health Policy, Politics and Law, In Press) (Link)

Brophy S, Sriram V. ‘Recontextualizing Physicians Associations: Revisiting Context, Scope, Methodology’ (Journal of Health Policy, Politics and Law, In Press) (Link)

Sriram V, Baru R, Hyder A, Bennett S. Bureaucracy, power and professional medical councils in India. Social Science & Medicine. 2020 Jul;256:113038. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113038. Link

Keshri VR, Sriram V, Baru R. Reforming the regulation of medical education, professionals and practice in India. BMJ Glob Health. 2020; 5(8): e002765 Link

Sheikh K, Sriram V, Bigdeli M, Soucat A. What are the governance capacities of Ministries of Health? A multi-dimensional framework. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2020 Mar 15. doi: 10.34172/ijhpm.2020.39 Link

Sriram V, Bennett S. Strengthening medical specialisation policy in low-income and middle-income countries BMJ Global Health 2020;5:e002053 Link

Bhalla K, Sriram V, Arora R, Ahuja R, Varghese M, Agrawal G, Tiwari G, Mohan D. The care and transport of trauma victims by layperson emergency medical systems: a qualitative study in Delhi, India. BMJ Glob Health. 2019 Nov 19;4(6):e001963.  Link

Dalglish S, Sriram V, Scott K, Rodriguez D. A framework for medical power in two case studies of health policymaking in India and Niger. Glob Public Health. 2019 Apr;14(4):542-554. doi: 10.1080/17441692.2018.1457705 Link

Sriram V, Hyder A, Bennett S. The Making of a New Medical Specialty: A Policy Analysis of the Development of Emergency Medicine in India. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2018 Nov 1;7(11):993-1006. doi: 10.15171/ijhpm.2018.55 Link

Sriram V, Baru R, Bennett S. Regulating recognition and training for new medical specialties in India: the case of emergency medicine. Health Policy Plan. 2018 Sep 1;33(7):840-852. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czy055 Link

Sriram V, George A, Baru R, Bennett S. Socialization, legitimation and the transfer of biomedical knowledge to low- and middle-income countries: Analyzing the case of emergency medicine in India. Int J Equity Health. 2018 Sep 24;17(1):142. doi: 10.1186/s12939-018-0824-y Link

Sriram V, Bennett S, Raman VR, Sheikh K. Developing the National Knowledge Platform in India: A Policy and Institutional Analysis. Health Res Policy Syst. 2018 Feb 20;16(1):13. doi: 10.1186/s12961-018-0283-3 Link

Sriram V, Scott K, Topp SM, Mishra A, Schaaf M, Rajasulochana S, Flores W. 10 Best Resources on Power and Health Systems. Health Policy Plan. 2018 May 1;33(4):611-621. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czy008 [Top accessed article between 2016-2018] Link

Sriram V, Gururaj G, Razzak JA, Naseer R, Hyder AA. Comparative analysis of three pre-hospital emergency medical services organizations in India and Pakistan, Public Health. 2016 Aug;137:169-75. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2016.02.022. Epub 2016 Apr 12. Link

George A, Mehra V, Scott K, Sriram V. Community Participation in Health Systems Research: A Systematic Review Assessing the State of Research, the Nature of Interventions Involved and the Features of Engagement with Communities. PLoS ONE, October 2015, 10(10): e0141091 Link

Mavalankar D, Callahan K, Sriram V, Singh P and Desai A. Qualitative Evaluation of Life Saving Anesthetic Skills Training Program for Emergency Obstetric Care in Gujarat, India. Int J Gynaecol. Obstet. 2009 Dec;107(3):283-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ijgo.2009.09.007. Epub 2009 Oct 20 Link

Mavalankar D and Sriram V. Provision of Anaesthesia Services for Emergency Obstetric Care. through Task Shifting in South Asia, Reprod Health Matters. 2009 May;17(33):21-31. doi: 10.1016/S0968-8080(09)33433-3. Link

Selected Reports and Book Chapters

Brophy S. Sriram V, and  Zong H. Heroes on Strike: Trends in Global Health Worker Protests During COVID-19. Accountability Research Center, Accountability Note No. 10. 2022 Link 

Sriram V. Sheikh K. Bigdeli M. Addressing Governance Challenges and Capacities in Ministries of Health. Editor – Sandy Campbell. Health Systems Governance Collaborative and Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, World Health Organization, 2020 Link

Sriram, V. Brokering policies and politics for human resources for health. In ‘A Health Policy and Systems Research Reader on Human Resources for Health’ (Editors: Asha George, Kerry Scott, Veloshnee Govender). Alliance for Health Policy and Systems, World Health Organization, 2017 Link

Public Writing

Canada can’t stand by while India’s medical system collapses, The Globe and Mail, April 27, 2021

If South Asia’s pandemic isn’t addressed as a whole, India’s COVID-19 crisis could be just the beginning, The Globe and Mail, May 13, 2021

Academic Editor, PLOS Global Public Health Editorial Board