Pamela Anne Ratner (born 1955, Vancouver, Canada) is a Canadian health scientist and professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia (UBC).[2] She is widely recognized for her pioneering research on intimate partner violence, which was among the earliest population-based studies to document the incidence of wife abuse and its association with women's mental health.[3]
Ratner was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1955. She completed her nursing diploma at Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing in 1979. She later earned a Certificate in Critical Care Nursing (1984), a BSc in Nursing with distinction (1989), an MN (1991), and a PhD in Nursing (1995) from the University of Alberta. Her doctoral dissertation, Societal responses as moderators of the health consequences of wife abuse, examined the role of social responses in mediating health outcomes for women experiencing intimate partner violence.[4]
In 1992, Ratner earned a Certificate in Epidemiology from Tufts University. She subsequently undertook postdoctoral training at the University of British Columbia from 1995 to 1998 in epidemiology, health promotion, and preventive medicine. She was the first nurse in Canada to be awarded a three-year Medical Research Council of Canada Fellowship (Health Research) for postdoctoral study; the Medical Research Council would later become the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).[2]
Research on intimate partner violence
Ratner's 1993 publication, The incidence of wife abuse and mental health status in abused wives in Edmonton, Alberta[3], was one of the first community-based studies to estimate the prevalence of physical and psychological abuse among women and examine its relationship to mental health outcomes. Based on a population-based survey, the study reported that 10.6% of women had experienced physical abuse, and 13.1% psychological abuse. Women who experienced abuse reported significantly higher levels of somatic symptoms, anxiety, insomnia, depression, and social dysfunction compared to non-abused women. The study also identified key risk factors, including recent marital separation, younger age, short duration of relationship, and partners' unemployment or underemployment. It further documented elevated rates of alcohol dependency among abused women.
The paper has been cited extensively and remains influential in both academic research and policy discussions related to intimate partner violence and women's health.[3]
Academic career
At the University of British Columbia:
Professor, School of Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science
Head pro tem, Department of Educational Studies, Faculty of Education
Senior Associate Dean, Administration & Innovation, Faculty of Education
Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, International, pro tem
Following her pioneering population-based research on intimate partner violence, Ratner's scholarship broadened into a program of population health and outcomes research that combines epidemiologic methods with advanced psychometrics and latent-variable modelling.[5] Her work includes methodological papers on the longitudinal analysis of patient-reported outcomes, as well as applied studies that link clinical registries and administrative datasets to identify subgroups and trajectories of recovery among patients with chronic illness.[6]
In later years, Ratner collaborated on interdisciplinary projects spanning environmental and occupational health, cardiovascular care pathways, and pragmatic health-services trials. These multi-centre studies illustrate a shift toward translational outcomes research—applying rigorous measurement and modelling techniques to questions of service delivery, environmental exposure, and population well-being.[7] Her recent publications include a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of a digital quality-of-life assessment and support system for home health care.[8]
Across her career, Ratner's publications demonstrate a consistent emphasis on gender, equity, and methodological rigour in population-health research.
Selected publications
Ratner, P. A. (1993). "The incidence of wife abuse and mental health status in abused wives in Edmonton, Alberta." Canadian Journal of Public Health, 84, 246–249. doi:10.1007/BF03403695. PMID 8509210.
Kwon, J. Y., Sawatzky, R., Baumbusch, J., Lauck, S., & Ratner, P. A. (2021). "Growth mixture models: a case example of the longitudinal analysis of patient-reported outcomes data captured by a clinical registry." BMC Medical Research Methodology, 21(1), 79. doi:10.1186/s12874-021-01276-z. PMID 33882863.
Kwon, J. Y., Sawatzky, R., Baumbusch, J., & Ratner, P. A. (2021). "Patient-reported outcomes and the identification of subgroups of atrial fibrillation patients: a retrospective cohort study of linked clinical registry and administrative data." Quality of Life Research, 30(6), 1547–1559. doi:10.1007/s11136-021-02777-6. PMID 33580448.
Guo, S. E., Ratner, P. A., Tseng, S. C., Lin, C. M., Chi, M. C., Lee, C. W., & Yu, Y. C. (2023). "Exposure to incense burning, biomarkers, and the physical health of temple workers in Taiwan." Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 30(45), 101804–101816. doi:10.1007/s11356-023-29420-w. PMID 37659022.
Sawatzky, R., Schick-Makaroff, K., Ratner, P. A., Kwon, J. Y., Whitehurst, D. G. T., Öhlén, J., Maybee, A., Stajduhar, K., Zetes-Zanatta, L., & Cohen, S. R. (2025). "Did a digital quality of life (QOL) assessment and practice support system in home health care improve the QOL of older adults living with life-limiting conditions and of their family caregivers? A mixed-method pragmatic randomized controlled trial." PLOS ONE, 20(5), e0320306. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0320306. PMID 40327663.
Ratner is married to Joy Johnson, who is the president of Simon Fraser University.[1]
Legacy
Pamela Ratner's early research on intimate partner violence was groundbreaking, emerging at a time when few population-based studies examined the health consequences of abuse. More than three decades later, her findings continue to inform research, policy, and clinical practice related to violence against women. Throughout her career, she advanced the fields of population health, health behaviour theory, and measurement science, emphasizing gender equity and methodological rigour in nursing and public health research.
1 2 3 Ratner, P.A. (1993). "The incidence of wife abuse and mental health status in abused wives in Edmonton, Alberta". Canadian Journal of Public Health. 84 (4): 246–249. PMID8221497.
↑ Kwon, J.Y.; Sawatzky, R.; Baumbusch, J.; Ratner, P.A. (2021). "Patient-reported outcomes and the identification of subgroups of atrial fibrillation patients: a retrospective cohort study of linked clinical registry and administrative data". Quality of Life Research. 30 (6): 1547–1559. doi:10.1007/s11136-021-02777-6. PMID33580448.
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