Search

David Whitehurst

Associate Professor Associate Dean, Education (2024-25)

Health Sciences

David Whitehurst

Associate Professor, Associate Dean, Education (2024-25)

Health Sciences

Areas of interest

Health economics, outcomes measurement and valuation, economic evaluation, patient-oriented research

Biography

Dr. Whitehurst is an economist who has specialized in the areas of health and health care throughout his career. Prior to his appointment at SFU in 2012, he has held research positions at the Universities of British Columbia (Postdoctoral Fellow), Birmingham (United Kingdom (UK); Research Fellow) and Keele (UK; Research Associate, Research Assistant).

Research interests

Broadly, Dr. Whitehurst’s research interests and expertise focus on preference-based measures of quality of life and wellbeing suitable for use in health economic evaluation. The concepts of health state description and valuation, accessibility and comparability of alternative measurement instruments, and the application of economic evaluation techniques alongside clinical intervention studies have been common themes throughout his career. Musculoskeletal conditions provided the clinical context of much of his early-career research in the UK. Current research projects cover areas such as home care services for seniors, spinal cord injury, first-episode psychosis, aphasia, and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Teaching interests

In addition to research, Dr. Whitehurst has a keen interest in teaching the economics of health and health care and has extensive experience as an instructor, supervisor and coordinator within undergraduate and graduate courses. In the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. Whitehurst designed the first courses dedicated to the economics of health and health care. These courses began in 2013 (HSCI 306 & HSCI 808).

Courses

Fall 2024

Future courses may be subject to change.

Publications and activities

View Dr. Whitehurst's publications here.