Sabrina Eliason, BSc, BA (Hons), MD, FRCPC
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Contact
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Pediatrics Dept
- eliason2@ualberta.ca
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Neurodevelopmental Disorders Child Development and Behavior Health Equity Clinical Innovation
About
Dr. Sabrina Eliason is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. She has served as the President of the Canadian Pediatric Society Section of Developmental Pediatrics (2021-2023) and is the Past-President (2023-2025).
Her clinical leadership roles include medical lead of Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (GRH) School-Age Neurodevelopmental Assessment Clinic (SNAC) and the Pediatric Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Clinic (PFASD). Dr. Eliason is involved in medical education at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels as a lecturer and clinical educator. She was recognized by the developmental pediatric residents with the 2021 Keith Goulden Teaching Excellence Award for her contributions to the developmental pediatric sub-specialty training program.
Dr. Eliason is a consultant Developmental Pediatrician for SNAC, FASD, the Northern Neonatal Follow-up Clinic and the Stollery MIND Group (Developmental Consults in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU). She is involved in the assessment and consultation of children, youth and adolescents with complex developmental needs.
Dr. Eliason earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Arts Honours with a medial in Economics and Biology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. She attended medical school at the University of British Columbia at the Vancouver-Fraser Valley Medical Program.
Her General Pediatrics residency training was in Saskatoon, SK at the Royal University Hospital with Developmental Pediatrics sub-specialty residency training at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta.
Dr. Eliason enjoys incorporating fitness and fun in her daily routine through outdoor activities with her family throughout all of Edmonton's seasons. She plays violin in a local amateur orchestra.
Research
Dr. Eliason is currently working on a quality improvement project supported by the Glenrose Rehabiltiation Hospital Health Improvement Team to review how Pediatric Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder clinical services are delivered at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.
Her team is proposing a shift in how developmental clinical services are provided based on concepts from the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning (WHO-ICF). Her team is implementing a model of care to prioritize meeting individual and family needs to support functioning and participation, rather than on providing supports based solely on diagnosis.
Goals of this model of service delivery are to improve health equity, to provide individualized care to children and families, to inform clinical practice on the most up-to-date understanding of child development and to improve the resource matching of tertiary rehabilitation services to individuals and families with complex developmental needs.
Teaching
PedsCases: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Authors Joel Luk and Sabrina Eliason. Published January 2023
Accessed March 10, 2023: https://www.pedscases.com/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-0
Announcements
Eliason, Sabrina. Interview with CBC Edmonton AM Radio with Mark Connolly and Tara McCarthy. Aired February 22, 2023
Accessed March 10, 2023: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-17-edmonton-am/clip/15968044-pink-shirt-day
Eliason, Sabrina, Tehseen Ladha, Sam Wong. “Opinion: Dropping COVID restrictions puts the health of children at greater risk.” Edmonton Journal, 11 February 2022
(Accessed June 23, 2022) https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-dropping-covid-restrictions-puts-the-health-of-children-at-greater-risk
Eliason, Sabrina. “Opinion: Alberta’s tired parents need universal childcare.” Edmonton Journal, 08 May 2021.
(Accessed June 28, 2021) https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-albertas-tired-parents-need-universal-child-care
Eliason, Sabrina. “How I Learned to Write an Op-Ed”. Canadian Family Physician Blogs. January 15, 2021. https://www.cfp.ca/news/2021/01/15/01-15
Eliason, Sabrina. “Opinion: Why Alberta’s doctors are fighting government health reforms.” Edmonton Journal, 26 August 2020, p. A6.
(Accessed June 28, 2021) https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-why-albertas-doctors-are-fighting-government-health-reforms
Featured Publications
Annual Conference - Canadian Pediatric Society. 2022 June; 10.1093/pch/pxac100.038
Dosman C, Andrews D, Davila Cervantes A, Guo Q, Gallagher S, Eliason S, Hodgson C.
2020 January; 10.36834/cmej.v11i2
Dosman, C.F., Andrews D., DiBartolo M., Eliason S., Guo Q., Davila C.A., Bell C., Hodgson C.S.
2019 January; 10.1093/pch/pxz066.089
Legoux C, Eliason S, Baerg K.
2016 January; 10.1542/peds.137.supplement_3.400a
Eliason, S., Bursac, I., Bates, A. R., Huntsman, R.
2015 January; 10.1093/pch/20.7.345
Eliason, S., Whyte, H., Dow, K., Cronin, C., & Lee, S
American Journal of Perinatology. 2012 February; 30 (5):377-382 10.1055/s-0032-1324706
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