Irving Rootman, Canada, University of Victoria

Email address: irv.rootman@utoronto.ca

Irving Rootman is a  Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Distinguished Scholar and Professor in the Faculty of Human and Social Development at the University of Victoria. He was the first Director of the Centre for Health Promotion at the University of Toronto, a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre, from 1990-2001 and a Professor in the Department of  Public Health Sciences.  From 1973-1990, he was a researcher, research manager and program manager for Health and Welfare Canada. He has been a Technical Advisor, Consultant and Senior Scientist for the World Health Organization. Currently, he is a member of the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Advisory Board and the Health Literacy Committee of the U.S. Institute of Medicine. He has published widely in the health promotion and drug abuse fields. His most recent book is Health Promotion Evaluation published by the European Office of the World Health Organization. He received the R.F. Defries Award, the highest award of the Canadian Public Health Association, in October 2001. His main area of research interest is Literacy and Health. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from Yale University in 1970. His areas of expertise are: literacy and health; evaluation; and participatory research.