About Prof. Sherilyn HOULE

Prof. Houle's research interests are on the roles, outcomes, and uptake of pharmacy practice to full scope, with particular interest in the clinical areas of immunizations and travel health. Prof. Houle is also a regular provider of continuing professional development programs across topics including injection technique, vaccine hesitancy, travel medicine, and vaccine-preventable diseases such as influenza, herpes zoster (shingles), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), meningococcal disease, and pneumococcal disease. She has practice experience as a pharmacist in hospital, home care, and community pharmacy settings, as well as an international travel and immunizations clinic.

Current areas of research include:

• The impact of pharmacy-based immunization services on vaccination rates, health system costs, and productivity
• The integration of regulated pharmacy technicians into community pharmacy immunization services
• Vaccine hesitancy and vaccine fatigue
• Vaccination screening and assessment by community pharmacists
• Pre-travel assessment and care provided by pharmacists for individuals planning travel

Prof. Houle coordinates the injections and immunizations training and travel health curricula within the PharmD program at the University of Waterloo.

Publications

1. Ayahuasca and the traveler: A scoping review of risks and possible benefits. Travel Med Infect Dis 2021; 44:102206.
2. Travel medicine curricula across Canadian pharmacy programs and alignment with Scope of Practice. Pharmacy 2020;8(2):102.
3. Travelers’ diarrhea: Clinical practice guidelines for pharmacists. Can Pharm J 2019;152(4):241-50.
4. Uptake of travel health services by community pharmacies and patients following pharmacist immunization scope expansion in Ontario, Canada. Pharmacy 2019; 7:35.
5. Pharmacy travel health services: current perspectives and future prospects. Integr Pharm Res Pract 2018; 7:13-20.
6. Clinical outcomes and satisfaction with a pharmacist-managed travel clinic in Alberta, Canada. Trav Med Infect Dis 2018; 23:21-26.

Educations

PhD Experimental Medicine, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada
BSc Pharmacy, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada

Expertises

• Pharmacy practice
• Immunization
• Travel medicine