Camargo Plazas | School of Nursing

Dr. Pilar Camargo Plazas PhD, RN

Position(s)

Associate Professor

Contact Information

613.533.6000 ext: 75690

Overview

My work is anchored in qualitative, equity-focused research that centres people’s lived experiences and challenges taken-for-granted assumptions in health care and nursing practice. Across my teaching, research, and supervision, I bring long-standing expertise in social determinants of health, participatory and interpretive methodologies, and community-engaged scholarship. Much of my work focuses on older adults, people living with chronic illness, women, immigrants, and communities experiencing social and economic disadvantages, both in Canada and internationally. I have a strong record of funded research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and graduate mentorship, with sustained contributions to qualitative nursing science, health equity, and knowledge translation.

Teaching Philosophy

My approach to teaching is grounded in relationship, dialogue, and respect for students as active learners. I see my role less as an expert delivering content and more as someone who creates the conditions for learning, critical thinking, and reflection. I aim to support students in developing confidence, curiosity, and a strong sense of responsibility to the people and communities they will work with as nurses, scholars, and health leaders.

In my teaching, I place a strong emphasis on connecting theory, research, and practice. I encourage students to question dominant ways of thinking, to reflect on their own assumptions and positionality, and to consider how social, political, and economic contexts shape health and health care. I am particularly attentive to creating inclusive learning environments that recognize diverse learning styles, backgrounds, and experiences, and that invite meaningful dialogue rather than passive participation.

I teach across undergraduate and graduate programs in the School of Nursing, including the Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc), BNSc Accelerated Standing Track, Master of Nursing, PhD in Nursing, and PhD in Health Quality programs. My teaching has included undergraduate courses focused on health promotion and health equity. At the graduate level, my teaching and seminars focus on qualitative research methodologies, interpretive and critical inquiry, social determinants of health, knowledge development in nursing, and the use of research to inform practice and policy. I place particular importance on helping graduate students clarify their research questions, strengthen their conceptual grounding, and make thoughtful, ethically sound methodological decisions.

Teaching is also an evolving practice for me. I regularly reflect on student feedback and my own experiences in the classroom, and I draw on scholarship in teaching and learning to continuously refine my approach. Ultimately, my goal is to support students in becoming thoughtful, reflective, and socially responsive practitioners and researchers.

Research Program

My research is grounded in a social justice orientation and a long-standing commitment to understanding health and illness through the perspectives of those most affected by inequities. I use interpretive and emancipatory approaches to explore how people experience health, illness, and care within broader social, economic, and political contexts.

A central focus of my work is examining how social determinants of health shape access to care, self-management, and everyday experiences of living with chronic illness. Much of my research centres on older adults, women, immigrants, people living on a low income, and individuals navigating complex health and social systems. Across these projects, I am interested not only in documenting inequities, but also in identifying opportunities for more humane, responsive, and equitable forms of care.

My research program brings together three interconnected areas. First, I conduct population-focused research that centres lived experience and highlights how structural conditions influence health and well-being. Second, my practice-focused work examines nursing and health-care practices, including provider–patient relationships, trauma-informed care, and ethical challenges in constrained settings. Third, my global and transnational work addresses health equity issues related to chronic illness, HIV prevention, and access to care in low- and middle-income contexts.

Community engagement is central to how I work. I regularly use participatory, arts-based, and co-creative methods, including photovoice, digital storytelling, and knowledge exchange activities, to ensure that research is grounded in community priorities and accessible beyond academic audiences. I see research as a collaborative process and place high value on reciprocity, trust, and shared ownership of knowledge. Across all of my work, I aim to keep people at the centre. My research is driven by a belief that health care must be understood through human experience, and that meaningful change requires listening carefully to those whose voices are too often overlooked. My goal is to contribute knowledge that informs practice, education, and policy in ways that advance equity and dignity in health care.

Team