Ruth Ellwood Martin

Ruth Elwood Martin worked as family physician in Vancouver from 1983 to 2009; she also worked part-time in the medical clinics of BC correctional centres for men and women for 17 years. She is a Clinical Professor of the Department of Family Practice, and an Associate Faculty of the School of Population and Public Health, at the University of British Columbia. Her experiences as a prison physician participatory researcher, during the time period of Arresting Hope, changed her such that her goal became to foster the improvement of prison health and the engagement of patients’ voices in the process. She helped create the Collaborating Centre for Prison Health and Education, which is a group committed to encouraging and facilitating collaborative opportunities for health, education, research, service and advocacy, to enhance the social well-being and (re)integration of individuals in custody, their families and communities. She also leads the Prison Health Special Interest Focused Practice Group, of the College of Family Physicians of Canada.