PhD, MA, BSc (Econ)

• Functional linguistics
• Empowerment in health communication
• Clinician-patient alignment
• Communication and chronic disease management
• Developmentally appropriate communication in health care

Dr. Karimi is a functional linguist specializing in health communication. Using a linguistic ethnographic approach, she investigates critical issues such as health literacy, clinician-patient alignment, and patient agency, all aimed at enhancing communication and health outcomes.

Her research combines qualitative and quantitative methods to deliver deeply contextualized insights that are applicable across diverse populations.

Currently, she is focusing on two significant projects: one addressing health literacy and self-management in chronic heart failure, and another exploring health communication needs of adolescents and young adults to promote developmentally appropriate health communication strategies. Additionally, she is part of a global collaboration led by researchers at Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands, working to define "normal life" from the perspective of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Past projects include investigating predictors of doctor-patient alignment, a national randomised controlled trial of a decision aid for ulcerative colitis, developing and pilot testing decision aids for pregnancy in inflammatory bowel disease and breast reconstruction after mastectomy, and her PhD project in which she examined what patient centred care looks like in palliative oncology and end of life contexts.

Through her research, Dr. Karimi is committed to advancing health communication research and fostering improved patient outcomes across the healthcare landscape.