How Do You Measure Trust? A McMaster Researcher Is Exploring the Question in Ireland

When people interact with the healthcare system, their experiences are often reduced to data points: demographics, survey responses, wait times, and health outcomes. But what happens when those measurements fail to capture the complexity of people’s lives?

That question sits at the heart of Dr. Grace Spiro’s research.

An Assistant Professor in McMaster University’s Department of Health, Aging and Society, Dr. Spiro has been awarded a 2026 De Chastelain Scholarship Programme, a prestigious award that supports research exchange and collaboration between Canada and Ireland and is jointly funded by the Governments of Canada and Ireland and supports short-term research visits focused on themes connected to peace, reconciliation, and societal well-being. Dr. Spiro will join the inaugural cohort of De Chastelain Scholars.

Through the scholarship, Dr. Spiro will collaborate with researchers in Ireland on a project titled Measuring What Matters: Rethinking Equity, Data, and Trust in Integrated Care Systems. The project examines how health systems in Canada and Ireland collect, interpret, and use data to understand inequities and improve care.

At first glance, healthcare data may seem straightforward. Yet behind every number is a person whose experiences are shaped by a range of factors, including age, income, gender, migration status, and social circumstances. Dr. Spiro’s research explores how these intersecting realities can become obscured when health systems rely on conventional approaches to measuring equity.

“We often think of health data as objective,” says Dr. Spiro. “But every decision about what information is collected, how it’s analyzed, and how it’s reported shapes whose experiences are visible and whose are overlooked. By bringing an intersectional lens to patient-reported and sociodemographic data, we can better identify inequities and help health systems make more informed, person-centred decisions.”

Using advanced quantitative methods and comparative policy analysis, Dr. Spiro will examine how health systems in both countries define and measure inequity within integrated care settings. The goal is to identify approaches that better capture the experiences of diverse populations and support more informed decision-making.

The scholarship will also facilitate collaboration with researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), creating opportunities for knowledge exchange and comparative research between Canadian and Irish scholars working on health equity, integrated care, and health system performance. This collaboration reflects the broader value of international research partnerships and aligns with the Office of International Affairs’ ongoing efforts to promote global engagement by helping researchers identify and pursue international opportunities, such as the De Chastelain Scholarship Programme, that support collaboration across borders.

Although focused on healthcare, the project addresses broader questions about inclusion, representation, and trust in public institutions. As health systems increasingly rely on data to inform policy and allocate resources, ensuring that those systems accurately reflect the realities of the populations they serve becomes more important than ever.

For Dr. Spiro, one of the most valuable aspects of the scholarship is the opportunity to learn from another country’s experiences while building long-term international partnerships.

“International collaboration allows us to learn from different health systems while tackling shared challenges,” says Dr. Spiro. “By bringing together perspectives from Canada and Ireland, we hope to develop new approaches to measuring and understanding equity that can help create more responsive, inclusive, and person-centred health systems.”

As healthcare systems around the world continue to grapple with questions of equity, accessibility, and public trust, Dr. Spiro’s research aims to contribute evidence that can help ensure people are seen not simply as data points, but as individuals with diverse experiences, needs, and perspectives.

In doing so, her work highlights the power of international collaboration to address complex societal challenges and advance research that has the potential to improve lives in Canada, Ireland, and beyond.