Zeev Rosberger

Dr. Rosberger was (until 2017) the Chief of the Psychology Department at the Jewish General Hospital, providing exemplary clinical care to patients and their families. He led the development of the Louise Granofsky-Psychosocial Oncology Program at the Segal Cancer Centre of the Jewish General Hospital. He has participated on numerous provincial and national committees advocating for improvement of the emotional care for cancer patients and their families through the development of National Distress Screening Guidelines (Canadian Partnership Against Cancer-CPAC). From 2004-2006, he was President of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology and served on the board in various capacities for a decade.

Major Research Activities

Dr. Rosberger is a leading researcher in clinical health psychology, with over 40 years of experience and expertise, mostly in the area of psychosocial oncology. His current research focus is on the prevention of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, and HPV- related diseases (e.g., cervical cancer, penile cancer, genital warts, oropharyngeal cancer). His studies examine psychosocial correlates and predictors of Pap screening, HPV testing, and uptake of the HPV vaccine in several populations. More specifically, he investigates HPV vaccine decision-making in young adults who are at high risk for infection, as well as parents of young boys and girls who must decide whether or not to vaccinate their children. His interests in this area relate to vaccine hesitancy and measurement tools to identify these populations and develop effective interventions. More recently, he has been funded by CIHR to examine the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of Canadian women to inform public policy as provinces move from primary Pap to primary HPV DNA testing over the next few years. He has additional collaborative, research interests that span the cancer trajectory from prevention to survivorship issues, including recurrence. Specific studies include: infertility distress in young male cancer patients, melanoma prevention, and psychosocial and coping concerns in adolescents and young adults with cancer. He is a principle investigator and co-investigator on several on-going CIHR and FRSQ grants with researchers from multiple disciplines, including the efficacy of telephone-based self-management of depression in cancer patients; the psychosocial impact of diagnostic and treatment interventions (e.g., chemotherapy-induced infertility in men, brachytherapy for rectal cancer, breast biopsy); and a major project in Quebec to implement and evaluate an internet based portal for patients that will improve symptom screening and management in real time (Funded by CPAC).