In this Post-Doc Appreciation Week, two Nursing post-docs are named among the 2023 Michael Smith Health Research BC (MSHR) Research Trainee Award recipients.
September 21, 2023
The MSHRBC Research Trainee Program "supports the best and brightest health researchers in training to enable career development and support world-class health research in BC." On September 21, 2023, MSHR announced its list of recipients, which included nursing post-docs Dr. Shahin Kassam and Dr. Vanessa Fong.
Dr. Shahin Kassam
Supervisor: Dr. Vicky Bungay
Women and Forced Migration: Inclusively Examining Access to Care at the Axes of Chronic Health and Gender-Based Violence
Forced migration occurs when people are displaced from their homes to escape harmful situations including human rights violations, and/or environmental disasters. Currently, over 40 million women and girls have been forced to migrate worldwide. Most have been racially discriminated and over 70% have been exposed to gender-based violence (GBV) including human and sex trafficking, exploitation, and forced marriage. Health impacts of GBV include chronic health issues including hypertension, diabetes, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. Canada’s population of women forced to migrate is steadily growing. However, access to timely and appropriate health services remains uncoordinated and ineffective. Upon arrival to Canada, women are left to self-navigate exclusionary and fragmented pathways to health care while also managing the effects of forced migration. In this research, the experiences of these women will be gathered and examined toward generating recommendations for enhanced access to safe and effective health care. This project responds to national and global calls to address a significant gap in knowing how to deliver timely and safe care to women impacted by forced migration and managing the chronic health sequelae of GBV.
Dr. Vanessa Fong
Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Baumbusch
Improving the Healthcare Experiences of Racialized Newcomer Families of Children with Medical Complexity: A Qualitative Longitudinal Study
Racialized (e.g., Chinese, South Asian) newcomer (e.g., arrived in Canada within 5 years) families experience greater challenges accessing healthcare services for their children with medical complexity (MC). This contributes to unmet healthcare needs and higher rates of hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and readmissions. Yet despite this, there is very little research on the healthcare experiences of racialized newcomer families. In order to learn about these experiences, we will look at organizational- and provincial-level policies to see if they address the needs of these families. We will interview caregivers and have them complete diary entries about their experiences over time. Using what we learn from this research, we will co-develop recommendations with families that address their unique needs. We will share the results with policy-makers, clinicians, and other knowledge users to help improve healthcare services for racialized newcomer children with MC and their families.
Image by Julio César Velásquez Mejía from Pixabay
In addition to these recently-announced MSHRBC Research Trainees, we also celebrate and recognize the ongoing work of the following post-doctoral scholars. We appreciate the work and support of these researchers at the School of Nursing and wish them all a happy Post-Doc Appreciation Week!