News

On Thursday, March 14, Faculty of Health PhD students Justine Dol (Health), Brianna Richardson (Nursing), and Rachel Ollivier (Nursing) will compete at Dalhousie’s final round of the World’s Challenge Challenge (WCC).

The WCC is a global initiative of Western University which encourages young minds, from different disciplines, to come together to address a global issue and offer solutions to implement in partnership with communities. The WCC frames global issues through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Their innovation, titled “Essential Coaching for Every Mother”, aims to bridge the gaps in support and information for new mothers by sending standardized text messages that provide evidence-based information on newborn care and maternal mental health. Using their experiences working in maternal health, both locally and internationally, as well as eHealth interventions targeted specifically to new mothers, their team bridges research knowledge with real-life context.

We encourage all Dal Health faculty, students and staff to cheer the team on Thursday, March 14 at 7pm in the Scotiabank Auditorium, Marion McCain building. More information on the event here

About the students

Justine Dol is a doctoral candidate in the PhD in Health program at Dalhousie University. She is a recipient of the CIHR Frederick Banting & Charles Best Canada Graduate Doctoral Award to honor Nelson Mandela and was awarded the Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship in 2017. Justine’s doctoral research focuses on education and empowerment of mothers during the postnatal period in Canadian and Tanzanian mothers.

Rachel Ollivier is a doctoral student in the School of Nursing at Dalhousie University. She is a recipient of the NSHRF Scotia Scholar Award, Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship, and was awarded the Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship in 2018. Her doctoral research aims to explore postpartum sexual health in Nova Scotia using a feminist post-structural methodology. She is also a Registered Nurse at the IWK Health
Centre.

Brianna Richardson is a doctoral candidate in the School of Nursing at Dalhousie University. She is a recipient of the NSHRF Scotia Scholars, BRIC NS Student Research Award, and funded by the Chez NICU Home project from the IWK Health Centre. Her doctoral research focuses on examining how eHealth education influences parental engagement in newborn care.