2021 Grant Recipients
Career Midwifery Research Grant recipients
Mary Sharpe
RM, PhD
Mary Sharpe is a Registered Midwife and Associate Professor at Ryerson University. Her research project will compare the accuracy of a intrapartum rapid PCR test for GBS colonization with the accuracy of an antepartum (35-37 weeks) and intrapartum culture-based test. This research will help elucidate the transient nature of vaginal-rectal GBS colonization and may play a role in changing the timing of GBS testing with the potential to decrease unnecessary antibiotic treatment.
Wendy St. Laurent-Coutts
RM, NP-PHC/MPH, BScN, Doctoral student (Ed.)
Wendy St. Laurent-Coutts is a Registered Midwife, PHC-Nurse Practitioner and university educator at Lakehead University. Her research team intends to study the impact of a Expanded Midwifery Care Model which provides up to 18 months of postpartum care to families located in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The project aims to highlight gaps, identify needs, and evaluate benefits for more vulnerable parents and babies receiving midwifery care within an EMCM program, potentially advocating for an expansion of the Ontario's midwife's scope of practice.
Mentored Midwifery Research Grant recipients
Abigail Corbin
RM
Abigail Corbin is a Registered Midwife at Hawthorne Midwives. Abigail’s project seeks to describe the leadership roles midwives hold in Canada, the racial, educational, and socio-demographic characteristics of midwives in leadership positions and whether midwives are leading in inter-professional settings, Results from this study will inform the development of educational opportunities and strategic directions for midwives
Ayeshah Haque
RM, MHS candidate
Ayeshah Haque is a Master of Health Sciences candidate in the Translational Research Program at the University of Toronto. Ayeshah’s project will explore midwives’ perspectives on health equity, confidence in discussing health equity with childbearing families and experiences in health equity data collection. Insights from this qualitative study will help uncover potential barriers to equity data collection which can inform the implementation of equity data collection at the provincial level.
Jessica Jones
RM, MPH candidate
Jessica Jones is a Master of Public Health candidate at McMaster University. Her project explores how midwifery clients access information to support infant feeding decisions and the key factors that influence their decision-making. Insights gained from this study will inform strategies to improve the dissemination of health information to clients.