Emerging scholars vital to public health research and equity in Canada

Public health research plays a vital role in addressing health disparities and improving outcomes for marginalized communities. Students are key to the success of this research.

“Students and trainees play a critical role in shaping public health equity in Canada. They help ensure sustainability of research programs, practices and policies in the field,” says Dr. Bukola Salami, PhD, a member of the O’Brien Institute for Public Health and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM). 

“Students also infuse fresh ideas and perspective into research, thus breeding innovation,” she says.  

The O’Brien Institute highlights four emerging Black public health researchers working to advance health equity across Canada.

Dr. Gervin Apatinga, PhD: Advancing social justice through research

Dr. Gervin Apatinga, PhD, is driven by a deep commitment to social justice and equity. As an immigrant to Canada, he says his personal experiences have shaped his research and strengthened his resolve to create meaningful change, particularly for marginalized communities. Now a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Community Health Sciences, under the supervision of Salami, Apatinga is working to improve outcomes for Black children and youth by addressing systemic inequities. 

“Black youth experience entrenched anti-Black racism, evident in their overrepresentation in the criminal justice and child welfare systems and poor educational outcomes,” says Apatinga. 

This research, led by Salami and funded by a grant from the Social Sciences and Health Research Council (SSHRC), will collect data through national surveys across different disciplines to build a knowledge hub and use the findings to inform policy and program interventions, like the Black Youth Mentorship and Leadership Program, that will benefit Black children and youth in Canada.

“Our goal is to transform the lives of Black children and youth by addressing these systemic issues to improve their overall outcomes.”

Beyond this project, Apatinga’s research interests span water (in)security, climate change, population health, migration, gender dynamics, and gender-based violence. “For me, success isn’t measured by wealth, but by the positive impact we have on others,” he says. 

Oyinda Obigbesan: Advancing infant and maternal health

A fourth-year BHSc student in biomedical sciences, Oyinda Obigbesan, is tackling critical issues in infant and maternal health. Under the supervision of Dr. Karen Benzies, PhD, Obigbesan has explored the evaluation of electronic health (eHealth) interventions and contributed to a study highlighting the need for standardized testing in digital health. 

Obigbesan has contributed to several research projects throughout her undergraduate studies. In 2022, she conducted an environmental scan on software testing practices for eHealth interventions, revealing inconsistencies in evaluation methods. Her team’s findings highlight the need for standardized best practices in assessing eHealth and mobile health (mHealth) technologies to ensure they are safe, effective, and equitable.

Currently, she is analyzing data from the Alberta Family Integrated (FI) Care model to determine whether social factors like education and income are associated with newborn baby outcomes. 

“I want to use my research to address inequities early in life and give people the best chance at life,” she says. “Knowing I can turn my education into meaningful action motivates me to pursue further studies and continue making an impact.”

Beyond research, Obigbesan is passionate about community involvement. “I’ve been fortunate to have amazing mentors throughout my undergraduate degree, and that has made me want to support others in the same way,” she says. She volunteers as a peer-support worker at the Women’s Centre of Calgary and plays an active role in student mentorship programs at the University of Calgary, including the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) club and the Health Sciences Students’ Association (HSSA). 

Linda Bakunda: Bridging generational knowledge gaps and driving health equity

Linda Bakunda is on a mission to optimize health outcomes for her community. As a second-year master’s student in the Department of Community Health Sciences, her research focus is on health services. Under the supervision of Drs. Khara Sauro, PhD, and Pamela Roach, PhD, Bakunda’s thesis project examines access to and quality of surgical care for African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) patients in Canada.

Bakunda’s journey as a student and public health researcher has been unconventional. She began her undergraduate degree in biological sciences with a plan to get into medical school and later she pivoted to a business degree. After receiving support and guidance from career advisors, she realized she still had an interest in public health. Through a minor in health and society, she found a way to merge her interests and pursue research.

“My minor in  health and society really showed me that making an impact in health is much more than being a doctor or nurse,” says Bakunda.

Bakunda’s interest in health equity, combined with a passion for serving her community, have been the motivation for her research. She has contributed to several papers including research that examines how professionalism is defined in medical education and its impact on health equity. The study highlights a disconnect between how patients and physicians perceive professionalism and calls for a definition that integrates anti-racism and anti-oppression principles to improve patient care for marginalized communities.

Bakunda’s current research explores the disparities in care that ACB patients receive in order to improve health care outcomes for these populations. She aims to investigate how systemic barriers such as knowledge gaps impact different groups within the ACB community. “We are not a homogenous group as African, Caribbean, and Black people in Canada. I want to understand how our different identities under this large ACB umbrella impact the quality of care we receive,” she says.

Bakunda says she hopes her research will not only highlight disparities but also drive policy changes and empower communities with knowledge. “I want to make lasting change by improving health care awareness and access for African, Caribbean, and Black communities,” she says.

Olayinka Arimoro: Uncovering bias in health outcome assessments to enhance patient care

Olayinka Arimoro is using his research to ensure that patients receive the treatment that is right for them. A first-year PhD student in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Arimoro is specializing in biostatistics, where he is developing statistical models that accurately interpret patient-reported outcomes, focusing on how biases in health outcome assessments can affect patient care.

“The significance of my work is to call on care providers to pay more attention to their patients’ voices and drive towards more equitable and inclusive access to health care for everyone,” says Arimoro.

Differential Item Functioning (DIF) is a phenomenon where patients with the same health conditions interpret and respond differently to health questionnaires based on factors like age, gender and cultural contexts. However, conventional statistical models fail to capture measurement biases, such as DIF. These biases can affect clinical decisions and are a barrier to equitable access to health care. 

In his master’s thesis at UCalgary, Arimoro worked to address this issue by incorporating advanced machine learning models into the current models used to detect bias. However, when transitioning into his PhD, he realized that patients’ responses to questionnaires may also change over time due to changes in health conditions or life events. Now, Arimoro’s research applies machine learning models to better capture these changes and improve how care providers make treatment decisions for patients.

Under the supervision of Dr. Tolu Sajobi, PhD, the crux of Arimoro’s work is to develop statistical models to accurately interpret patients’ responses to health questionnaires and to ensure they accurately capture individual experiences. “It’s one thing to get the data and analyze it, but can we connect the dots between the data we see and the lived experiences of people?” he says. 

Beyond his research, Arimoro, is also committed to empowering the next generation of young Black children through mentorship and the work of his non-profit organization, Predicare Steun Foundation.