Nicole Catherine

Background

About Nicole Catherine

Dr. Nicole Catherine (she/her) is an interdisciplinary researcher focusing on improving health and wellbeing for all children and on the public policies needed to reach this goal. She is the Associate Director of the Children’s Health Policy Centre and holds the Canada Research Chair in Child Health Equity and Policy, Tier II. Canada Research Chairs Tier II are awarded to "exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field". Research interests Nicole’s research aims to help leaders in government and public health create and implement programs that prevent problems early in childhood and promote lifelong health and wellbeing. She works closely with communities and service providers to make sure that the perspectives of children and families are centered and prioritized in her work. Her current research explores the following questions: • What matters most to families who often don’t get the support they need? • How can we prevent mental health problems early in life, before they start? • How can we adapt prevention programs for different cultures? • What can large datasets tell us about what works best, for different children and families? • How can we track how well child health programs and policies are working? Policy collaborations Dr. Catherine works closely with senior policymakers in the British Columbia (BC) government, including the Ministries of Health, Children and Family Development, Mental Health and Addictions, and in regional Health Authorities including Fraser Health, Interior Health, Island Health, and Vancouver Coastal Health as well as with practitioner and Indigenous leaders and BC’s First Nations Health Authority and Métis Nation BC. These sustained policy collaborations ensure that her research is informed by policy and practice priorities and is embedded within reciprocal policy and practice relationships—also ensuring that results are used to improve conditions and services for BC children. Dr. Catherine also collaborates with national and international academic researchers focused on child health and wellbeing. Nicole is also an instructor and mentor in the Faculty of Health Sciences. For more information see: childhealthpolicy.ca