Dr. Shahin Kassam: paving pathways within nursing
My journey towards shaping my nursing career is one that sheds light and promotes action on the under-represented health and well-being issues among women impacted by forced migration
About me
With gratitude and humility, I acknowledge the unceded homelands of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem – ‘kwee-kwet-lum’), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh – ‘slail-wha-tooth’), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam – ‘mus-kwee-um’), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish – ‘squa-mish’), q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie – ‘kate-zee’), qʼʷa:n̓ ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen – ‘kwant-len’), qiqéyt (Qayqayt -‘kay-kite’), and Stó:lō (Sto:lo – ‘staw-low’) Peoples upon which I live and work upon. Each Nation’s website or social media page is hyperlinked to encourage our learning, awareness, and appreciation of the unique history, culture, languages, and ongoing community-based capacity-building projects.
My career in public health nursing sparked many questions focused on the multiple inequities I saw left unaddressed. I was drawn to the questions that focused on populations of women who migrated to Canada and were left to navigate complex networks of health and social systems on their own while also dealing with emotional, mental, and physical health sequelae shaped by intersections of gender, race, class, violence, trauma, and migrant status. These questions continued on within my Masters in Nursing which launched me into a PhD where I conducted a study on how Public Health Nurses work and support women who are refugees and mothering in the community. This study was the first of it’s kind in Canada and contributes to situating the health and well-being of women impacted by forced migration within the nursing discipline.
As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia, School of Nursing, Capacity Research Unit, I continue building upon my doctoral research and seek inclusion through applying community-based methods and engaging with non-profit settlement organizations and the women they serve who live within varying contexts of forced migration and exposure to gender-based violence. This research aims to build new and existing partnerships with public and non-profit organizations toward advancing equitable access to health and social services among women impacted by forced migration.
Forced migration is an urgent public health issue where over 1 billion people are forecasted to be affected by displacement by the year 2050 due to varying reasons including climate instability, political conflict, coercion, and human trafficking. My program of research impacts local, national, and international intersections where gender, race, class, and migrant status combine to shape women’s experiences of health and access to health and social services.
This website is dedicated to the knowledge generated as part of my quest to mobilize generated findings into the community in an accessible way. As you continue reading through this website, you will find selected knowledge translation activities including conference presentations, slides and publications. Keep checking in for more as my journey continues.
Current Roles
2024: World Health Organization, Department of Health & Migration: Technical Advisor
2022 – Present: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University of British Columbia School of Nursing, Capacity Research Unit
Supervisor: Dr. Victoria Bungay
2021 – 2023: Sessional Lecturer
University of Victoria, School of Nursing, Undergraduate & Graduate Programs
2017 – 2023: Research Assistant
Thompson Rivers University, School of Nursing
Mentor: Dr. Joyce O’Mahony
Research Funding
2023: Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Research Trainee Award: Kassam, S. “Women and Forced Migration: Enhancing Equitable Access to Services through Community-Based Collaboration.” – $129,000 – awarded
2022: SSHRC Partnership Engagement Grant_Bungay, V. (PI), Kassam, S. (Co-Applicant), Ospina, D. (Community Co-Applicant), Tan, K., Lam, J., Bale, A. “Women’s Stories of Forced Migration and Integration into Canadian Systems.” – $24,997 – awarded
Education
2016-2021: Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing
University of Victoria, School of Nursing
Supervisor: Dr. Lenora Marcellus.
2011-2015: Masters of Nursing
University of Victoria, School of Nursing
Supervisor: Dr. Gweneth Doane
1993-1998: Bachelors of Nursing
University of Calgary, School of Nursing
Service
- Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International (NNVAWI) – Executive Board of Directors, Secretary
- Homelessness & Family Violence Educator: Aga Khan Social Welfare Board, Canada
- University of Victoria Centre for Evidence-Informed Nursing and Healthcare (CEiNHC) Joanna Briggs Institute, Core Member
Roadshow knowledge sharing event at DIVERSEcity Community Resources – a collaboratively presented workshop with Diana Ospina and Marc Larrivée
Roadshow knowledge sharing event at MOSAIC BC – sharing and discussing findings from our SSHRC PEG funded project
Collaboratively presenting our work on women impacted by forced migration at the Pathways to Prosperity Conference Canada in Montreal, QC: Diana Ospina, Marc Larrivée, Shahin Kassam & Adrienne Bale
April, 2023_Community Advisory Team Collaborative data analysis meeting with settlement service leaders: Jenny Lam (Options BC), Adrienne Bale (MOSAIC BC), Dr. Shahin Kassam, Utsav Thakur (Impact North Shore), Diana Ospina (DIVERSEcity), Marc Larrivée (Impact North Shore; attended via zoom)
Celebrating completion of my PhD with my super-phenomenal supervisor, Dr. Lenora Marcellus.
Working in collaboration with women who are Syrian refugees and mothering.
Presenting at a Social Justice in Nursing Conference at York University, Ontario.
Meeting a mentor of mine, Dr. Shahirose Premji, School of Nursing, Queens University.
Presenting work on women who are Syrian refugees at the North American Refugee Health Conference with my mentor, Dr. Joyce O’Mahony.
Connecting with Dr. Peggy Chinn, a nursing philosopher and advocate for dismantling power structures in nursing.
Research
Doctoral Dissertation: How do public health nurses work and support mothering refugee women in the community?
My doctoral studies contribute toward situating the health of mothering women who have been forcibly displaced within the nursing discipline. Specifically, public health nursing processes used while working with and supporting mothering women who have been forcibly displaced were explored. I use the terms mothering women who have been forcibly displaced to convey and articulate the locations shaping this specific population of women. In doing so, I put emphasis on the women who have been impacted by forcible displacement and pushed into a marginalized state. This approach to terminology also conveys the multiple complexities experienced by these women which public health nurses have the opportunity to engage with.
In this study I described the processes public health nurses used to establish trusting relationships with mothering refugee women. Findings within the JBI review and CGT study included nurses identifying inequities women faced as stemming from their precarious migrant status and thereby needing to flex care provision to meet women’s needs. The findings also demonstrated the need to examine uptake of trauma-informed principles within care with focus on how organizations are structurally supporting nursing in their practice. I conclude this dissertation with the Afterword Chapter which is a summary and synthesis of significant findings and nursing implications.
Women's Stories of Forced Migration and Connection to Canadian Systems
This project aims to enhance the capacity of the co-applicant DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society (DCRS) and collaborators to engage with and co-lead research processes aimed at enhancing services for women impacted by forced migration; strengthen academic and community partnerships within and between settlement services, researchers, and advocates for gender equity; and solidify a plan to co-create research approaches inclusive of service organizations and women with lived and living experience of forced migration
Through partnering with non-profit community services, this study aims to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the experiences of women connecting to Canadian systems as an element of forced migration. Participants within this study include women who live with varying migrant statuses within the context of being forced to move from their home countries due to sociopolitical, economic and/or environmental crises.
Community Partners:
- DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society
- Options British Columbia
- Impact North Shore
- MOSAIC British Columbia
Funded by SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant
Using Community Based Action Research to Support Syrian Refugee Mothers in the Resettlement Period
This project aimed to explore experiences of facilitators and barriers to accessing supports to promote well-being among women who are Syrian refugees and mothering. Using Participatory action research and an intersectionality-framed longitudinal design, women who are Syrian refugees and mothering were interview to explore their experiences of social support.
Marwa’s Story
In this video, Marwa, a participant and Peer Research Assistant in our longitudinal study exploring Syrian refugee mothering women’s experiences of emotional well-being during settlement in Canada, tell her story of her first year of arrival after escaping from war-torn Syria.
Watch Marwa’s Story on YouTube
Results:
Supporting Syrian Refugee Mothers in the Resettlement Period in Canada Infographic Package
UBC, School of Nursing, Capacity Research Unit
Co-led by Dr. Victoria Bungay and Linda Dewar from Inner City Women’s Initiatives Society, STRENGTH was a three-year pilot study using community-based, participatory action methods that centered on designing a women-led, trauma and violence informed model of outreach within the context of Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. STRENGTH stands for: Sisters Together Reaching Every New Goal Towards Healing.
Role: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Aim: To examine how this project pivoted during COVID-19
Click here to learn more about the STRENGTH Project
Publications
Factors supporting settlement among Syrian refugee women: A longitudinal participatory action research study
Authors: Shahin Kassam, Joyce O'Mahony, Nancy Clark Abstract: Introduction: Over 13 million Syrians have been forcibly displaced since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. In response to this humanitarian crisis, several high-income countries have settled...
Use of participatory action research to support Syrian refugee mothers in the resettlement period in Canada: a longitudinal study
Authors: Joyce O'Mahony, Shahin Kassam, Nancy Clark, Trichia Asbjoern Abstract: Research has shown that refugees in a foreign country often experience physical and mental health challenges upon resettlement (Ahmad et al., 2021; Salam et al., 2022). In Canada, refugee...
Leave no one behind: how nurses are building capacity within health systems to respond to global forced migration
Background Inclusion is a core value driving the 2030 agenda for addressing the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This global commitment calls the world to act on inequities faced by populations affected by structural marginalization, exclusion, and...
Teaching and Mentorship
My teaching experiences include both undergraduate and graduate students. I approach teaching from an intersectionality-framed relational standpoint that appreciates student strengths, diversity in learning underpinned by a philosophy of pluralism, an anti-oppressive, and decolonizing philosophy, collaborative teamwork, curiosity and self-reflection, creativity and critical thinking, and a philosophy of life-long learning.
Nursing 521: Advanced Practice Nursing and Professional Identity
Feedback from students:
- Shahin is an excellent instructor. She is very kind and sympathetic while ensuring that we are learning the material that is needed. She has an obvious passion for teaching which makes learning the material engaging.
- Very good communicator, open to getting and giving feedback and also to meeting outside of class times to discuss assignments, clarifications etc.
- Dr. Kassam was very responsive and I genuinely enjoyed the scheduled zoom sessions. The instructor provided useful feedback on the 3 assignments submitted. She was approachable, communicated clearly, was accessible, and responded quickly via email.
- She positioned herself as a learner also rather than holding all of the knowledge which encouraged students to explore their ideas. She very compassionately demonstrated respect and understanding for students navigating the masters program.
- Shahin is passionate a bout the material and was able to present some of the complex materials more simply in and understandable format.
Nursing 520: Philosophy in Advanced Practice Nursing
Feedback from students:
“The instructor’s guidance and expectations were very clear. Her feedback during class presentations was appropriate and added to the conversation. She is very respectful and encouraging of students.”
“She gives the impression that she is also a learner and engaged in the content, which is very humble and admirable. This was also inspiring to continue learning throughout my career.”
“Shahin is a very warm and empathetic personality and I appreciate that in an instructor. Especially for a course like philosophy, she is easily approachable and reachable. She has always answered emails and offered to meet with us over zoom if we need to. I appreciate she reads our learning activities each week and provides a response to our discussion posts.”
“She was clear in her expectation. She was open for discussion with challenging topics. She was encouraging as these topics can be confusing and hard to fully grasp. She was collaborative and it was clear she wanted us to get as much as we could from this course.”
Sessional Lecturer: Nursing 342 Global Health in Nursing
Feedback from students:
“Facilitated critical thinking and was good in delivering positive feedback.”
“Shahin demonstrated flexibility in keeping the Zoom classroom link open, as an option for students to balance heavy workloads, and school stress this semester. This was helpful for me, as it made attending class more accessible.”
“Shahin was consistently prepared for the class and demonstrated a clear passion for global health. She was very approachable and showed a deep caring nature for her students.”
Nursing 342 Course Coordinator
Feedback from students:
“I’m really enjoying the class and your leadership skills are greatly appreciated.”
Sessional Lecturer: Nursing 342 Global Health Nursing
Feedback from students:
“Shahin was so informative, supportive, encouraging, and engaging. I could not have asked for a better instructor.”
“Shahin was a wonderful professor. She was always prepared for class, very transparent, thoughtful, and approachable. Absolutely loved being in her class and would love to take another one of her courses. Thank you so much Shahin, you enhanced my learning and interest so much and I will be a better nurse for having taken your course.”
“Shahin Kassam was always respectful and inclusive of all students creating a safe and open environment for discussion. Good understanding of course content and always available to help students.”
Guest Lecturer: Third Year Bachelors of Nursing Students, Centennial College (Toronto, ON)
Feedback from instructor and students:
“Incorporated different teaching strategies to ensure every learner was included in discussions. ” – Instructor
“One of the unique teaching strategies Shahin Kassam fostered during the presentation was for each learner to write self-reflective question based on the readings provided.” – Instructor
“I found the class very informative…it made me think about a different way of looking at patients and populations.” – Student
Peer-reviewing and Mentorship in Academic Writing
Feedback from PhD Cohort Peer
“After reading extensive feedback that Shahin Kassam had written on my assignment I recognized the type and extent of support I required to ensure I met those areas for improvement.” – PhD cohort peer
Online PhD Cohort Group: Created and Maintained a Scholarly Circle
Feedback from PhD Cohort Peer and Dr. Kelli Stajduhar, University of Victoria
“Thanks for the update and all of your work on the PhD committee and keeping our Cohort Connections running.” – PhD cohort peer
“This is a wonderful way for students to be in touch, learn from each other, in what I think can sometimes be a bit of an isolating journey once course work has ended. When I was a PhD student, having an informal network was so helpful for helping me to keep on track. Please consider this an opportunity and thank you Shahin for your leadership in providing this kind of support from students across cohorts.” – Dr. Kelli Stajduhar, University of Victoria
Presentations and Guest Lectures
Presentations
Capacity Research Seminar Series Presents: Women Impacted by Forced Migration_A Community-Academic Research Partnership https://capacityresearch.ubc.ca/2023/08/17/capacity-research-seminar-series-presents-women-impacted-by-forced-migration-a-community-academic-research-partnership/
Knowledge Sharing “Roadshows”: DIVERSEcity Community Resources, MOSAIC BC, Impact North Shore, 2023 Women impacted by forced migration and connecting to systems in Canada: A community collaboration and dialogue [Presentation]. Doi: http://dx.doi.ord/10.14288/1.0437496.
Pathways to Prosperity Canada, Montreal, Quebec. Experiences of accessing services among women impacted by forced migration: Findings and take-aways from a cross-sectoral community-based research project. [Oral Workshop] Kassam, S.,Ospina, D., Larrivée, M., Bale, A. (2023, November).
17th World Congress on Public Health, Rome, Italy
Supporting Syrian refugee mothers in the resettlement period in Canada: A longitudinal study using participatory action research
May 2023 • Oral Presentation • Kassam, S.
World Conference on Qualitative Research
1. Integrating women who are refugees as peer research assistants
2. Intersectionality & Constructivist Grounded Theory: Reflections on a novel approach to equity-oriented research
January 2023 • Oral Presentations • Kassam, S.
International Collaboration for Community Health Nursing Research Conference Creating safe relational space: A constructivist grounded theory of how public health nurses work with mothering refugee women June 2022 • Oral Presentation • Kassam, S.
Community Health Nurses of Canada Conference 2022
Creating safe relational space: A constructivist grounded theory of how public health nurses work with mothering refugee women
June 2022 • Oral Presentation • Kassam, S.
Metropolis Canada Conference
How public health nurses work and support mothering refugee women in the community: Findings from a constructivist grounded theory
March 2022 • Oral Presentation/workshop • Kassam, S.
Metropolis Canada Conference.
Syrian refugee Peer Research Assistants: Partnering with refugee women within the research process
March 2022 • Oral Presentation/Workshop • Kassam, S.
International Institute for Qualitative Methodology: The 20th Annual Thinking Qualitatively Virtual Conference
Mapping out the messiness: Reflections on a novel application of constructivist grounded theory with intersectionality
July 5, 2021 • Oral Presentation • Kassam, S. & Marcellus, L.
International Institute for Qualitative Methodology: The 20th Annual Thinking Qualitatively Virtual Conference
Using community-based action research to support Syrian refugee mothers in the resettlement period
July 5, 2021 • Poster Presentation • O’Mahony, J., & Kassam, S.
Human Caring Conference: Global Alliance for Human Caring Education.
The promises of population health and intersectionality: Disrupting inequity among refugee mothers with mental health issues
2019 • Oral Dialogue • Kassam, S.
Social Justice Nursing Conference
Refugee women’s mental health inequities: Applying intersectionality through a public health lens
2019 • Oral Presentation • Kassam, S.
North American Refugee Health Conference
Supporting Mental Health of Syrian Refugee Mothers: A Collaboration among Community Stakeholders, Syrian Community Members and Researchers
2019 • Poster Presentation • Kassam, S.
Pathways to Prosperity (P2P) Conference: An alliance of university, community, and government partners dedicated to fostering welcoming communities and promoting the integration of immigrants and minorities across Canada
Supporting Vulnerable Newcomers Health and Wellness in Surrey, BC-an empowerment settlement journey
November 21-23, 2018 • Hyatt Regency, Montreal
Mannix, L., Sahib, Z., Clark., N., Kassam, S., Tan, K., Lau, P., Stevensen, F., Lam, J., & Gina K.
North American Refugee Health Conference
Understanding experiences of social support as a coping resource among immigrant and refugee women with postpartum depression: An integrative literature review
2017 • Oral Presentation • Kassam, S.
Guest Lectures
University of British Columbia School of Nursing, Capacity Research Unit Research Seminar Series Women impacted by forced migration: A community-academic partnership_Collaborative presentation Diana Ospina and Shahin Kassam
University of British Columbia, School of Nursing • Doctoral Seminar, Dr. Vicky Bungay
Community-based research in action
2023 • Invited Guest Speaker • Kassam, S.
University of Victoria, School of Nursing • Directed Studies: Grounded Theory Seminar, Dr. Lenora Marcellus
Experiences of data analysis
2023 • Invited Guest Speaker • Kassam, S.
University of Victoria, School of Nursing • Doctoral Seminar, Dr. Lenora Marcellus
Paving a multi-pronged approach to a manuscript-based dissertation
2023 • Invited Guest Speaker • Kassam, S.
University of Victoria, School of Nursing
Migration, Forced Migration, Human Trafficking. Nursing 342: Global Health Issues in Nursing
2022 & 2023 • Invited Guest Speaker • Kassam, S.
University of Victoria, School of Nursing • Centre for Evidence-Informed Nursing and Healthcare
Integrating Joanna Briggs Institute Methodology into a Doctoral Dissertation
2022 • Invited Guest Speaker • Kassam, S.
University of Victoria, School of Nursing • Nursing 516: Advanced Nursing Practice
Advanced Practice Leadership in Public Health Nursing
November 2021 • Invited Guest Speaker • Kassam, S.
University of Victoria, School of Nursing • Nursing 622: Dissertation Seminar.
Manuscript-Based Dissertations
October 2021 • Invited Guest Speaker • Kassam, S.
University of British Columbia, School of Nursing • Nursing 548: Qualitative Methods and Analysis
Constructivist Grounded Theory
September 2021 • Invited Guest Speaker • Kassam, S.