In the past few years, Carleton has launched several new graduate programs that emphasize the university’s commitment to interdisciplinary studies and collaboration.
Two years ago, the Health: Science, Technology and Policy (HSTP) program became a poster child for this kind of program. And this June, members of the first cohort will be graduating.
Emilie Milroy said she particularly liked the program because it gave her an opportunity to work with people from other disciplines, “which not only exposed me to new fields but also gave me practical experience in collaborating on a team in which members viewed the same issue or problem through a different lens (e.g. a colleague with a business background might look at a public-private partnership approach to address a problem, whereas someone with a communications background might focus on awareness campaigns to address the same issue.”
One of the pillars of the HSTP program is a capstone research project in the second year. Students work on interdisciplinary teams to solve a current problem facing the health sector.
“I found that this was a great way to emulate what happens in the work world as we all came with different knowledge, skillsets and disciplinary perspectives. We were able to learn from each other while also having the opportunity to build on our own strengths…and we also had access to supervisors from four different disciplines who all provided excellent mentoring from different points of view.”
Adds Milroy: “I also want to mention that the program provided an excellent opportunity to network (between cohorts as well as with the various guest lecturers and Ottawa Public Health, who worked on this project with us.”
Her group looked at the barriers to and enablers of breastfeeding initiation and duration in Ottawa. “This is important,” says Milroy, “as the World Health Organization points out that breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival.” WHO recommends that mothers breastfeed exclusively for six months, and continue this practice, combined with appropriate complementary foods, for up to two years of age or beyond.
The research team used data from the Canadian Community Health Survey to conduct a regional comparison of breastfeeding duration across Canada, and focused on Ottawa to examine how social supports (such as family, spousal, community and medical support) and socio-demographic factors have influenced breastfeeding duration among Ottawa mothers.
The students conducted an online survey as well as interviews with breastfeeding mothers, receiving 875 responses with more than 1700 open-ended comments.
They found that regional variations in breastfeeding duration still exist, even when adjusting for known predictors of breastfeeding duration such as income, education, age, as well as immigrant and marital status. For example, Ottawa mothers were 31% less likely to stop earlier than those in the rest of Ontario.
The team also found that Ottawa mothers, with more than one child, breastfed their youngest for a longer period of time, and that support from others, including health care professionals, was significantly related to breastfeeding duration.
“Messages in traditional media such as newspapers, television and radio also significantly facilitated longer breastfeeding,” noted Milroy. “A number of women expressed a desire for more public awareness campaigns to normalize breastfeeding, particularly nursing older infants.”
Adds Milroy: “Another interesting finding was that women in the eastern end of the city were more than twice as likely to continue breastfeeding than women in Ottawa Centre. These regional variations underscore the need to collect data at the local level, which can then be used to inform targeted health promotion activities. In Ottawa, this could include enhancing social supports targeted to at-risk populations, such as first-time mothers and those living in the city centre. Such strategies could also be used to prolong breastfeeding both in Ottawa and in other communities.”
The grad student is proud of her team’s final report which she hopes will help inform local initiatives to support mothers.
Milroy credits the HSTP program in helping her hone her skills in, and deepen knowledge of, federal government policy work, which led to her new position as a policy analyst in the federal government.
Monday, April 28, 2014 in Convocation, Grad Student Research, News, Programs
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