In 2020, Ingram School of Nursing Assistant Professor Andraea Van Hulst, RN, PhD, initiated a research partnership with La Maison Bleue, a community-based social perinatal primary health care organization in Montreal that provides medical care, social and psychoeducational services to families living in neighbourhoods with high concentrations of poverty. Its mission is to reduce social inequalities by promoting optimal health and development of children, as well as maternal health and wellbeing, from the time of pregnancy until children reach the age of 5 years. Using a strengths-based approach, a multidisciplinary team of family physicians, midwives, nurses, birth attendants, social workers, psycho-educators and nutritionists provide healthcare and social services while fostering empowerment, autonomy, and respect for the knowledge, culture and lived experiences of mothers and families in raising children.
An expert in health promotion and disease prevention strategies, particularly in relation to childhood obesity, Professor Van Hulst’s focus is on broad contextual factors, such as built and family environments, that shape people’s health. As she explains, childhood obesity is a risk factor for chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
According to national data, 3.4 million Canadians were living with diabetes in 2017–2018, compared to 1.3 million in 2000–2001, while heart disease is the second leading cause of death in Canada. With a view to developing possible obesity prevention initiatives, Prof. Van Hulst and her team conducted a study based on the medical records of 275 preschool-aged children followed at Maison Bleue since birth. “We found that 29% were at-risk-of-overweight, overweight, or had obesity, and that factors linked to obesity were primiparity (being a first-born child), high birthweight, rapid weight gain in infancy, and introduction to solid foods before 6 months.”
In the fall of 2020, at the height of a COVID lockdown in Quebec, Prof. Van Hulst supervised a research project by master’s student Mona Lim, which explored experiences related to social isolation and loneliness among recent immigrant mothers of young children. A total of 11 women participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic heightened migrant mothers' stress and concerns, generated additional barriers to creating social connections and directly affected their emotional wellbeing.
A recipient of McGill University’s prestigious Rosemary Wedderburn-Brown Prize in 2022, Prof. Van Hulst was determined to use the prize money to co-develop a health equity focused research agenda. “I want the clients of Maison Bleue to have a voice in shaping research priorities so that we ask the right research questions and implement quality improvement activities that will best meet their needs,” she explains.
Accordingly, in the summer of 2023, Prof. Van Hulst conducted a survey among 137 parents/caregivers followed at Maison Bleue to inform quality improvement and research priorities, notably in relation to health promotion in early childhood. Early findings indicate that optimal child growth, eating well, moving enough and safety/avoiding injuries are rated as key priorities by Maison Bleue parents/caregivers. “This initial work will inform further work in researching and developing effective health promotion and obesity prevention strategies among socioeconomically and structurally disadvantaged families that can be tested and implemented in different settings,” she says.