Monica ParryMEd, MSc, NP-Adult, PhD, FAAN

Monica Parry
MEd, MSc, NP-Adult, PhD, FAAN

Associate Professor

“The overall aim of my program of research is directly aligned with the Lancet women and cardiovascular disease commission’s recommendation to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease in women by 2030; this includes a focus on four of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030): #5-Gender Equality, #10-Reduced Inequalities, #3-Good Health and Well-Being, and #17-Partnerships for the Goals.”

I am an active supervisor in the international visiting PhD program at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and have assisted students to publish on a broad range of areas including pain management and risk for ischemic heart disease across various racial and ethnic populations. I am an investigator with the Toronto Health Economics and Technology Assessment (THETA) Collaborative, a multidisciplinary research collaboration based at U of T. I am also an investigator at the Banting & Best Diabetes Centre and an active member of the Global Cardiovascular Nursing Leadership Forum of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association, aimed to reduce the global epidemic of cardiovascular disease. I actively participate on the Women’s Health Expert Panel and the Cardio-Metabolic Women’s Healthcare Working Group of the American Academy of Nursing, am a member of the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance, Canadian Post Pregnancy Clinical Network, Canadian Organization for Gender and Sex Research, and the Gender Outcomes INternational Group: to Further Well-being Development (GOING-FWD).

Visit Dr. Monica Parry’s Website

Academic Credentials

2009 – Postdoctoral Fellowship, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario/FUTURE Program for Cardiovascular Nurse Scientists, McMaster University, Hamilton
2008 – PhD, University of Toronto
2001 – MSc (Nursing), Queen’s University, Kingston
1994 – MEd, Queen’s University, Kingston
1983 – BNSc, Queen’s University, Kingston
Publications

Dr. Parry’s PubMed links are available here.

PhD Students / Trainees

Salima Hemani

Acceptability and Feasibility of a Low-Sodium Diet in Canadian South Asians: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Almost one million South Asians (3%) live in Canada and represent one of the country’s fastest growing populations. According to the Cardiovascular Mortality Study, hypertension is the leading cause of mortality in this community. People of South Asian descent are at high risk of developing hypertension, and they develop this at a younger age. The Global Burden of Disease Study cited diet as a major risk factor contributing to the rise in hypertension. More than 90% of South Asian people add salt to their cooking and 40% add salt to their food at the table. The purpose of this pilot trial is to examine the acceptability and feasibility of a low-sodium diet in Canadian South Asians.

Abida Dhukai

An Accelerometer-Based Exercise Intervention to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk in Young South Asian Adults: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

South Asians represent one fifth of the world’s population with ethnic roots originating from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. When compared with their age-adjusted East Asian and European counterparts, they have a 3 to 5 fold increased risk in myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death, primarily because of their increased risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). South Asians have lower muscle mass, higher body fat, a tendency to accumulate fat within and around the abdomen, and a predisposition to develop T2DM 10.5 years earlier than other ethnic groups. The clinical implications of earlier onset T2DM include a longer disease burden and exposure to endothelial damage. Canadian South Asians have very low rates of physical activity; increasing their risk for abdominal obesity, T2DM, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The purpose of this pilot trial is to examine the acceptability and feasibility of an accelerometer-based intervention designed to increase daily step counts in inactive Canadian South Asians aged 24-34 years compared to usual care. Secondary outcomes include: 1) waist circumference and 2) health related quality of life.

Kyle Danielson

An MN-NP student and a student in the Collaborative Program in Resuscitation Science, Danielson assists in examining the relationship between diabetes mellitus and sudden cardiac death in Southeastern Ontario (2015-2016). He will describe out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in people residing in Southeastern Ontario and examine differences in age, sex, ethnicity, year, region, past medical history, presumed cause and disposition between people with and without DM.

Past PhD Students

Ping Zou

Examination of the Feasibility of the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension for Chinese Canadians (DASH-CC): A Pilot Randomized Control Trial

Culturally sensitive dietary interventions targeting pre-hypertension and hypertension in the Chinese Canadian population have not been adequately studied. The purpose of Ping Zou’s study was to test the feasibility and effect of the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension for Chinese Canadians (DASH-CC), a culturally sensitive and language appropriate dietary intervention in a Chinese Canadian group with pre-hypertension and hypertension Stage 1. Leininger’s Transcultural nursing theory was applied to guide the design of the intervention, delivery of the intervention and feasibility examination.