Professor Cindy-Lee Dennis, a leading researcher in perinatal health and maternal mental health, has been appointed as the Heather M. Reisman Chair in Perinatal Nursing Research, a position jointly held at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and Sinai Health.
The Heather M. Reisman Chair in Perinatal Nursing Research was Canada’s first endowed nursing research chair, marking a pivotal milestone in the advancement of nursing science and perinatal care.
For Dennis, who is also an alumna of Bloomberg Nursing, the appointment as Chair is a source of pride.
“The Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing has always been extremely supportive of my work, allowing me to focus on my research and become a leading expert in the field of perinatal health. I look forward to advancing perinatal health care for the entire family including fathers in this new role,” says Dennis.
Prior to completing her PhD, Dennis worked as a student nurse at Sinai Health for two years during her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, marking this return to one of Canada’s leading obstetric hospitals as a full circle moment.
At Bloomberg Nursing, Dennis is part of a distinguished group of donor-funded, endowed research chair holders, that highlight the important role the Faculty plays in advancing research that improves the quality of life for patients across the lifespan.
“Cindy-Lee’s appointment to the prestigious Heather M. Reisman Chair in Perinatal Nursing Research recognizes her leadership and standing in perinatal health. She has long been one of the leading experts in postpartum depression. Her ability to continue developing innovative solutions to improve parental mental health outcomes, demonstrates her role as a trailblazer in this field,” says Robyn Stremler, Dean of the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing.
Dennis’ research in perinatal health began with her master’s thesis in 1994, where she developed the breastfeeding self-efficacy concept, theory, and scale, which she then psychometrically tested and published. The Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale reliably predicts which new mothers in the immediate postpartum period are at high risk of poor breastfeeding outcomes. This scale has become the most widely used breastfeeding measure globally and has been translated into over 20 different languages.
Over the past 25 years, Dennis has extensively focused on perinatal mental health, evaluating technology-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of depression and anxiety in pregnancy and across the first year postpartum. Dennis has also become one of the few researchers to examine paternal mental health, from the preconception phase to the postpartum period, recognizing that the mental well-being of both parents has a significant impact on the health trajectory of the child.
“Across perinatal period, we have long followed a traditional maternal-centric model, not family-centred. My research is actively showing why it is imperative to include fathers and partners in this care model and how we can create and deliver innovative pathways that are accessible and include different family groups and cultures,” says Dennis.
Dennis has held multiple research Chairs, including the Tier 2- Canada Research Chair in Perinatal Community Health, and is currently co-leading the $17 million Healthy Life Trajectory Initiative in Canada (HeLTI Canada), which includes a preconception trial with over 7000 pregnancy planning women and their partners recruited nationally. The study is also the first to include fathers to understand the influence of paternal preconception mental health across the perinatal and early childhood periods.
HeLTI Canada was developed in partnership with the World Health Organization and is one of four separate but harmonized trials focused on developing evidence-based and culturally appropriate care for families that span from preconception across pregnancy and into the postpartum period and early childhood. The aim is to improve children’s health and well-being by preventing obesity and chronic diseases. The other three similar studies are being conducted in Soweto (South Africa), Mysore (India), and Shanghai (China) to provide a global perspective.