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Bloomberg Nursing researcher and alum named Women Leaders in Digital Health

17 January 2025

The 2024 recipients of the Women Leaders in Digital Health Award named by Digital Health Canada, include Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing’s Assistant Professor Charlene Chu and alumna and adjunct lecturer Denika McPherson (MN-NP 2021) among a unique power list of women leaders.

This annual award recognizes women of influence in the health information technology field at all stages of their career and is selected by an adjudication committee of industry peers.

For Chu, this award is one of many she has received in 2024 including the Top 100 Women in STEM, which recognize her research contributions exploring the use of digital technology and artificial intelligence to address real-world problems, particularly at the intersection of healthcare and aging.

“I’m incredibly honored to be recognized alongside so many inspiring women in digital health. When women are celebrated in digital health, it sends a message that our voices and ideas are shaping the future of healthcare. For me, I hope this recognition inspires others to keep pushing boundaries and designing technology that makes a difference and creates meaningful change,” says Chu.

Inclusiveness and accessibility among older adults are at the forefront of much of Chu’s work when it comes to the use of digital health technology. It is for this reason that co-designed digital health interventions and strategies form the basis of her work, where older adults and caregivers as end-users can participate in the development and evaluation of a tool or intervention before it is implemented in clinical practice.

Chu has continuously sought innovative ways to use digital technology to improve the lives of older adults, whether they are recovering from surgery, or need to exercise their cognition in a long-term care home. It is her commitment to older adults and their quality of life that has made her a renowned nurse researcher in her field.

Denika McPherson, an Ontario and American board-certified Nurse Practitioner (NP), is passionate about the potential and positive impact of artificial intelligence in the health care system and she too recognizes the importance of ensuring underrepresented voices are included in decision making processes about digital health solutions.

As the AI Lead and Senior Business Advisor for the Ontario Ministry of Health, McPherson prides herself on being a champion for diversity in digital health and her leadership in the advancement of the quintuple aim —enhancing patient experience, improving population health, reducing costs, supporting provider well-being, and promoting health equity.

McPherson points to a 2020 Statistics Canada study which found that Black women represent just 2.5 per cent of the professional tech sector. This finding is particularly relevant, McPherson says, as additional research has shown that AI has the potential to spread discrimination and inequities, often mirroring society’s existing biases and disproportionately harming already marginalized groups.

“Receiving this award has provided a valuable moment to reflect on my work to date, and reiterates my commitment to driving meaningful change in this area, while celebrating other women leaders’ achievements in digital health,” says McPherson. “I believe that ensuring equitable AI implementation requires co-design with diverse users throughout the AI development life-cycle which can not only catalyze innovation but also ensure adherence to the Belmont principles: respect for persons, justice, and beneficence.”

In her current role McPherson has used her domain expertise as an Advanced Practice Nurse leader to shape strategic governance frameworks and resource allocation models as they relate to digital health solutions and their alignment with provincial health system objectives. For her, innovation in health care and digital technology are inextricably linked, and she believes strongly that nurses should be at the forefront of leadership in this health system transformation.