Bukola Oladunni Salami, RN, MN, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

Immigrant Health; Black Peoples Health; Intersectionality

About

Degrees

• PhD (Nursing), University of Toronto (2014)
• MN (Nursing Administration), University of Toronto (2008)
• BScN (Honors), University of Windsor (2004)

Selected Awards and Distinctions

• Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal Recipient
• Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award
• Killam Accelerator Award ($225,000)
• Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing 2021
• Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Award 2020
• College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta Nursing Excellence Award 2019
• Rosalind Smith Professional Award: National Black Coalition of Canada (Edmonton Chapter)
• Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing Emerging Nurse Researcher Award 2018
• 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women 2018
• Edmonton's Top 40 under 40 2016
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Award
• Sigma Theta Tau International Lambda-Pi-At-Large Award of Merit for an Outstanding PhD Thesis
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship
• Ontario Training Center in Health Service and Policy Research Fellowship – a CIHR Strategic Training Program

Biography

I am a Professor at the Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta and the Director of the Intersections of Gender Signature Area in the Office of Vice President Research and Innovation. I joined the Faculty in January 2014 as an Assistant Professor. I received my Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Windsor, Master of Nursing from the University of Toronto, and PhD from the University of Toronto. My doctoral research was on the migration of Philippine-educated nurses to Ontario through the Live-in Caregiver Program. My doctoral work was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. I also completed the Ontario Training Centre in Health Service and Policy Research Collaborative Program, the International Nursing PhD Program, and the Critical Qualitative Health Research Certificate Program. Prior to my academic career, I was a pediatric oncology nurse and subsequently an interprofessional educator at the New Immigrant Support Network of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

My research program focuses on policies and practices shaping migrants’ health. I have been involved in around 90 funded research projects. I am the lead on around 30 of these projects with funding from national and international agencies. I have led research projects on vaccine confidence among Black Canadians, COVID 19 disinformation among Black Canadians, African immigrant child health, immigrant mental health, access to healthcare for immigrant children, Black youth mental health, strengthening intersectional research methodology, environmental scan of equity seeking organizations in Alberta, international nurse migration, immigrant child mental health, the experiences of live-in caregivers and care recipients, the experiences of temporary foreign workers, internally displaced people, and parenting practices of African immigrants. I have around 100 published scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals (with another 15 under review), 2 book chapters, and 8 reports. I am on the editorial board of Nursing Inquiry and Qualitative Health Research Journal, a guest editor for International Journal of Environmental and Public Health Research and Regional Climate Change Journal. I am working on a book on the links between migration and climate change. I am associate editor for the Canadian Medical Association Journal, an editor for the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research and also on the advisory board of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research Institutes for Human Development, Child and Youth Health.

My research has led to several positive policy and program initiatives, including contributing to the establishment of a Black mental health clinic by Africa Center. I have provided consultations to local, provincial, and national policymakers to improve outcomes for immigrants and racialized communities. I founded and currently lead the African Child and Youth Migration Network of 40 scholars from 4 continents focused on improving the wellbeing of African children and youths globally. In 2020, I founded the Black Youth Mentorship and Leadership Program at the University of Alberta. The first University-based interdisciplinary mentorship program for Black youths in Western Canada, which seeks to empower Black youths socially and economically so they can contribute meaningfully to Canadian society. I am a community-engaged researcher who is involved and have volunteered for several community organizations, and have delivered several engagement sessions to immigrant communities. In 2017, I organized the first research stakeholder engagement day for African immigrants in Alberta. In 2015/2016, I was a collaborating researcher at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development and have presented to international policymakers (including representatives of United Nations, International Organization for Migration, World Health Organization) on migration and precarity. I have collaborated with individuals across diverse health and social science disciplines and have been engaged in research with researchers from various countries.

I represent the University of Alberta on the steering committee of the Worldwide Universities Network Global Africa Group. I am involved in several community volunteer initiatives, including serving as a member of Public Health Agency of Canada Working Group on the Mental Health of Black Canadian, Vice President of the Black Physicians Association of Alberta, and Board of the Black Opportunities Fund. Previously, I was a Board Member for Africa Center, Alberta College of Social Workers, Edmonton Local Immigrant Partnership, National Association of Nigerian Nurses of North America, International Nursing Interest Group of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, Montage Support Services (for adults with developmental disabilities), and Project Esperance (an 88 unit-apartment complex for abused women and children in Toronto). I have been a grant reviewer for several organizations, including the Public Health Agency of Canada, Bell Lets Talk, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, Edmonton Community Foundation, United Kingdom Medical Research Council, Canadian Institute for Health Research, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Alberta Health Services Strategic Clinical Network, Women and Children’s Health Research Institute, Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, and Alberta Innovates Health Solution.

In addition to my research, advocacy, and community engagement, I teach courses on immigrant health, health policy, community health, global health and program planning and evaluation. I have a solid track record of training students. I have mentored or trained trained over 100 students as graduate students and research assistants as well as over 100 high school students, many of whom have received awards, including the Canadian Vanier Graduate Scholarship Award and the International Development Research Center Doctoral Award.

I have received several awards for research excellence and community engagement:  Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal; Killam Accelerator Awa100 Accomplished Black Women in Canada; Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing Emerging Nurse Researcher of the Year Award; College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA) Award for Nursing Excellence; and, Alberta Avenue Edmonton Top 40 under 40. In 2020, I received the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame, one of the highest international research awards in nursing. 

Research

I am the principal investigator for the Health and Immigration Policies and Practices (HIPP) Research Program. My current program of research seeks to bridge the gaps between immigration policy and health policy and practices. Although I am largely a qualitative researcher, I employ diverse methodological approaches. I have conducted studies using case study methodology, critical ethnography, participatory action research, quantitative analysis of large data sets, metasynthesis, and scoping reviews. My research is largely situated within the critical social paradigm. In the past, I have used transnationalism, transnational feminist, intersectionality, and postcolonial feminist lens in my research projects. My current research is in the following areas:

1. Black peoples health
2. Immigrant child and youth health
3. The mental health of immigrants

I am particularly interested in how the intersection of gender, race, class, nationality and immigration status influence the health of vulnerable migrant and racialized groups in Canada as well as the policy and practice implications. To effectively tackle the complex issues related to migration and health, I often work within interprofessional teams. In the past, I have collaborated with individuals with background in women's studies, education, political science, anthropology, sociology, social policy, pediatrics, epidemiology, public health, dentistry, demography, and statistics as well as immigrant health and social service agencies. I am currently leading a network of researchers from twelve countries focused on African child and youth well being in the context of migration and displacement. In addition, I have an interest in global health research, especially in West Africa.  

Current Funded Research Projects

• Lauren Kelly (PI), Marsha Campbell-Yeo (Co-PI), Lindsey Jibb (Co-PI), Alexandra King (Co-PI), Malcolm King (Co-PI), Terry Klassen (Co-PI), Thierry Lacaze-Masmonteil (Co-PI), Srinivas Murthy (Co-PI), Naveen Poonai (Co-PI), Susan Samuel (Co-PI), Tracie Afifi, Evdoka Anagnostou, Mandy Archibald, Paul Arnold, Britney Benoit, Kathryn Birnie, Katherine Bright, Meredith Brockway, Nancy Butcher, Quynh Doan, Richard Keijzer, Holly Longstaff, Jonathon Maguire, Sarah McDonald, Souvik Mitra, Neeloffer Mookherjee, Charlotte Moore-Hepburn, Daniel Morgenstern, Delores Mullings, Martin Offringa, Sameer Parpia, Anne Nuyt, Lesley Pritchard, Beth Potter, Christy Pylypjuk, Dawn Richards, Leslie Roos, Manish Sadarangani, Bukola Salami, Greorg Schmoelzer, Robert Schroth, Jennifer Stinson, Ron Thomson, Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen, Vivian Tsang, Argerie Tsimicalis, Leanne Ward, Pia Wintermark, Mark Walker, Roger Zemek. (September 2022 – September 2025). Increasing capacity for Maternal and PAediatric Clinical Trials (IMPACT) in Canada. CIHR Training Grant: Clinical Trials Training Platforms. $4,907,350

  Santos Salas, A., Sinnarajah, A., Watanabe, S., Abdel-Rahman Abdelsalam, O., Alcalde, C. (Co-A), Camargo, P., Campbell, K., Huang, F., O’Rourke, H., Salami, B., Santana, M., Turner, J., (Oct 15, 2022-Oct 14, 2024). Increasing Access to Palliative Care for Advanced Cancer Patients from Racialized Communities of African and Latin American Descent. Canadian Cancer Society – Accelerator Grants. $200,000

• Salma, J. (NPI), Salami, B. (Co-PI), Jones, C. A. (Co-PI), Chamberlain, S., Guruge, S., Kobayasi, K., Layton, M., Nielsen, C., Whitefield, K., & Yamamoto, S. (2022-2026). Promoting outdoor mobility via enhancing walkability for racialized older women: A community based participatory project. Canadian Institutes for Health Research Project Grant. $520,000

• Amodu, O., Janes, C., Salami, B. (Sept 2022 to 2024). Impact of gender relations on economic wellbeing and post-displacement resettlement: An ethnographic analysis of internally displaced women in northern Nigeria. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Insight Development Grant. ??$70,000

• Iduye, D., & Salami, B. (Sept 2022 to 2023). Mentorship as a strategy for promoting recruitment, professional integration, retention, and career advancement of Black student and practising nurses: A scoping review. Dalhousie University. $5,000

• Oriola, T., Jean-Pierre, J., Ogunyankin, G. A., Arshad-Ayaz, A., Collins, T., Adeyanju, C., Asomah, J., Okeke-Ihejirika, P., Salami, B., Zarma, R. (April 2022 to 2025). Race, Gender, Sexuality and Student Security: The School Resource officer (SRO) program in Canada. SSHRC Insight Grant. $285,958

• Prado, C., Kirkham, A, Neil-Sztramko, S., Salami, O., Johnson, S., Ferguson-Pell, M. & Klein, D. (March 21, 2022 to March 31, 2023). Using of a Novel Digital Nutrition, Physical Activity and Mindfulness Platform for Cancer Prevention. Alberta Health. $200,000

• Fang, B., Miyasaki, J., Salami, O, B., Oury, M., Tejas, S., & Rajput, S. (2022 to 2025). Ethnic and Gender Discrimination in Access to Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery. SSHRC Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative. $428,000

• Luhanga, F., Oba, F., Abudu, E., Salami, B., Puplampu, V., & Maposa, S. (2022 to 2024).  Revealing Black Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Experiences in Saskatchewan. SSHRC Insight Grant. $114,376.

• Pupulampu, V., Osuji, J., Falihi, A., Salami, B., Salma, J., Bushi, O. J., Luhanga, F., Moasun, F., Mvumbi Mambu, L., Linnick, D. (2022 to 2025). Partnership to strengthen older racialized immigrants' social connectedness in Canada: The impacts of the living environment. SSHRC Partnership Development Grant. $199,098. 

• Salami, B., Ani-Amponsah, M., Kwankye, S., Richter, S., Okeke-Ihejirika, P., Vallianatos, H., Fouche, C., Mazzucato, V., Sibeko, L., Thompson, J., Fairbrother, H., Gommaa, H., Lavin, T., & Abimbola, S. (2019–2022). African child migration in circumstances of vulnerability: Developing a research partnership and network. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Partnership Development Grant. $200,000. Matching fund from Faculty of Nursing = $45,000

• Salami, B., & Hurley, N. (2022).  Environmental Scan of Equity Seeking Organizations in Alberta at the Intersection of Gender. Women and Gender Equality Canada. $40,000

• Samuel, S. (NPI), Salami, B. (Co-PI), Andrade, B., (PI), Archibald, M., Benchimol, E., Birken, C., Chafe, R., Chaillet, N., Jans, J., Keijzer, R., King, A., King, M., Mandhane, P., Poonai, N., Regnault, T., Stinson, J., Tersigni, C., Thomson, R., Walsh, C., Wiart Prichard, L.,  Zwicker, J. (All Listed are Co-PI plus another 180 Co-I and collaborators). (Jan 2022 to Dec 2027). Empowering Next-generation Researchers In perinatal and Child Health (ENRICH). CIHR Training grant - Health Research Training Platform (HRTP) Pilot, Human Development, Child and Youth Health pool. $2,400,000

• Salma, J. (NPI), Salami, B. (Co-PI), Jones, C. A. (Co-PI), Chamberlain, S., Guruge, S., Kobayasi, K., Layton, M., Nielsen, C., Whitefield, K., & Yamamoto, S. (2022-2023). Promoting outdoor mobility via enhancing walkability for racialized older women: A community based participatory project. Canadian Institutes for Health Research Project Grant. $100,000

• Salami, B. (PI), Hurley, N., Tate, S., Carpan, C., Spitzer, D., Hilario, C., Meherali, S., Reif, L., Perrier, M. M., Hui, T. H., Huijts, T., Lepinard, E., Misra, J., Holman, D., Cardo, V., Roche, H., Rodriguez, E., Bonifacio, G., Gahagan, J. (Jan 2022 to Dec 2022). Intersectional Research Methodologies: Towards a Sustainable Post COVID 19 Future. Worldwide Universities Network Research Development Grant. 10,000 pounds (plus $5,000 Matching funds from University of Alberta Office of Vice President Research.

• Salami, B., Sanni, O., Allen, U, Renzaho, A. (2021 to 2023). Improving COVID 19 vaccine confidence and uptake among Black Canadians. CIHR Operating Grant: COVID 19 Vaccine Confidence. $200,000

• Salami, B., Sanni, O., McKenzie, K., Mullings, D., Renzaho, A., Rousseau, C. (2021-2022). Mental health of Black children and youths after the COVID 19 pandemic. CIHR Operating Grant: Understanding/ mitigating impacts of COVID 19 on children, youths and families. $149,248.

• Estabrooks, C., Cummings, G., Anastasia, M., O’Rourke, H., Salami, B., Yuting, S. (2021 – 2024). How Missed Care Occurs in Nursing Homes: A Qualitative Study of Care Aides’ Perspectives. CIHR Project Grant. $206,550

• Salami, B., Sentilselvan, S., Richter, S., King, R., Ladha, T., Renzaho, A., Sanni, O (2021 – 2023). Access to healthcare for Black women in Alberta. Women and Children Health Research Institute Innovation Grant. $60,000

• Bourgeault, I., Cohen, D., Bartram, M, Hedden, L, Salami, B., Chamberland-Rowe, C., Leslie, K., Simkin, S., Gupta, N., Mathews, M., & Sweetman, L., (2021 – 2025). Inclusive, Integrated and Enhanced Data & Digital Infrastructure Platforms for more Timely and Responsive Health Workforce Planning and Decision-Making. Canadian Institute for Health Research Project Grant. $787,952

• Meherali, S., Chabot, F., Munro, S., Benoit, J., Flicker, S., Norman, W., Okeke-Ihejirika, P., Salami, B., Scott, S., Stroulia, E., Vandemorris, A., Wong, J. (2021 to 2024). Co-designing a mobile application with immigrant adolescents for better sexual and reproductive health. Canadian Institute for Health Research. Operating Grant: Early Career Investigator Grants in Maternal, Reproductive, Child & Youth Health. $210,000

• Merry, L., Salami, B., Kirova, A., Gervais, C., Kutz Landy, C. M., Papazian-Zohrabian, G., Archambault, I., Wahoush, O. E., & Caron, R. (2021 – 2025). Transnationalism and the psycho-social well-being of recently-arrived migrant mothers & fathers with young children (0 to 5 years old) in three Canadian cities. SSHRC Insight Grant. $337,430.

• Salma, J., Jones, C. A., & Salami, O. (2021 - 2022). Responding to the needs of vulnerable Muslim seniors during COVID-19: A community based participatory project using a mosque-based community liaison. SSHRC Partnership Engagement Grant. $24,635.

• Wong, J., Fung, K., Hilario, C. T., Li, A. T., W. Narushima, M., Vahabi, M., dela Cruz, A., Chen, Y., Etowa, J., Liu, J., Meherali, S., Ning, X., Owino, M., Poon, M., Salami, B. O., & Sato, C. (2020–2024). Acceptance and commitment to empowerment (ACE) intervention: Reducing HIV stigma and promoting community resilience through capacity building. Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant. $1,950,792.irani, S., & Salami, B. (2020–2023). Breastfeeding practices of immigrant mothers in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation Establishment Grant. $120,000.

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Teaching

In the past, I have taught the following courses: graduate course on "Migration and Health in the Canadian Context"; graduate course on "International and Intercultural Perspective on Health"' graduate course on "Public Policy and Nursing Leadership"; graduate course on "Program Planning"; undergraduate interprofessional course on "Interprofessional Team Development: Immigrant Health"; an undergraduate course on "Community Health Nursing".

I am not currently accepting students