Samantha Louie-Poon, PhD, RN

Contact

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Nursing

Email: slouiepo@ualberta.ca

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

Anti-racism Asian well-being Child health Critical theories Qualitative methods

About

My clinical nursing background is in the area of pediatric oncology/hematology and pediatric medicine. As a nurse researcher and educator, I am passionate about community engagement, storytelling, and advocacy. Through my research and community engagement, I strive to walk alongside people through a lens of empowerment, relationality, curiosity, and in the ways and views that are meaningful to others. My philosophy is rooted in building meaningful human and community connections through stories, art-based methods, and thinking and imagining differently to improve the health, wellbeing, and rights of future generations.

Academic training

Postdoctoral Fellowship (2023-2024) – Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Faculty of Science, Dalhousie University
Doctor of Philosophy (Nursing) (2019-2023) – Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta
Bachelor of Science in Nursing with Distinction (2012-2016) – Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta

Research

My research program, RAW: Reimagining Asian Wellbeing, is informed by the various intersections of my personal and professional experiences—pediatric nursing, lived experiences, prior research knowledge, and community advocacy and engagement. The overall aim of RAW is dedicated at advocating for the rights and wellbeing of Asian children and youth within the healthcare system and beyond, while working in solidarity with other racialized communities. RAW achieves this goal by opening up spaces for critical dialogue, prioritizing community engagement through safe and meaningful partnerships, documenting the ongoing impact and history of racism, and amplifying Asian cultures and knowledges. RAW research program amplifies Asian children and youth, while recognizing that topics of structural inequities and achieving wellbeing occurs across a lifespan, intergenerationally, and within and across multiple intersecting community spaces. By using research as a vessel for advocacy and storytelling, my hope is to contribute to the existing legacy of our ancestors so future generations can exist beyond surviving; a world rooted in collective liberation and radical joy.

Examples of ongoing projects include:

Reimagining mental health narratives with Asian youth
Improving equitable pain care for Asian populations

Announcements

Research: I am currently accepting students for supervision and research assistant opportunities. I welcome undergraduate and master’s level students to please reach out with your CV and a brief description of your areas of interest so we may explore opportunities for working together in a collaborative environment.

Community: Community voices area critical and must be amplified in safe and meaningful ways. I would be delighted to explore past and new community connections with people with lived experiences and/or community organizations. If my topics or philosophy interests you, I encourage you to reach out so we may explore how to work in collaboration on future initiatives.

Courses

NURS 425A - Nursing Leadership in a Focus Area

This leadership experience provides opportunity to consolidate prior learning and develop confidence and competence as students prepare to transition to the role of the Registered Nurse. The focus is on collaboration with interprofessional teams, systems thinking, and healthcare system change. Students evaluate the influence of evidence, policy and legislation on decision-making in complex health systems using a relational practice lens. Students demonstrate and enhance their own relational capacity as leaders and innovators for 21st Century Canadian healthcare. Fieldwork hours listed are the total number of hours and will be offered over 12 weeks. Prerequisites: All courses in the program except NURS 422, INT D 420 and NURS 485. Corequisite: NURS 422 and INT D 420.

Spring Term 2025

NURS 425B - Nursing Leadership in a Focus Area

This leadership experience provides opportunity to consolidate prior learning and develop confidence and competence as students prepare to transition to the role of the Registered Nurse. The focus is on collaboration with interprofessional teams, systems thinking, and healthcare system change. Students evaluate the influence of evidence, policy and legislation on decision-making in complex health systems using a relational practice lens. Students demonstrate and enhance their own relational capacity as leaders and innovators for 21st Century Canadian healthcare. Fieldwork hours listed are the total number of hours and will be offered over 12 weeks. Prerequisites: All courses in the program except NURS 422, INT D 420 and NURS 485. Corequisite: NURS 422 and INT D 420.

Summer Term 2025

NURS 596 - Research Foundations

Explore diverse methods and approaches to formal research inquiry, including Indigenous research approaches. Compare and contrast research methods and practices, including approaches to framing of the research question, generating and analyzing data, presenting and disseminating findings. Increase understanding of research literacy, appraisal of rigour, and roles of research team members leading and participating in research endeavours.

Fall Term 2025

Browse more courses taught by Samantha Louie-Poon

Featured Publications

Exploring the literature on racism and health practitioner regulation: a scoping review protocol

Patrick Chiu, Samantha Louie-Poon, Kathleen Leslie, Janice Y Kung

BMJ open. 2024 July; 14 (7):e084084

“There is a strangeness in this disease”: A qualitative study of parents’ experiences caring for a child diagnosed with COVID-19

Samantha Louie-Poon, Kathy Reid, Priscilla O Appiah, Lisa Hartling, Shannon D Scott

PloS one. 2024 April; 19 (4):e0300146

Asian healthcare workers and their experiences of racism in North America: a scoping review

Samantha Louie-Poon, Patrick Chiu, Janice Y Kung

Canadian Journal of Nursing Research. 2023 September; 55 (3):279-291

Racism in health services for adolescents: a scoping review

Carla Hilario, Samantha Louie-Poon, Mischa Taylor, Gurjeet K Gill, Megan Kennedy

International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Services. 2023 April; 53 (3):343-353

Environmental scan of mobile apps for promoting sexual and reproductive health of adolescents in low-and middle-income countries

Aneri Patel, Samantha Louie-Poon, Samar Kauser, Zohra Lassi, Salima Meherali

Frontiers in Public Health. 2022 November; 10

Development of an adolescent advisory group to inform sexual and reproductive health research for first- and second-generation immigrant adolescents in Canada: A community-based participatory action research study

Krooti Vyas, Samantha Louie-Poon, Salima Meherali

Frontiers in Reproductive Health. 2022 October; 4

Promoting adolescent sexual and reproductive health in North America using free mobile apps: environmental scan

James Russell Andrew Benoit, Samantha Louie-Poon, Samar Kauser, Salima Meherali

JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting. 2022 October; 5 (4):e33826

Links

Reimagining Asian Well-being