Shannon MacDonald, PhD RN
Contact
Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Immunization Vaccine Child health Public health
About
My program of research focuses on supporting immunization best practice and policies. I have a particular interest in addressing system-level barriers to achieving high immunization coverage, especially in under-served populations.
My research training is in epidemiology, public health, and nursing, including a post-doctoral fellowship in the Alberta Ministry of Health. My clinical background is in pediatric intensive care, having worked in pediatric ICUs in Newfoundland and North Carolina, before I changed my focus more toward public health and preventive care. I subsequently taught in schools of nursing in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia and participated in various international maternal-child health projects. My primary interest continues to be child health/pediatrics, although I also study adult immunization.
My areas of interest and expertise include:
- Immunization
- Infectious disease
- Child health, particularly under-served populations such as children in the child welfare system and Indigenous child health
- Public health
- Post-Doctoral Fellow (2013-2016) University of Calgary Department of Pediatrics & Alberta Ministry of Health
- PhD (Nursing) (2013) University of Alberta
- Master of Nursing (2002) Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Bachelor of Nursing (1997) Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Bachelor of Science (Zoology) (1993) University of Alberta
- Alberta Health Services President’s Excellence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Innovation and Research Excellence (2018), as part of the Alberta Provincial Pediatric EnTeric Infection TEam (APPETITE)
- Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program (CCHCSP) Career Development Award (2017-2021)
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Fellowship (2014-2016)
Research
My methodological strengths are in quantitative research, epidemiology, administrative health data, and survey methods. I also include qualitative methods in many of my research projects, working with colleagues with expertise in this approach. I often collaborate with multi-disciplinary clinicians, policy-makers, and program administrators at the Alberta Ministry of Primary & Preventative Health Services (formerly 'Alberta Health') and Primary Care Alberta (formerly 'Alberta Health Services') to answer questions of practical importance to immunization policy and clinical practice.
RECENT GRANTS
- Impact of publicly-funded HPV vaccination: Vaccine coverage trends with expanded age eligibility, and long-term population impact and effectiveness on cancer outcomes. CIHR-Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN), PI, 2025-2027 ($147,825)
- Reducing vaccine-preventable STBBIs among First Nations youth: Leveraging community-owned data to catalyze collaborative solutions. CIHR Catalyst Grant: STBBI Research in Canada – Beyond HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, PI, 2024-2026 ($99,732)
- Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN) Renewal. CIHR, Co-PI, 2024-2027 ($15,000,000)
- Long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine childhood vaccination. CIHR-Canadian Immunization Research Network, PI, 2023-2026 ($159,825).
- Evidence-based immunization policy: Public health interventions to reduce the burden of vaccine preventable disease. Alberta Ministry of Health, PI, 2023-2028 ($450,000).
- Vaccination in a pandemic: The impact on routine vaccinations and future COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. CIHR COVID Rapid Funding Grant, PI, 2020-2024 ($335,000)
- Vaccination in a pandemic: Perspectives of equity-seeking groups and healthcare providers on COVID-19 vaccination. CIHR CIRN, PI, 2021-2024 ($179,000)
- Estimation of long-term COVID-19 health state utility values. CIHR CIRN, Co-PI, 2021-2025 ($115,165)
- Nishtoohtamihk la michinn avik aen nijhwii (Understanding vaccination): HPV vaccination coverage and experience among Metis in Alberta. CIHR CIRN, PI, 2021-2026 ($182,848)
- Optimizing adult vaccination outcomes under public health budgetary constraints. Co-PI. CIHR Catalyst Grant: Impacts of financial/organizational restructuring of public health, Co-PI, 2019-2022 ($139,850)
- Canadian Immunization Research Network: COVID-19 Vaccine Readiness. CIHR, Co-PI, 2020-2024 ($3,500,000)
Teaching
Courses currently teaching:
- NURS 589 & 590 (Community of Inquiry)
Courses
NURS 589 - Master's Community of Inquiry I
Deepen understanding of the nature of nursing scholarship and research by engaging with the work of nursing faculty researchers. Emphasis is placed on developing collaborative critical dialogue as an introduction to systematic enquiry into a topic of relevance to the student's selected area of advanced focus.
NURS 590 - Master's Community of Inquiry II
Explore development of questions appropriate for systematic research and inquiry. Emphasis is placed on locating and exploring literature that informs the current state and limits of knowledge relevant to the student's selected advanced focus area of study. Prerequisite: NURS 589.
Featured Publications
2022 January;
King KD, Bartel R, James A, MacDonald SE
Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2022 January; 10.17269/s41997-021-00603-7
Sell H, Assi A, Driedger SM, Dubé E, Gagneur A, Meyer SB, Robinson J, Tunis M, MacDonald SE
Vaccine. 2021 December; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.044
Humble RM, Hannah S, Dubé E, MacDonald NE, Robinson J, Driedger SM, Sadarangani M, Meyer SB, Wilson S, Benzies KM, Lemaire-Paquette S, MacDonald SE.
Vaccine. 2021 December; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.10.002
Rafferty E, Reifferscheid L, Russel ML, Booth S, Svenson LW, MacDonald SE
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases. 2021 July; 10.1007/s10096-021-04298-z
MacDonald SE, Palichuck A, Slater L, Tripp H, Reifferscheid L, Burton C
Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. 2021 March; 10.1080/21645515.2021.1935169