Dr. Emily Belita

Bio

Dr. Belita joined the School of Nursing as an Assistant Professor in July 2021. Dr. Belita has experience working in the field of public health nursing, specifically in the areas of chronic disease prevention and child and youth health. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship jointly in the School of Nursing at McMaster University and in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo.

Select Publications

• Belita, E., Neil-Sztramko, S.E., Miller, A., Anderson, L.N., Apatu, E., Bellefleur, O., Kapiriri, L., Read, K., Sherifali, D., Tarride, J.E., & Dobbins, M. (2022). A scoping review of strategies to support public health recovery in the transition to a “new normal” in the age of COVID-19. BMC Public Health 22, 1244. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13663-2
• Belita, E., Jack, S. M., Lokko, H., & Dobbins, M. (2022). Exploring the context, role and impact of public health nursing during COVID-19: A multiple case study protocol. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 00, 1– 10. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15304 

• Belita, E., Schofield, R., Currie, G., Dietrich Leurer, M., Dosani, A., Cusack, C., Danaher, A., Dilworth, K., Etowa, J., Filion, F., Joseph, C., Lukewich, J., MacDonald, J., & Reid- Haughian, C. (2021). Advancing excellence in community health nursing through evidence-based national standards of practice. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 52(4), 168-175. https://doi.org/10.3928/00220124-20210315-05
• Belita, E., Yost, J., Squires, J.E., Ganann, R., Dobbins, M. (2021). Development and content validation of a measure to assess evidence-informed decision-making competence in public health nursing. PLoS ONE, 16(3): e0248330. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248330  
• Belita, E., Squires, J.E., Yost, J., Ganann, R., Burnett, T. & Dobbins, M. (2020). Measures of evidence-informed decision-making competence attributes: A psychometric systematic review. BMC Nursing, 19(1), 44. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-00436-8
• Belita, E., Carter, N., & Bryant-Lukosius, D. (2020). Stakeholder engagement in nursing curriculum development and renewal initiatives: a review of the literature. Quality Advancement in Nursing Education, 6(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.17483/2368- 6669.1200
• Neil-Sztramko, S.E., Belita, E. Levinson, A., Boyko, J., & Dobbins, M. (2019). Evaluation of an online knowledge translation intervention to promote cancer risk reduction behaviours: findings from a randomized controlled trial. BMC Cancer, 19(1138), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-019-6361-2
• Belita, E., Yost, J., Squires, J.E., Ganann, R., Burnett, T., & Dobbins, M. (2018). Measures assessing attributes of evidence-informed decision-making competence among nurses: A systematic review protocol. BMC Systematic Reviews, 7, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-018-0849-8
• Sidani, S., Brewster, J., Miranda, J., Walkerley, S., & Belita, E. (2016). Exploring the contribution of treatment factors to preferences for smoking cessation interventions. International Archives of Nursing and Health Care 2(1): 1-5. https://doi.org/10.23937/2469-5823/1510028
• Belita, E., & Sidani, S. (2015). Attrition in smoking cessation intervention studies: A systematic review. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 47(4), 21-40. https://doi.org/10.1177/084456211504700402

Honours

• RNAO NRIG Research Grant for the Novice Researcher (2021) 
• CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health Travel Award (2020)
• Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association Scholarship (2020)
• Joyce Shack Memorial Scholarship – Registered Nurses’ Foundation of Ontario (2019)
• Mary Keyes Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service to McMaster (2018)
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2017-2018; 2018-2019)
• Saint Elizabeth Health Care Community Nursing Scholarship (2018)

Grants

•  Belita, E. (Nominated Principal Applicant). Co-Principal Investigators: Dobbins, M., Neil-Sztramko, S.E. Principal Knowledge Users: Cabaj, J., Neudorf, C. Co-applicants: Boamah, S., Jack, S., Watson-Creed, G. Prioritizing the public health workforce in Canada: Understanding psychological health and intention to leave during COVID-19. CIHR Operating Grant. ($223,190). 2022-2024.
•  Riazi, N. (Nominated Principal Applicant). Co-applicants: Belita, E., Duncan, M., Leatherdale, S., Patte, K. Elevating youth voice on mental health: Mobilizing co-created knowledge translation resources for Canadian secondary schools. CIHR Planning and Dissemination Grant. ($9950). 2022-2023.

• Belita, E. (Nominated Principal Applicant). Co-applicants: Patte, K., Riazi, N., Leatherdale, S., Michaelson, V.E., Craig, W., & Pickett, W. Amplifying youth voice: Mobilizing co-created knowledge on youth engagement strategies for quantitative research. SSHRC Connection Grant. ($16,230). 2021-2022

• Patte, K. (Nominated Principal Applicant).  Principal Knowledge Users: Carsley, S., Laxer, R., Vanderloo, L. Co-applicants: Belita, E., Carson, V., Chaput, J.P., Duncan, M., Faulkner, G., Leatherdale, S., & Riazi, N. Changes in Health behaviours among Adolescents and Social-Ecological Influences: Pandemic Evidence for an Equitable Recovery (The CHASE PEER Study). CIHR Operating Grant. ($149,700). 2021-2022.

• Neil-Sztramko, S., Dobbins, M. (Co-Principal Investigators).  Co-Investigators: Anderson, L., Apatu, E., Belita, E., Bellefleur, O., Kaasalainen, S., Kapiriri, L., Sherifali, D., & Tarride, J.E. Identifying and disseminating strategies to support the long-term care sector following Covid-19. Regional Geriatric Program central (RGPc) and St. Peter’s / McMaster University Chair in Aging Specialized Geriatric Services Grant. ($14,960). 2020-2021        

• Dobbins, M., Yost, J. (Co-Principal Investigators).  Co-Investigators: Neudorf, C., Akhtar-Danesh, N., Levinson, A., & Belita, E. Supporting evidence-informed public health decision-making in cancer prevention. CIHR Operating Grant: Knowledge to Action. ($200,000). 2015-2019         

Research

The overall goal of Dr. Belita’s program of research is to strengthen public health systems and decision-making through the generation, dissemination, and integration of research evidence. Her research spans three key themes:

1) public health workforce and system planning: investigating the context and impact of public health workforce roles on individuals, organizations, communities, and populations

2) knowledge translation in youth health research: exploring the integration and impact of youth engagement in child and youth research

3) evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) in the context of public health policy and practice: advancing the field of competence measurement in EIDM to support capacity-building among the public health workforce

Courses

Dr. Belita has experience teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her teaching interests and experience relate to public health and community health nursing, critical appraisal, evidence-informed decision-making, and knowledge translation in the context of public health.