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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

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Jennifer Abbass Dick
PhD

Associate Professor

Faculty of Health Sciences

Contact information

Shawenjigewining Hall - Room 457
North Oshawa
2000 Simcoe Street North
Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5

905.721.8668 ext. 3735

jennifer.abbassdick@ontariotechu.ca

Research topics

  • breastfeeding
  • parenting
  • co-parenting
  • fathers
  • randomized controlled trials
  • interventions design and evaluation
  • eHealth

Research and Expertise

  • Background and Interests

    Dr. Jennifer Abbass Dick graduated from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She completed her Master of Nursing degree in 2009 from the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto with a focus on Community Health. She completed her PhD at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto in 2013.

    The title of the dissertation is:
    Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Co-parenting Breastfeeding Support Intervention on Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates at 12 Weeks Postpartum

    Dr. Abbass Dick has worked with childbearing families as both a Registered Nurse and lactation consultant in the hospital and community throughout her career. She is dedicated to assisting and empowering parents to have a positive and healthy transition to parenthood.

    Dr. Abbass Dick and a team of professionals from Ontario Tech University, Durham Region Health Department, and Lakeridge Health  have created an Online Breastfeeding Course for Parents, to standardize breastfeeding education across the Health Region. Visit the Breastfeeding information for parents website. 

    Dr. Abbass Dick founded the Canadian Breastfeeding Research Network. For more information, visit the website at breastfeedingresearchers.ca.

  • Education
    • PhD, University of Toronto, 2013
    • Master of Nursing, University of Toronto, 2009
    • Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Queen's University, 1995
  • Courses taught

    Undergraduate Courses:

    • Health and Healing - Healthy Communities
      • NURS 3700U – Instructor/Faculty Advisor
    • Community Based Health Care and Nursing
      • NURS 3402U – Instructor
    • Nursing Leadership and Innovation
      • NURS 4100U – Instructor

     Graduate Courses:

    •  Research Approaches for Nursing and Health Sciences
      • NURS 5010G – Instructor
  • Publications

    To view the most up-to-date publications: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9680-0701