Remembering Dr. Benita Cohen: A tribute to a life well-lived

cheryl cusack; Annette Schultz; Lynn Scruby; Netha Dyck; Donna Martin; Claire  Betker; Cheryl Van Daalen-Smith

doi:10.25071/2291-5796.134

Authors

Dr. Cheryl Cusack, RN, PhD University of Manitoba https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7310-3092
Dr. Annette Schultz, RN, PhD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7944-2180
Dr. Lynn Scruby, RN, PhD University of Manitoba https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5534-4159
Dr. Netha Dyck, RN, EdD University of Manitoba https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3625-4198
Dr. Donna Martin, RN, PhD University of Manitoba https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2705-5605
Dr. Claire Betker, RN, PhD
Dr. Cheryl Van Daalen-Smith, RN, PhD York University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9689-4966

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/2291-5796.134

Keywords:

Legacy, In Memoriam, Critical Public Health Nursing

Abstract

To honor the legacy of Dr. Benita Cohen, this special volume of Witness: The Canadian Journal of Critical Nursing Discourses is dedicated in remembrance of her. This Invited Commentary reflects on Benita’s career, passions, personality and key contributions to public health and nursing. Dr. Cohen was an exceptional nurse, researcher, educator, mentor, and health policy consultant. Her vision has shaped the fields of public health and community health nursing, and her impact will be felt for many generations to come.

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Author Biographies

Dr. Cheryl Cusack, RN, PhD, University of Manitoba

Dr. Cusack is a registered nurse with over 20 years of progressively senior experience in provincial and national nursing leadership roles. Cheryl is past president of the Community Health Nurses of Canada and holds appointments as an Assistant and Adjunct Professor at the University of Manitoba where she has taught a number of undergraduate nursing courses. Cheryl is passionate about nursing role advancement, health equity, workforce development, and inter-professional collaboration. Dr. Benita Cohen was Cheryl’s PhD advisor, mentor, and friend.

Dr. Annette Schultz, RN, PhD

Dr. Annette Schultz is a Canadian nurse researcher who explores health services and policy contexts in relation to health priorities. While individuals’ behaviours and their social and economic locations play a role in health status, health systems and policies also play a dynamic role in health status. Over the last 7 years, five of her funded research studies work with First Nation People; exploring heart health, diabetes and cancer experiences within Manitoba. In all of these studies, she integrates diverse methodological approaches, which are guided by principles of two-eyed seeing and decolonizing methodologies from conception to translation. She works on the University of Manitoba Campuses, which are located on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Metis Nation.

Dr. Lynn Scruby, RN, PhD, University of Manitoba

Dr. Lynn Scruby, RN, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba.

Her area of expertise is community health. Her current research activities focus on refugee health care provision. She brings a health equity and social justice lens to her teaching, research and community service.

Dr. Netha Dyck, RN, EdD, University of Manitoba

Dr. Netha Dyck has enjoyed a dynamic and diverse nursing career, providing strategic leadership in senior nursing service and academic leadership positions and on provincial and national professional associations, boards, and committees.

Dr. Dyck has provided academic leadership for the past 17 years as Dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Manitoba and in her former role as Dean of the School of Nursing and School of Heath Sciences at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

Dr. Donna Martin, RN, PhD, University of Manitoba

Associate Dean, Graduate Programs, College of Nursing Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Dr. Martin works collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams and structurally disadvantaged groups to conduct community-driven research focusing on health equity and social justice. Dr. Martin is honored to have served as a co-investigator on a project led by Dr. Benita Cohen.

Dr. Claire Betker, RN, PhD

Claire is a registered nurse and since March 2019 has been the NCCDH’s scientific director. Prior to coming to the NCCDH, Claire was the Executive Director of the Population and Public Health Branch with Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living. Her career has included roles in rural and urban public health, home health, primary health care, a regional health authority and the Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as previously serving as a senior knowledge translation specialist with the NCCDH. Claire is a past president of the Canadian Nurses Association and of the Community Health Nurses of Canada. Her PhD work focused on the capacity for public health leadership to advance health equity, a knowledge base that informs her contributions to the NCCDH, the public health field and community. Claire brings a wealth of expertise, rich networks and a passion to translate knowledge and evidence, especially to position public health to advance health equity.

Dr. Cheryl Van Daalen-Smith, RN, PhD, York University

Cheryl currently serves as the Associate Dean, Academic, Faculty of Graduate Studies at York University and is the Founder and Editor, of Witness: The Canadian Journal of Critical Nursing Discourse.

More importantly, she is a Long-time colleague of our beloved Benita Cohen.

References

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Cohen, B. (2006). Barriers to population-focused health promotion: The experience of public health nurses in the province of Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 38(3), 52-67.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mcgill/cjnr/2006/00000038/00000003/art00005

Cohen, B., Ateah, C., Chartier, M., Anderson, M., Harris, E., & Serwonka, K. (2016). Report of an equity-focused health impact assessment of a proposed universal parenting program in Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 107(1), e112-e118. https://doi.org/10.17269/cjph.107.5108

Cohen, B., & Gregory, D. (2009a). Community Health Clinical Education in Canada: Part 1 - "State of the Art". International journal of nursing education scholarship, 6, Article1. https://doi.org/10.2202/1548-923X.1637

Cohen, B., & Gregory, D. (2009b). Community Health Clinical Education in Canada: Part 2 - Developing Competencies to Address Social Justice, Equity, and the Social Determinants of Health. International journal of nursing education scholarship, 6, Article2. https://doi.org/10.2202/1548-923X.1638

Cohen, B., & Marshall, S. (2017). Does public health advocacy seek to redress health inequities? A scoping review. Health & Social Care in the Community, 25(2), 309-328. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12320

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Cohen, B., Schultz, A., McGibbon, E., VanderPlaat, M., Bassett, R., GermAnn, K., Beanlands, H., & Fuga, L. A. (2013). A Conceptual Framework of Organizational Capacity for Public Health Equity Action (OC-PHEA). Canadian Journal of Public Health, 104(3), e262-e266. https://doi.org/10.17269/cjph.104.3735

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CSDH. (2008). Closing the gap in a generation : health equity through action on the social determinants of health : Final report of the commission on social determinants of health. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/43943

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2008). Core competencies for public health in Canada. Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada.