Marni D. Brownell

Contact via University of Manitoba

Key Research Areas
Associated Researchers
Associated Organizations

Recent Research Projects

Addressing gender-based health inequities among immigrants to Canada

2017/18-2020/21 • $1,112,697 • PI,Other
Despite progress towards gender equity in the last decades, age-old patriarchal structures and attitudes that promote male dominance are still the norm in many countries. Canada increasingly receives large numbers of immigrants and refugees from countries where the status of women is lower than...

Facilitating transitions and access across the pregnancy continuum of care - A Health System Intervention for Indigenous Women Living in Northern Manitoba

2019/20-2020/21 • $494,626 • PI,CO,Other
Pregnancy is a time of transition. Women and families transition from pregnancy, to birth, to post pregnancy care. Each transition requires a connection to various health care providers, from a nurse, physician or midwife, sometimes to a specialist, and from care in an office setting, to...

A Distinction-Based Study on Equity in COVID-19 Testing for Manitoba First Nations, Metis and Inuit

2020/21 • $317,917 • PI,CO,Other
Some groups of Canadians are likely to be harder hit by the COVID-19 pandemic than others. First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FN/M/I) Canadians are one example of these. These groups have high rates of chronic illnesses (like heart disease and lung disease) that put them at high risk for poor...

Deferred Care Outcomes in Canadian Children and Youth: Measuring and Mitigating Risk during COVID-19

2020/21 • $258,686 • PI,CO,Other
Early data from Canada and other countries around the world suggest that children are less likely to be directly affected by COVID-19 compared to adults. However, there are concerns that children may suffer important health implications related to efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, such...

Health, Well-Being, and Disease-Birth to Adulthood in Manitoba

2019/20-2020/21 • $244,799 • PI,CO
Why are some children healthy and others not? Why do some children perform well in school and others drop out? Why are some youths arrested while others never come near the justice system? The population-based Manitoba data enable research on the consequences of birth, childhood, and adolescent...

Abinoonjees Nikanenim: Delivering Mental Health Services to Youth Living in Island Lake Anishininew Nations

2020/21 • $172,891 • PI,CO
In Canada, approximately 20% of youth experience mental health issues that impact their daily lives. The rate of mental illness and need for access to mental healthcare is especially troubling for First Nations (FN) youth. As a result of colonial processes, FN youth are at higher risk for...

Understanding cancer burden and outcomes for Canadians living with intellectual and developmental disabilities

2019/20-2020/21 • $156,955 • PI,CO
Not all Canadians have the same cancer risk, receive the same quality of healthcare after a cancer diagnosis, or have the same prognosis. This may be the result of many things including how much money someone has, their education, where they live, or discrimination within the healthcare system...

The CART PREG-Epi Study: Pandemic Reproductive health and health Equity- Guidance from Epidemiology to improve reproductive, perinatal, and maternal mental health and substance use care

2020/21 • $100,000 • PI,CO
From impacted fertility rates due to crisis isolation, intimate partner violence and limited access to contraception, through lesser access to abortion, pre-natal health services, screening for adequate weight gain in virtual visits, and the identification and management of mental health and...

Vaping and health outcomes, and use of the health care system among parents and adolescents in Manitoba

2020/21 • $99,421 • PI,CO,Other
Adolescence is an important developmental time when substance use often begins. More recently, electronic vaping products (such as e-cigarettes, e-cigars, vape pipes, vaping pens) have become the most common nicotine product in the US among youth. Less is known about vaping in Canada. However,...

Facilitating access across the pregnancy continuum of care - A health system intervention to improve care transitions and health outcomes for Indigenous women in northern Manitoba

2019/20 • $126,863 • PI,CO
Pregnancy is a time of transition for women and families. Throughout pregnancy women receive care in a variety of health settings including office medical care, ultrasound departments, hospitals for birth, and at home after discharge from hospital. Each of these transition requires a connection...

Across the Spectrum: Building a Multi-Sector Partnership to Conduct Social Policy Evaluation and Research Using Big Data

2018/19-2019/20 • $126,280 • PI,CO
Social services protect Canadians' safety and well-being and enrich their lives. However, these services are often poorly coordinated among the departments and agencies that deliver them, and are not often evaluated to ensure that they are reaching the people most in need of them. Potential...

Investigating Use of Prescription Opioids and Multiple Psychotropic Medications During Pregnancy: Impact on the Mother and Developing Child

2019/20 • $100,000 • PI,CO
Canada is in the midst of an opioid crisis. With more women taking prescription opioids during pregnancy now than at any time in the past, it is important to understand how these drugs are used during pregnancy and how they affect the development of children. This information is critical to...

Missed opportunities for early intervention: Determinants of prevalence and characteristics of children with impairments unrecognized in health systems by kindergarten age among the 2009 birth cohort of Ontario children

2019/20 • $74,356 • PI,CO
Early identification and intervention can have a beneficial impact on the lives of young children who have developmental deficiencies. The percentage of children who enter kindergarten with an impairment or a special health need (ISHN) that impact their ability to function in the classroom has...

The Canadian Respiratory Research Network: Origin and Progression of Airway Disease

2013/14-2018/19 • $4,450,000 • PI,CO
The Canadian Respiratory Research Network (CRRN), in close partnership with the Canadian Lung Association (CLA) and other partners, will improve patient care and outcomes through creation of an enduring national network of investigators and research platforms to enable innovative, collaborative,...

PAX-Good Behavior Game in First Nations Communities: Enhancing and Adapting a School-Based Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention Strategy

2015/16-2018/19 • $673,777 • PI,CO,Other
The study goal is to improve the mental well-being of First Nations (FN) children and to decrease suicidal behaviours in the longer term. Rates of suicide and suicide attempts of FN youth in Canada are alarmingly high and are considered a major public health concern. PAX Good Behavior Game...

Prevalence and social determinants of developmental outcomes among 5-year-old children with health disorders: A Pan-Canadian study

2015/16-2018/19 • $378,411 • PI,CO
A health disorder early in life has tremendous impact on a child's developmental health trajectory. Among healthy children, approximately one in five kindergartners (20%) lacks the developmental skills to take advantage of school-based education. Among children with identified special health...

Quantifying Social Disparities in Youth Justice System Trajectories -- Evidence to Inform Policy Change

2018/19 • $83,377 • PI,CO
Challenge: Incarceration is linked to a range of negative outcomes, including lower lifetime earnings, lower educational attainment, poorer mental health, and unstable housing. To reduce the negative consequences of incarceration among Canadian youth, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA)...

Indigenous Youth Aging out of the Child Welfare System in Manitoba: Where do we go from here?

2018/19 • $80,043 • PI,CO
As of 2017, there were 10,714 children in care of the child welfare system in Manitoba (MB), and despite composing only approximately 26% of the child population, Indigenous children account for more than 89% of children in care. When transitioning out of the care of the child welfare system,...

Neonatal and Childhood Neurodevelopmental, Health and Educational Outcomes of Children Exposed to Antidepressants and Maternal Depression During Pregnancy

2015/16-2017/18 • $145,312 • PI,CO
While antidepressants are commonly prescribed during pregnancy, there is conflicting evidence concerning the use of these medications during the prenatal period. Recent research has demonstrated that antidepressant medications cross the placenta and may have detrimental effects on fetal and...

Exploring system change to improve educational experiences of children in care

2015/16-2017/18 • $131,170 • PI,CO
Canada, and particularly Manitoba, is facing an emerging crisis with children in care. The numbers of children in care in Manitoba are increasing, and consequently, it is of critical importance to pay attention to their needs, including educational experiences, and how the service system can...

Putting Children First: Delivering Quality and Cost-Effective Mental Health Services to Children and Youth Living in First Nations Communities

2017/18 • $100,000 • PI,CO,Other
Mental disorders are common in childhood. They are distressing, disabling and if left untreated, significantly impact quality of life into adulthood. First Nations (FN) youth in Canada are at particular risk. Although actual rates of mental disorders among FN youth are not known, research...

A Data Infrastructure for Monitoring the Impact of Cannabis Legalization: Data Collection and Linkage Strategies to Inform Health and Social Policy

2017/18 • $98,623 • PI,CO,Other
Next summer, the Canadian government is making it legal to buy and use marijuana. The effect that this will have on how much marijuana Canadians use and how often they use it is not known. Information on the long-term impacts of marijuana on health and social issues is also lacking. We need data...

Emerging team in rare diseases: achieving the "triple aim" for inborn errors of metabolism

2011/12-2016/17 • $1,490,492 • PI,CO
Our team proposes a program of research to position Canada as a world leader in evidence-informed health care for children with rare diseases, beginning with inborn errors of metabolism (IEM). We have a strong team with expertise in many areas of academic research and in providing clinical care...

Health and Social Impacts on the Family Following Fetal/Infant Death

2013/14-2016/17 • $494,172 • PI,CO,Other
The death of a baby pregnancy or the first year of life is frequently a life-transforming event for bereaved parents and families. Health and social care providers as well as society at large tend to underestimate the long-term impact that such a death can have on a family, often resulting in...

Effect of comprehensive insulin pump coverage on socioeconomic disparities in acute-diabetes related complications amongst children with Type 1 diabetes mellitus: A population-based study in Quebec and Manitoba.

2016/17 • $75,000 • PI,CO
Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) requires life long insulin therapy to treat high blood sugars. Without insulin, children die. T1DM is one of the most common chronic diseases in children. Unfortunately, Canada has one of the highest rates. Long-term diabetes can lead to several health problems...

PATHS Equity for Children. A program of research into what works to reduce the gap for Manitoba's children

2011/12-2015/16 • $1,900,000 • PI,CO
There is much interest in addressing the problem of health inequity. Health inequity is unfair and avoidable or remediable differences in health among social groups. Health equity suggests that all people can reach their full potential and should not be disadvantaged from attaining it due to...

Examining the Social Determinants of Children's Developmental Health with a Population-Level, Pan-Canadian Database

2012/13-2015/16 • $675,594 • PI,CO
The proposed research project presents unprecedented opportunities to examine social determinants of children's developmental health at a Pan-Canadian population-level. We will examine neighborhood-level associations between children's developmental health and associated socioeconomic and...

A mixed methods evaluation of Health Canada's Children's Oral Health Initiative (COHI). Does it lead to improved oral health for young First Nations and Inuit children?

2015/16 • $250,000 • PI,CO,Other
Too many Indigenous Canadian preschool children develop early childhood tooth decay. Canadian statistics on early childhood tooth decay are staggering and highlight the need for urgent evidence-based interventions with Indigenous communities. There is no magic bullet to prevent it, and the...

Envision: Evaluating Home Visiting Interventions for Manitoba First Nations Families

2015/16 • $250,000 • PI,CO,Other
Our research will look at the effect of home visiting programs for First Nations families in Manitoba. Many First Nations families live in difficult conditions that put them at high risk for child abuse or neglect. Poor housing, poverty, and addictions are only a few of the risk factors that...

Pathways to Health Equity: Levelling the Playing Field An international conference for research into health equity

2015/16 • $10,000 • PI,CO
Addressing health equity has become an increasingly important aspect of health services delivery across the country and internationally. The CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health recognized this need with an initiative funding eleven programmatic grants dedicated to studying health...

PAX-Good Behavior Game in First Nations Communities: Enhancing and Adapting a School-Based Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention Strategy

2014/15 • $7,150 • PI,CO,Other
Rates of suicide and suicide attempts of First Nations youth in Canada are alarmingly high and are considered a major public health concern. We still have a considerable amount to learn about how mental health promotion and suicide prevention is implemented in Canada and in First Nations...

The Health of Canadian Caregivers: Using administrative health services data to understand the determinants of the health of caregivers of children with chronic health problems.

2010/11-2012/13 • $327,426 • PI,CO
Parents caring for children with health problems face tremendous demands on their time, energy and financial resources. Such demands can be associated with poorer health among the caregivers themselves. These health effects are not limited to caregivers of the most seriously disabled children,...

Childhood Social Factors in Development - the CHILDSOC Project

2011/12-2012/13 • $98,984 • PI,CO
Multiple, comprehensive social and health related variables will be used to gain an understanding of what is important (and at which point in the child's early years) in predicting health outcomes. We will focus on important health conditions which children face in their early years: asthma,...

Investigating the Association between Interpregnancy Interval and Autism Spectrum Disorders using the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy's Data Repository

2011/12-2012/13 • $70,376 • PI,CO
Autism spectrum disorder ("autism") describes lifelong neurodevelopmental conditions that cause varying and often significant degrees of impairment in social interaction and communication. A large proportion of individuals on the autism spectrum also have intellectual disability. It is currently...

Predictors and Outcomes of Prenatal Care: Vital Information for Future Service Planning

2010/11-2011/12 • $62,500 • PI,CO
Prenatal care is an important health service that has the potential to improve the health of pregnant women and result in better pregnancy outcomes. However, not all women receive an optimal level of prenatal care. We plan to conduct a population-based study of all births in the province of...

Early Identification of Families with Young Children at Risk: Evaluating a Public Health Screening Measure through the Use of NLSCY Data

2010/11-2011/12 • $42,628 • PI,CO
Many young Canadian children experience poor physical, cognitive, communicative, and psychosocial development. Public health nurses have a long history of providing preventive services to families to support parenting and promote healthy childhood development, but there has been little...

The Medical Home of Children and Youth in Canada.

2010/11 • $94,402 • PI,Other
Canadian provinces are undergoing significant health reform in the area of primary care delivery. The Medical Home is a conceptual model of primary care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, compassionate, coordinated, family-centred and culturally effective which summarizes many of the...

PATHS Equity for Children: A program of research into what works to reduce the gap for Manitoba's children

2010/11 • $15,000 • PI,CO
There has been much recent interest in addressing the problem of health inequity. Health inequity is unfair and avoidable or remediable differences in health among social groups. Health equity suggests that all people can reach their full health potential and should not be disadvantaged from...

Patents