The Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI) is very pleased to congratulate the recipient of the inaugural Dr. Monica K. Li and Family Undergraduate Medical Student Research Award in Women’s Health.
Thanks to an annual endowment by Dr. Monica K. Li and family to the BC Women’s Health Foundation, the WHRI has established the Dr. Monica K. Li and Family Undergraduate Medical Student Research Award in Women’s Health, a funding opportunity specific to our undergraduate medical student trainee community.
This award is intended to provide support to WHRI-affiliated medical students who identify as a woman from racial/ethnic minority groups to pursue research in women’s and/or newborn health under the mentorship of a WHRI researcher. This award can be used to support summer research placements, UBC FLEX research projects or other types of research activities.
This year, the WHRI offered one award, valued at $3,400, for a one-year period.
2024 AWARD RECIPIENT
Recipient
Holy Ghaly, Year 4 Medical Student, Doctor of Medicine Program, University of British Columbia
Project Supervisor
Dr. Marianne Vidler, Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gyaecology, University of British Columbia
Project Title
Postpartum Anxiety and Comorbid Conditions
Project Aims
Postpartum anxiety is common, affecting up to 40% of birthing parents, and is associated with negative maternal and infant outcomes, including negative impact on parenting and day-to-day functioning. Moreover, it is well-established that postpartum anxiety is comorbid with depression, persistent pain, and persistent opioid use. Safe and effective treatments exist for postpartum anxiety, and patients are receptive to screening. However, despite this, there is a lack of consensus regarding screening for perinatal anxiety in BC. As such, there is a need to identify a reliable way to screen for postpartum anxiety. The primary goals of the study are 1) to characterize anxiety in the BC postpartum population, including patient characteristics that predict higher levels of postpartum anxiety, and 2) to investigate the feasibility of online screening.