Assistant Professor, Nursing

905 688 5550 x4749

dabudubirresbor@brocku.ca

Dr. Diana Abudu-Birresborn is an Assistant Professor at Brock University’s Department of Nursing and a Registered Nurse in Canada and Ghana. She received her PhD from the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, specializing in Health Systems Leadership and Administration, and a Collaborative Specialization in Ageing, Palliative and Supportive Care from the Institute of Life Course and Ageing, Factor Inwentash School of Social Work at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Diana employed a mixed-method approach to examine nursing students’ preparation for caring for older adults in Ghana in her PhD. Diana’s clinical nursing experience spans over 15 years in rural and urban communities. Her clinical nursing experience influenced her interest in working with older adults, nurses, and nursing students.

Her research interests include gerontological nursing education, workforce development, cultural competency and health disparities in the social and healthcare of minority older adults, including Black older adults. Diana seeks to conduct research to inform practice and policy, advancing culturally competent health equity for older Black adults in Canada, optimizing nursing students and nurses expertise and skills to improve and provide equitable access to the social and healthcare needs for minority older adults in Canada.

She has a strong background in mixed-method, quantitative, and advanced qualitative research and has submitted and published in peer-reviewed international journals. Diana has received several awards and grants, including the competitive Bertha Rosenstadt Doctoral Research Dissertation Grant, which supports students in good standing in the Ph.D. program making timely progress toward their degrees. She also completed a fellowship with the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) for early career researchers funded by the National Institute of Health, USA.