Jacqueline Avanthay-Strus

Jacqueline Avanthay-Strus serves as a Regular teacher at the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Saint-Boniface, where she teaches multiple nursing courses including Interpersonal Relations and Collaborative Practice, Community Health Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Perinatal Family Care, and Introduction to Nursing. With a PhD and M.Sc.Inf. credentials, she is a Registered Nurse through the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba, bringing substantial clinical experience to her academic role.

Dr. Avanthay-Strus's research focuses on critical contemporary issues in nursing and healthcare, with particular expertise in perinatality and transition to parenthood, sexuality and harm reduction, vulnerable populations, Indigenous health, and planetary health. Her work increasingly addresses the intersection of climate change and healthcare, especially regarding perinatal health and equity considerations. She has developed significant expertise in consensual non-monogamous parenting couples' experiences and the implications for healthcare providers during the transition to parenthood.

Her scholarly output reveals a growing emphasis on planetary health and climate change impacts on healthcare systems, with numerous accepted and in-press publications examining how nurses can contribute to sustainable healthcare practices. Her research also consistently addresses issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion, particularly regarding LGBTQ2S+ populations and Indigenous health perspectives. This dual focus on planetary health and social justice represents a distinctive and increasingly important contribution to nursing scholarship.

• Manitoba Training Program for Health Service Research Fellowship ($22,500) – refused (2020-2021)
• Francofonds Scholarship ($1,500), Manitoba Community Foundation (2020-2021)
• Community Health Bursary ($1,800; $3,500), University of Ottawa (2020-2021; 2021-2022)
• Excellence Scholarship, University of Ottawa ($36,000) (2020-2025)
• Francofonds Scholarships ($1,500; $750; $1,500), Manitoba Community Foundation (2020-2021; 2021-2022; 2022-2023; 2023-2024)
• CSO ($15,000), Province of Ontario (2022-2023)
• Sigma Theta Tau International Doctoral Award, Canadian Nurses Foundation ($2,000) (2021-2022)
• Tylenol® Fund to Advance Diversity in Nursing and Health Equity Research Scholarship, Canadian Nurses Foundation ($20,000) (2023-2025)
• SSHRC scholarship ($60,000) (2023-2025)

Dr. Avanthay-Strus actively contributes to the advancement of nursing through multiple externally funded research projects, including the Planetary Health Nurses Fellowship ($500,000) as Principal Investigator, and several Health Canada and Canadian Institutes of Health Research projects focusing on planetary health assessment tools, radon gas awareness, and environmental racism education for nurses. She serves as President-Elect of the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment (2019-2021) and participates in the Canadian Nurses Association's Canadian Network of Nursing Specialties (2020-2023) and Baby Friendly Manitoba Community Committee (2010-present), demonstrating significant leadership in the nursing community.

Her professional background includes extensive clinical experience as a Public Health Nurse at North Eastman Health Association and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, and as a Community Health Nurse and Registered Nurse at Saint-Boniface Hospital and Health Centre from 2004-2014, providing a strong foundation for her current academic and research work in community and population health nursing.