People

Dr. Patti Janssen (she/her) is a CGSHE Faculty Member and a perinatal epidemiologist. Dr. Janssen co-leads the Maternal Child Health Theme at the University of British Columbia School of Population Health. She was founding director of the university’s Master of Public Health program, former director of the MSc and PhD programs, and former co-director of the National Interdisciplinary Women’s Reproductive Health Research Training Program. Dr. Janssen leads Optimal Birth BC, a consortium of clinician-scientists and public health practitioners who partner with BC Health Authorities to conduct primary research in maternal child health, including developing evidence syntheses for practitioners and decision-aids for childbearing women. She has led several clinical trials to evaluate methods for managing pregnancy and labour. Her studies of midwifery established the evidence to support regulation of midwifery in Canadian provinces and influenced policy around the world.

Dr. Janssen is currently studying the utility of SMS text messaging as a modality to improve health literacy and motivate health behavior change among expectant and new parents. Most recently, she has developed and implemented SmartMom and SmartParent, Canada’s first prenatal and parent education programs delivered by text messaging. In 2020 she was named one of the top 50 Changemakers in Public Health among all alumni of the University of Washington School of Public Health.