Jenna Dixon

GoHelP Alumni
Jenna against a brick wall

Jenna completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo under the supervision of Professor Susan Elliott.

Jenna is Project Manager in the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo. Her work oversees numerous funded research projects in the area of infectious disease epidemiology and public health (including around drivers of antimicrobial resistance and long-term consequences of foodborne infections) and utilizes her training to coordinate large, multi-partner initiatives involving academic and public health partners in Canada and abroad.

Jenna completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Geography at the University of Western Ontario. Her dissertation explored the barriers to universal health care in Ghana via its National Health Insurance Scheme. Jenna also holds a Master of Arts (Sociology) from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Arts Honours (Sociology) from the University of Guelph. Her Postdoctoral work was based on two major projects. The first project researched novel forms of knowledge translation in large biomedical/basic science studies. The second project worked towards creating a Global Index of Wellbeing as a key tool for evidence-informed decision-making in developing countries, starting with Kenya as a proof of concept.

Jenna is currently a Research Associate in the Faculty of Health at the University of British Columbia.

Publications

Peer reviewed

  • Dixon, J., Elliott, S.J. & Clarke, A.E. (2016). Exploring knowledge-user experiences in integrated knowledge translation: a biomedical investigation of the causes and consequences of food allergy. Research Involvement and Engagement. doi: 10.1186/s40900-016-0043-x
  • Rishworth, A., Dixon, J., Luginaah, I., Mkandawire, P., & Prince, C. T. (2016). “I was on the way to the hospital but delivered in the bush”: Maternal health in Ghana's Upper West Region in the context of a traditional birth attendants' ban. Social Science & Medicine, 148, 8-17.
  • Rishworth, A., Elliott, S.J., Dixon, J., & Clarke, A.E. (2016). What do the people who use the research results think? Attempting integrated knowledge translation in the 'knowledge creation' phase. Universal Journal of Public Health, 4(3): 144-150
  • Kuuire, V. Z., Bisung, E., Rishworth, A., Dixon, J., & Luginaah, I. (2015). Health-seeking behaviour during times of illness: a study among adults in a resource poor setting in Ghana. Journal of Public Health, fdv176.
  • Atuoye, K. N., Dixon, J., Rishworth, A., Galaa, S. Z., Boamah, S. A., & Luginaah, I. (2015). Can she make it? Transportation barriers to accessing maternal and child health care services in rural Ghana. BMC health services research, 15(1), 333.
  • Mulligan, K., Dixon, J., Sinn, C.J., & Elliott, S.J. (2015). Is dengue a disease of poverty? A systematic review. Pathogens and global health, 109(1), 10-18.
  • Mambulu, F., Mkandawire, P., Dixon, J., Mason, S., Rishworth, A., & Luginaah, I. (2015). Silence of the Leaders: Alcohol Policy Making in Malawi. African Geographical Review. doi: 10.1080/19376812.2014.1003306
  • Dixon, J., Luginaah, I., & Mkandawire, P. (2014). The National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana’s Upper West Region: A gendered perspective of insurance acquisition in a resource-poor setting. Social Science & Medicine, 122, 103-112.
  • Dixon, J., Luginaah, I. & Mkandawire, P. (2014). Gendered Inequalities within Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme: Are Poor Women Being Penalized with a Late Renewal Policy? Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 25(3), 1005-1020.
  • Mkandawire, P., Dixon, J., Luginaah, I., Armah, F. & Arku, G. (2014). At-Risk By Fact of Birth: Perceptions and Concerns About Male Circumcision in Malawi. Health, Risk & Society, 16(4), 295-307.
  • Dixon, J., Tenkorang, E.Y., Luginaah, I., Kuuire, V.Z. & Boateng, G.O. (2014). National health insurance scheme enrolment and antenatal care among women in Ghana: is there any relationship? Tropical Medicine and International Health, 19(1), 98-106. doi:10.1111/tmi.12223.
  • Mason, S., Dixon, J., Mkandawire, P., Mambulu, F., Rishworth, A. & Luginaah, I. (2014). Management challenges of urban biosolids: Narratives around facility siting in rural Ontario. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. doi:10.1080/09640568.2014.925853.
  • Dixon, J., Tenkorang, E.Y. & Luginaah, I. (2013). Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme: A National Level Investigation of Member Perceptions of Service Provision. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 13(5). doi: 10.1186/10.1186/1472-698X-13-35.
  • Mkandawire, P., Richmond, C., Dixon, J., Luginaah, I. & Tobias, J. (2013). Hepatitis B in Ghana’s Upper West Region: A hidden epidemic in need of national policy attention. Health and Place, 23, 89-96.
  • Mkandawire, P., Luginaah, I., Dixon, J., Armah, F. & Arku, G. (2013). Circumcision status and time to first sex among never-married young men in Malawi: Evidence from the Demographic and Health Survey. AIDS Behav, 17(6), 2123-2135.
  • Taabazuing, J., Armah, F., Dixon, J. & Luginaah, I. (2012). The relationship between traditional authorities and decentralized structures in Ghana: Conflicting roles or a struggle for power and legitimacy. International Journal of Development and Conflict, 2(3). doi:10.1142/S2010269012500172.
  • Dixon, J., Tenkorang, E.Y. & Luginaah, I. (2011). Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme: Helping the Poor or Leaving Them Behind? Environment and Planning C, 29(6), 1102-1115.

Book chapters

  • Dixon, J., & Makindawire, P. (2015). The Place of ‘Health’ In Social Health Insurance: A Study in Ghana’s Upper West Region. In Luginaah and Bezner-Kerr (Eds), Geographies of Development and Health (pp. 75-92). Ashgate.
  • Luginaah, I., Bezner-Kerr, R. & Dixon, J. (2015). Introduction. In Luginaah and Bezner-Kerr (Eds), Geographies of Development and Health (pp. 1-10). Ashgate.
  • Dixon, J. (2013). Social Equity and Health Care in Ghana: Charting Change From Structural Adjustment to the National Health Insurance Scheme. In Africa Rising – A Continent’s Future through the Eyes of Emerging Scholars, CIGI: Waterloo.

Reports

  • Mkandawire, P. & Dixon, J. (2013). The Right to Health (International). Submitted to The Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
  • Dixon, J. (2012). Improving the Mental Health Treatment Gap in Ghana. Africa Portal Backgrounder September 2012 No. 39. [PDF].
  • Dixon, J. (2012). Reproductive Health Issues and Women in Ghana: Has Global Attention Made a Difference? Africa Portal Backgrounder July 2012 No. 34. [PDF].
  • Dixon, J. (2011). Financing National Health Insurance in Ghana. Africa Portal Backgrounder July 2011 No. 8. [PDF].

Conference presentations

  • Dixon, J. & Elliott, S. J. What is this thing called knowledge translation? Integrating scientists and end users in a knowledge translation experiment.Canadian Public Health Association Annual Conference, Toronto, ON, June 13 - 16, 2016
  • Rishworth, A., Dixon, J., & Luginaah, I. “Do exemption programs remove barriers to health care? Underutilization of Ghana’s Maternal Exemption Policy in the Upper West Region.” Qualitative Analysis Conference. London, Ontario, June 24 – 27, 2014.
  • Dixon, J., Luginaah, I. & Richmond, C. “‘Us rural people are really suffering to enroll’: Examining the National Health Insurance Scheme in the context of Ghana’s Upper West Region.” Canadian Association of Geographers Annual Meeting. St. Catharines, Ontario, May 26 – 30, 2014.
  • Rishworth, A., Dixon, J., & Luginaah, I. “Free Maternal Health Insurance in Ghana’s Upper West Region: Is it Really Free? Exploring determinants related to underutilization.” Canadian Association of Geographers Annual Meeting. St. Catharines, Ontario, May 26 –30, 2014.
  • Rishworth, A., Dixon, J. & Luginaah, I. “Maternal exemption policy within the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana’s Upper West Region: Exploring the hidden determinants of lack of utilization.” Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting. Tampa Bay, Florida, April 8 – 12, 2014.
  • Mason, S.A., Dixon, J., Mambulu, F., Rishworth, A., Mkandawire, P. & Luginaah, I. “Management challenges of urban biosolids: Narratives around facility siting in rural Ontario.” 2013 Joint Annual Meeting ELDAAG/CAGONT. Toledo, Ohio, October 25 –26, 2013.
  • Dixon, J., Tenkorang, E.Y., Luginaah, I., Kuuire, V.Z. & Boateng, G.O. “National health insurance scheme enrolment and antenatal care among women in Ghana: is there any relationship?” International Symposium in Medical/Health Geography. East Lansing, Michigan, July 7 –12, 2013.
  • Dixon, J., Mkandawire, P. & Luginaah, I. “Does Wealth Influence Enrolment Status? A Study of the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana's Upper West Region.” Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. Los Angeles, California, April 9 –13, 2013.
  • Rishworth, A., Dixon, J., Mkandawire, P. & Luginaah, I. “Do Maternal Exemption Programs within Ghana's NHIS Remove Barriers to Health Care for the Rural Poor?” Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. Los Angeles, California, April 9 –13, 2013.
  • Dixon, J. & Luginaah, I. “Gendered Expectations in Paying for Health Insurance: Implications for the Women of Ghana’s Upper West Region.” CIHR: Advancing Excellence in Gender, Sex and Health Research, Montreal, Quebec, October 29 –31, 2012.
  • Dixon, J., Mkandawire, P. & Luginaah, I. “Penalized For Being Poor? Gendered Implications of the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme's Late Renewal Block-Out.” Canadian Association of Geographers Ontario Division Annual Meeting. Toronto, Ontario, October 12–13, 2012.
  • Dixon, J. & Luginaah, I. “Does enrolment translate to access? Evaluating the Influence of Poverty on Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme.” Canadian Association of Geographers Annual Meeting. Waterloo, Ontario, May 28 – June 2, 2012.
  • Dixon, J. & Luginaah, I. “Women’s access to health resources in Ghana’s Upper West Region.” Transcending Borders Global Health Conference. London, Ontario, April 27 –29, 2012.
  • Dixon, J. & Luginaah, I. “We pay for ourselves and our children: Women's experiences with accessing health care in Ghana’s Upper West Region.” Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting. New York City, New York, February 24– 28, 2012.
  • Dixon, J., Tenkorang, E. & Luginaah, I. “Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme: Helping the Poor or Leaving Them Behind?” Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting. Seattle, Washington, April 12–16, 2011.
  • Dixon, J. & Luginaah, I. “Green-light, Yellow-light: HPV Vaccinations and Ontario Public Policy.” Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C., April 14–18, 2010.
  • Dixon, J. & Adams, T. “Navigating Professional Relationships: Ontario Health Care Teams.” Western Research Forum, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, February 27, 2010.
  • Dixon, J. & Adams, T. “Navigating Professional Relationships: Ontario Health Care Teams.” Engage, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, January 2009.
  • Dixon, J. “Mead Now and Then: Deconstructing the Usual Story.” Qualitative Analysis Conference. University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, May 21– 24, 2008.