Adjunct Appointments

Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University
Eligible to co-supervise graduate students

Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University

Adjunct Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dalhousie University

Educational Background

2025 Postdoctoral Fellowship, IWK Health

2023 Postdoctoral Fellowship, St. Michael’s Hospital

2021 PhD Health, Dalhousie University

2013 MSc Capacity Development & Extension (International Development Studies, University of Guelph

2011 BA Psychology (Honors) and Globalization (Major), Western University

Research Interests

My research focuses on improving psychosocial and medical health outcomes for women, gender diverse individuals, parents, and families through better health communication. Through my EMPOWER research program (Enhancing Medical & Psychosocial Outcomes in Women+ and Parents through E-Health Resources), I use interdisciplinary, patient-oriented, and mixed-method approaches to examine how people access, understand, and use health information and how communication can be designed to improve knowledge, decision-making, self-efficacy, mental health, and access to care. A major focus of my work is the development, evaluation, and implementation of digital health interventions, including text-message-based supports, that provide timely and accessible evidence-based information during pregnancy, postpartum, and other important stages across the life course.

My broader research program examines gaps and priorities in women and gender diverse health and works in partnership with people with lived experiences, communities, healthcare professionals, and health system partners to translate evidence into practice and policy. Current areas of research include postpartum and perinatal mental health, parenting and partner support, reproductive and sexual health, healthcare navigation, and women and gender diverse health priority setting, with a particular interest in reducing inequities for populations whose needs have historically been overlooked in research and health care. Alongside my appointment at Mount Saint Vincent University as Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Health Communication, I hold a research leadership appointment at IWK Health as the Dr. Margaret Oulton Accelerate Chair in Women+ Health Research, creating opportunities to connect academic research in health communication with clinical, health system, and community priorities.

I welcome inquiries from students interested in gaining research experience in health communication, digital health, women and gender diverse health, and parent and family health. Students who are interested in joining the EMPOWER Lab or exploring potential research opportunities are encouraged to contact me. For more information on research projects happening in my lab, please visit my website (www.justinedol.com) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/empower.research.program/).

Selected Publications

Dol, J., Chambers, C.T., Cameron, E., Dennis, C-L., Goldberg, J., & Parker, J.A. (2026). Postpartum anxiety and depression symptoms in non-birthing parents in Canada:  A cross-sectional study. Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing. www.doi.org/10.1097/JPN.0000000000000991

Dol, J., Pritchett, C., Larocque, L., Bentley, J., Brooks, M., Elliott Rose, A., Rosen, N., Davies, E., Yeluri, M., & Gosse, M. (2026). A protocol for identifying priorities for women+ health in the Maritime Provinces using a priority setting partnership approach. Healthcare, 14(10), 1287. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/14/10/1287.

Dol, J., Chambers, C.T., Parker, J.A., Brooks, M., Dennis, C-L., Seguin, D., Goldberg, J.M., Hughes, B., Reese, T., Richard, G., & Calnan, K. (2025). Effectiveness of the Essential Coaching Postpartum digital health solution on parenting self-efficacy, mental health, and parenting outcomes: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 14, e78209. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/78209

Dol, J., Parker, J.A., Chambers, C.T., Joy, P., Leahy-Warren, P., Dennis, C-L., Macdonald, M., & Hancock, K. (2025). Parenting self-efficacy within the first year postpartum in non-birthing parents: A scoping review. Family Process, 64(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.70048

Dol, J., Chambers, C.T., & Parker, J.A. (2025). Developing ‘Essential Coaching for Every Partner’, a postpartum text-message digital health solution for non-birthing parents. Midwifery, 148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2025.104480

Chambers, C.T., Dol, J., Tutelman, P.R., Langley, C.L., Parker, J.A., Cormier, B.T., Macfarlane, G.J., Jones, G.T., Chapman, D., Proudfoot, N., Grant, A., & Marianayagam, J. (2024). The prevalence of chronic pain in children and adolescents: A systematic review update and meta-analysis. PAIN, 165(10), 2215-2234. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003267

Dol, J., Dennis, C-L. Campbell-Yeo, M., & Leahy-Warren, P. (2024). Bibliometric analysis of published articles on perinatal depression from 1920-2020. Birth, 51(1), 28-38. www.doi.org/10.1111/birt.12779.

Dol, J., Aston, M., Grant, A., McMillan, D., Tomblin Murphy, G., & Campbell-Yeo, M.  (2022). Effectiveness of the ‘Essential Coaching for Every Mother’ postpartum text message program on maternal psychosocial outcomes: A randomized controlled trial. Digital Health, 8, 1-12. www.doi.org/10.1177/20552076221107886

Dol, J., Hughes, B., Bonet, M., Dorey, R., Dorling, J., Grant, A., Langlois, E.V., Monaghan, J., Ollivier, R., Parker, R., Roos, N., Scott, H., Shin, H.D., & Curran, J. (2022). Timing of maternal mortality and severe morbidity during the postpartum period: A systematic review. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 20(9), 2119-2194. www.doi.org/10.11124/JBIES-20-00578.

Dol, J., Richardson, B., Aston, M., McMillan, D., Tomblin Murphy, G., & Campbell-Yeo, M. (2021). Health information seeking in the postpartum period: A cross-sectional survey. Journal of Neonatal Nursing, 28(2), 118-22. doi.org/10.1016/j.jnn.2021.08.008

Dol, J., Richardson, B., Grant, A., Tomblin Murphy, G., Aston, M., McMillan, D., & Campbell-Yeo, M. (2021). The role of parity and age of newborn on self-efficacy, social support, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum depression in the first six months postpartum in the Maritime Provinces, Canada. Birth, 48(3), 438-447. doi.org/10.1111/birt.12553

Dol, J., Kohi, T., Campbell-Yeo, M., Tomblin Murphy, G., Aston, M., & Mselle, L. (2019). Exploring maternal postnatal newborn care discharge education in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Barriers, facilitators and opportunities. Journal of Midwifery, 77, 137–143. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2019.07.009

Mselle, L.T., Kohi, T.K., & Dol, J. (2019). Humanizing birth in Tanzania: A qualitative study on the (mis)treatment of women during childbirth from the perspective of mothers and fathers. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 19(231), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-019-2385-5

Dol, J., Richardson, B., Boates, T., & Campbell-Yeo, M. (2019). Learning to parent from Google? Evaluation of available online health evidence for parents of preterm infants requiring neonatal intensive care. Health Informatics Journal, 25(4):1265-1277. http://www.doi.org/10.1177/1460458217752564.