Rhonelle Bruder

For over a decade, Rhonelle Bruder has worked to improve health outcomes for marginalized and disenfranchised communities. A Ph.D. Candidate in Social and Behavioural Sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, her dissertation research applies intersectionality theory, to examine both the experiences and knowledge of healthcare providers' and survivors of human trafficking. This research will lay the essential groundwork required to improve health services for sex trafficked survivors, including the generation of critical insights from those with lived experiences.

Her doctoral work builds on the qualitative methodological expertise she developed at the University of Victoria where she earned a Master of Science in Health Informatics. Her research project entitled “Assessment of Mobile Health Application Ranking Criteria focused on the validity of mobile healthcare applications available to the public. Using scoping study methodology, she reviewed current ranking criteria for mobile health applications, providing research recommendations to validate further the six themes identified in the literature to develop a future evidence-based framework.

University of Victoria and specifically the department of Health Information Science, provided Rhonelle with an enormously rewarding experience both personally and professionally, especially under the expectional guidance of mentors such as her research supervisor, Dr. Andre Kushniruk. Now working as a doctoral researcher at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, Rhonelle is able to apply the education and experiential knowledge acquired at UVic to make a direct impact on health, and wellbeing of women in Canada.

The Health Informatics master’s degree at the University of Victoria laid the fundamental groundwork and knowledge base for my career in healthcare. Despite diverging into public health research, the skills and expertise I developed played a significant role in my personal and professional success.