JBI Affiliated Group

Dr. April Pike, dean, Faculty of Nursing, fifth from the left at the JBI Colloquium 2025 in Kochi, India, held from 19 to 21 November 2025. Dr. Pike joined leading researchers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers from around the world to explore evidence-based practices under this year’s theme, “Diversity in Healthcare | Unity in Evidence.”

The Faculty of Nursing has built a collaborative relationship with the JBI, based at the University of Adelaide, Australia, as a JBI Affiliated Group.

Established in 2021, the JBI Memorial University of Newfoundland Nursing for Evidence-Based Healthcare connects researchers to a global network of evidence synthesis and knowledge translation. This collaboration supports the production of high-quality, relevant, and up-to-date systematic and scoping reviews that inform health decisions and care practices.

The centre’s research addresses real-world issues, including primary health-care, rural and remote health, mental health, chronic disease management, Indigenous health, and nursing education, practice, and policy. By expanding opportunities for students and faculty and fostering partnerships with other academic institutions and JBI-affiliated groups, it aims to inspire future leaders who exemplify the spirit of collaborative research and knowledge exchange.

Meet the team

Core Staff
  • Joanne Smith-Young, PhD, RN (Director)
  • Karen Dobbin-Williams, PhD, RN
  • Julia Lukewich, PhD, RN
  • April Pike, PhD, RN
  • Michelle Swab, MA, MLIS
  • Kimberly Jarvis, PhD, RN
  • Jill Bruneau, PhD, NP
  • Jennifer Collins, PhD, RN
  • Kathleen Stevens, PhD, RN
  • Renee Crossman, PhD, RN
Adjunct Staff
  • Sandra Small, PhD, RN
  • Alice Gaudine, PhD, RN
  • Chantille Isler, PhD, RN
  • Joy Maddigan, PhD, RN
  • Deanne Curnew, PhD candidate, RN
  • Karen Parsons, PhD, RN
  • Dee Anne Belbin, PhD student, RN
  • Crystal Vaughan, PhD candidate, RN
  • Ahmad Deeb, PhD candidate, RN
  • Dawn Pittman, PhD candidate, RN
  • Robin Devey-Burry, PhD, RN

Held annually on 20 October, World EBHC Day raises awareness of the need for better evidence to inform healthcare policy, practice, and decision-making in order to improve health outcomes globally.

The 2026 campaign explores the rapidly growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in evidence-based healthcare and examines how people can remain at the centre of how AI is developed, deployed, governed, evaluated, and used in healthcare systems and evidence ecosystems.

Stay tuned for our 2026 EBHC blog, Human–artificial intelligence (H-AI) collaboration: An emerging role in healthcare, which highlights work by Dr Frank Kiwanuka, Research Fellow, and Derrick Walsh, an emergency nurse practitioner and educator, both in Memorial University's Faculty of Nursing.  

In a recent study on stroke care, Dr. Kiwanuka and colleagues found that although AI-driven interventions improved diagnostics, treatment, and rehabilitation, their effectiveness and acceptance depended strongly on patient and family perspectives, trust, and communication.

Derrick Walsh has been integrating AI to enhance learning, support growing enrolment, and prepare nursing students for evolving practice. He developed ‘Case Study to Podcast’ approach, where clinical cases are converted into structured scripts and then into short podcast-style learning segments.