Ayshia Bailie
MSc HSTP Student
Ayshia (she/her) is currently a Masters student in the Department of Health Sciences at Carleton University. Although always interested in health inequalities and improving access to healthcare for all, the pandemic has been a pivotal time in her journey as she got her first experience working in an Emergency Transitional Shelter as a Shelter Support Worker. Having witnessed the inequalities faced by many in the houseless population, especially those struggling with substance use disorder, she hopes to continue identifying gaps in the healthcare system and try to develop more comprehensive health programs that will be specialized and accessible to this population.
In her Undergraduate Honours Research Thesis project, Ayshia worked in the SDHL spatially analyzing both substance use rates and services available to comprehensively evaluate the state of substance use and addiction in rural Eastern Ontario. Service gaps were identified using GIS methodology and recommendations were formulated for Ontario Health Teams trying to address substance use in their rural regions considering francophone and Indigenous communities within these areas. The ArcGIS StoryMap app was utilized to present visualizations of the data and GIS analyses in a clear and impactful way.
In the MSc Health: Science, Technology, and Policy program, her research focuses on developing a systematic mapping platform for rural health evidence. Using open-source tools for evidence gathering, synthesis, and visualization, Ayshia and colleagues will work with key knowledge experts in rural health to develop the methods and tools for systematic mapping in the rural health domain. This program has also led her to a passion of health policy and a position at the Privy Council Office as a Junior Researcher and Policy Analyst.
Outside of the lab she is passionate about exercise, travelling, cooking, music, and anything outside!