Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Anita C. Benoit

Research Interests

• First Nations, Métis, and Inuit health
• Indigenous women’s health and wellbeing
• Collaborative health research with racialized communities
• Determinants of health
• Indigenous research methodologies
• Mixed methods research
• Community-based research
• Health services, outcomes, prevention and evaluation research
• Intervention research particularly those grounded in Indigenous knowledge

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Trainee Opportunities

Accepting doctoral and masters’ students

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Education & Training History

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship, Aboriginal Research Methodologies
• Master of Science with concentration in Health Services Research, University of Toronto
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship, Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health Quantitative Research
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canadian HIV Trials Network – ViiV Healthcare Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canadian HIV Trials Network – James Kreppner Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa
• Master of Science in Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University
• Honors Certificate in Biology, Mount Allison University
• Bachelor of Science with Major in Biology and Minor in Mathematics, Mount Allison University
• Diplôme en Sciences de la Santé, Université de Moncton au Campus de Shippagan

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Other Affiliations

• Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Society, University of Toronto Scarborough, https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/healthsociety/anita-benoit
• Adjunct Scientist, Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital

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Teaching Responsibilities

• CLH5203H – Survey Design and Social Research Methods in Public Health
• HLTD23H3 – Indigenous Peoples: Pandemics, Epidemics and Outrbreaks
• HLTC48H3 – Indigenous Women’s Health

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Selected Grants – Nominated Principal Investigator

Walking for Harm Reduction through Street Engagement (WHiSE) 2.0: Assessing Indigenous-specific harm reduction needs and increasing access and knowledge of harm reduction. CIHR Project Grant 2022-24: $971,550.

Supporting access and use of Indigenous healing approaches for Indigenous women to complete their circle of care. CIHR Project Grant 2019-23: $100,000.

Reducing stress and improving mental health and wellness among Indigenous women with socio-economic insecurities, living with and without HIV. CIHR Operating Grant 2016-23: $449,674.

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Selected Publications

Aker A*, Whitworth KW, Bosson-Rieutort D, Wendling G, Ibrahim A, Verner MA, Benoit AC, , Caron-Beaudoin É. 2021. Proximity and density of unconventional natural gas wells and mental illness and substance use among pregnant women: an exploratory study in Canada. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, accepted March, 2022.

Moses C*, Brown HK, Prabhakar P, Eltayeb N, Benoit AC. 2021. Systematic review of interventions addressing suicide among Indigenous adults and reporting Indigenous-specific content and involvement in the interventions. AlterNative, accepted April 2022.

Kodeeswaran J*, Campaigne M. Benoit AC. 2022. “I’ll struggle, and I’ll fall…I’ll have my days, but it’s okay” Indigenous women surviving the sixties scoop. Accepted International Indigenous Policy Journal, 13(1).

Lee RS*, Brown HK, Salih S*, Benoit AC. 2022. Systematic review of Indigenous involvement and content in mental health interventions and their effectiveness for Indigenous populations. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 1-22. doi: 10.1177/00048674221089837

Roher S, Yu Z, Martin D, Benoit AC. 2021. How is Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing being used in Indigenous health research? A scoping review. PLoS ONE, 16(7): e0254612. doi: 1371/journal.pone.0254612

Benoit AC, Jaworsky D, Price R, Whitebird W, Benson E, Nowgesic E, Nicholson V, Ranville F, Loutfy M, Beaver K, Zoccole A, Nobis T, Kellman C, Jackson R, O’Brien-Teengs D, Walsh T, Keshane M, Tom J, Tynes T, Brennan E, Giles S, Hanuse B, Campbell D, Paul D, Samji H, Hull M, Masching R, CANOC Collaboration, and Building Bridges Team. 2020. Building Bridges: Describing a Process for Indigenous Engagement in Epidemiology. JH Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 14(4): 461-470. doi:1353/cpr.2020.0051

Benoit AC, Burchell AN, O’Brien KK, Raboud J, Gardner S, Light L, Beaver K, Cotnam J, Conway T, Price C, Rourke S, Rueda S, Hart TA, Loutfy M. 2020. Association between stress and antiretroviral therapy adherence among women living with HIV in Toronto, Ontario: Assessment of correlates, mediation and moderation. HIV Research & Clinical Practice, 21(2-3): 1-11. doi: 1080/25787489.2020.1763711

Benoit AC, Cotnam J, Beaver K, Greene S, O’Brien-Teengs D, Zoccole A, Loutfy M. 2019. Racism experiences of Urban Indigenous women in Ontario, Canada: “We all have that story that will break your heart”. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 10(2):1-27. doi: 10.18584/iipj.2019.10.2.1

Bekele, T., Collins, E., Maunder, R.G., Gardner, S., Rueda, S., Globerman, J., Le, T.L., Hunter, J., Benoit, A., Rourke, S.B. 2018. Childhood adversities and physical and mental health outcomes in adults living with HIV: Findings from the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study. AIDS Research and Treatment. doi: 1155/2018/2187232

Xavier, C.G., Benoit, A.C., Brown, H.K. 2018.Teenage pregnancy and mental health beyond the postpartum period: A systematic review. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 72(6): 451-457. doi: 1136/jech-2017-209923

Xavier, C.G., Brown, H., Benoit, A.C. Teenage pregnancy and long-term mental health outcomes among Indigenous women. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 21(3), 333-340. doi: 10.1007/s00737-017-0799-5

Du Mont, J., Kosa, D., Macdonald, S., Benoit, A., Forte, T. 2017. A comparison of Indigenous and non-Indigenous survivors of sexual assault and their receipt of and satisfaction with specialized health care services. PloS One, 12(11); e0188253. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188253

Loutfy, M., de Pokomandy, A., Kennedy, V.L., Carter, A., O’Brien, N., Proulx-Boucher, K., Ding, E., Lewis, J., Nicholson, V., Beaver, K., Greene, S., Tharao, W., Benoit, A., Dubuc, D., Thomas-Pavanel, J., Sereda, P., Jabbari, S, Shurgold, J.H., Colley, G., Hogg, B., Kaida, A. on behalf of the CHIWOS Research Team. 2017. Cohort profile: the Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS). PloS One, 12(9), e0184708. doi: org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184708

Blitz, S., Antoniou, T., Burchell, A., Walmsley, S., Light, L., Gardner, S., Rourke, S., Cooper, C., Kendall, C., Loutfy, M., Rachlis, A., Wobeser, W., Benoit, A. Raboud, J. 2017. The use of multistate models to examine associations of stress and adherence with transitions among HIV care states observed in a clinical HIV cohort. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 76(3): 303-310. doi: 1097/QAI.0000000000001493

Benoit, A.C., Younger, J., Beaver, K., Jackson, R., Loutfy, M., Masching, R., Nobis, T., Nowgesic, E., O’Brien-Teengs, D., Whitebird, W., Zoccole, A., Hull, M., Jaworsky, D., Benson, E., Rachlis, A., Rourke, S., Burchell, A.N., Cooper, C., Hogg, R., Klein, M., Machouf, N., Montaner, J., Tsoukas, C., Raboud, J., on behalf of Building Bridges and the Canadian Observational Cohort Collaboration. 2017. Increased mortality among Aboriginal persons in a multisite cohort of people living with HIV in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 108(2): e169-e175. doi: 17269/cjph.108.5708

Rachlis, B., Burchell, A.N., Gardner, S., Light, L., Raboud, J., Antoniou, T., Bacon, J., Benoit, A., Cooper, C., Kendall, C., Loutfy, M., Wobeser, W., McGee, F., Rachlis, A., Rourke S.B. & On behalf of the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study. 2017. Social determinants of health and retention in HIV care in a clinical cohort in Ontario, Canada. AIDS Care, 29(7): 828-837. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2016.1271389

Benoit, A.C. and D. O’Brien-Teengs. 2016. Indigenizing research practices: Two Indigenous researchers share their experiences of incorporating Indigenous culture into research. Canadian Journal of Aboriginal Community-Based HIV/AIDS Research, 8: 3-15.

Benoit, A.C., Younger, J., Beaver, K., Jackson, R., Loutfy, M., Masching, R., Nobis, T., Nowgesic, E., O’Brien-Teengs, D., Whitebird, W., Zoccole, A., Hull, M., Jaworsky, D., Benson, E., Rachlis, A., Rourke, S., Burchell, A.N., Cooper, C., Hogg, R., Klein, M., Machouf, N., Montaner, J., Tsoukas, C., Raboud, J., on behalf of Building Bridges and the Canadian Observational Cohort Collaboration. 2016. Virologic suppression and viral rebound for Aboriginal persons compared to Caucasian persons initiating combination antiretroviral therapy in a multisite cohort of individuals living with HIV in Canada. Antiviral Therapy, 22(4): 325-335. doi: 10.3851/IMP3114

Benoit, A.C., Cotnam, J., Raboud, J., Green, S., Beaver, K., Zoccole, A., O’Brien-Teengs, D., Whitebird, W., Balfour, L., Wu, W., Loutfy, M. 2016. Experiences of chronic stress and mental health concerns among urban Indigenous women. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 19(5): 809-823. doi: 10.1007/s00737-016-0622-8

Crouzat, F., Benoit, A.C., Kovacs, C., Smith, G., Taback, N., Sandler, I., Acsai, M., Barrie, W., Brunetta, J., Chang, B., Fletcher, D., Knox, D., Merkley, B., Sharma, M., Tilley, D., Loutfy, M. 2016. Time to viremia for patients taking their first antiretroviral regimen and the subsequent resistant profiles. HIV Clinical Trials, 17(1): 1-11. doi: 10.1080/15284336.2015.1111555

Jaworsky, D., Benoit, A., Raboud, J., O’Brien-Teengs, D. Blitz, S., Rourke, S.B., Burchell, A., Loutfy, M., and the Ontario Cohort Study Research Team. 2016. Comparison of coping strategies and supports between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people living with HIV in Ontario. AIDS Care, 28(1): 63-69. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2015.1061634