Jennifer Either
Biography
Jennifer Ethier has a background in applied health research, including previous experience as a Study Director in pharmaceutical and nutrition research. At Georgian College, her research focuses on practical, community-engaged approaches to improving health and healthcare.
Jennifer leads culinary medicine research, in partnership with Royal Victoria Hospital, examining how experiential food and nutrition education can strengthen nutrition knowledge, confidence, and counselling practices among primary care providers. Her upcoming research will also explore social prescribing and its potential to strengthen connections between healthcare and community-based supports.
Jennifer is completing a joint PhD in Rural Studies and Human Health and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Guelph. Her research focuses on rural health inequities and rural food insecurity, including how place and social and structural determinants of health shape health and access to resources in rural communities. She is particularly interested in whether existing frameworks and measures adequately capture the realities and diversity of rural places.
Research interests and areas of expertise
- Rural health and health inequities
- Rural food insecurity and food systems
- Social and structural determinants of health
- Social prescribing and community health
- Culinary medicine and nutrition in healthcare
- Community-based and applied health research
- Health systems and health policy