Danielle Groleau, PhD

 Dr Groleau is Associate Professor and senior investigator at the Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry at the Jewish General Hospital. Dr Groleau is an anthropologist and received her PhD in Public Health from the Université de Montréal and postdoctoral training in Transcultural Psychiatry at McGill University. She specializes in qualitative research to study social determinants of health that have implications for public health programming and health policy. Her current research interests are:

  • social and cultural determinants of reproductive health (breastfeeding, female genital mutilation, hypermesis gravidarum)
  • qualitative methodologies & qualitative evaluation of policy and health services ( logic analysis, process analysis, implementation analysis)
  • mental health benefits of Expressive Writing interventions in school settings

Dr Groleau can supervise trainees and graduate students from psychiatry, family medicine, , social sciences, humanities, public health and medicine.

danielle.groleau [at] mcgill.ca (email) website


Selected Articles

(in press) Groleau, D.  D’souza, NA, Bélanger E.. Integrating the Illness Meaning and Experience of Patients: the McGill Illness Narrative Interview Schedule as a PCM Clinical Communication Tool. International Journal of Person Centered Medicine.  

2014 Kirmayer, LJ. Groleau, D., Rousseau,C. Development and évaluation of the cultural consultation service. In Kirmayer, L.J., Rousseau,C. Guzder,J. (eds) Cultural Consultation: Encountering the other in mental health care., pp.21-46 New York : Springer SBM Publications.

2013 Groleau, D., Sigouin C,  NA D’Souza, Power to negotiate spatial barriers to breastfeeding in a western context: When motherhood meets poverty. Health & Place. (published online)

2013 Wamba, A., D. Groleau Construction of collaborative methods and processes  between  traditional, religious and biomedical health practitioners in Cameroon.  Journal of Northern African Studies.

2012 Evan G. Newton, Brett D. Thombs, and D. Groleau. The Experience of Emotional Distress Among Women with Scleroderma.  22(9) : 1195-1206. Qualitative Health Research

2012 Semenic,S., J.E Childerhouse, J.Lauzière, D.Groleau. Barriers, facilitators, and recommendations related to implementing the Baby-Friendly Initiative (BFI) : an integrative review. Journal of Human Lactation. 28 (3) : 317-34.

2012 Groleau, D., L. Sibeko. Infant feeding in the margins: navigating through the conflicts of social and moral order. Beyond Health, Beyond Choice. Breastfeeding Constraints and Realities.  Chap 17: 203-214. Eds. M. Labbok, P. H. Smith, B. Haussman.  Rutgers University Press.

2012 Groleau, D. Embodying ‘Health Citizenship’ in Knowledge Production to fight health inequalities.  Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem; 64(5): 811-6

2012 Dinh, NMH, Groleau, D., Kirmayer LJ, Rodriguez, C , Bibeau, G. Influence of the DSM-IV Outline for Cultural Formulation on Multidisciplinary Case Conferences in mental health. Anthropology & Medicine. 1-16.

2012 Adeponle, A., B.D. Thombs, D. Groleau, E. Jarvis, L.J. Kirmayer. Using the cultural formulation to resolve uncertainty in diagnosis of psychosis of ethnocuclturally diverse patients. Psychiatric Services. 63(2) :1-7 

2011 Bélanger. E., C.Rodriguez, Groleau, D.  Shared-decision-making in palliative care : a systematic mixed studies review using narrative synthesis. Palliative Medicine 25: 242 

2011 Dickinson, P. ,K.J Looper, D.Groleau  Patients diagnosed with nonepileptic seizures: their perspective and experience. Epilepsy and Behavior; 20; 3: 454-461.

2010 Carpentier, N., Guberman, N., Bernard, P., Groleau, D., Grenier, A., Kergoat, M.-J.,Guarino.  Réseaux formels et informels des soins : Mieux comprendre la relation entre les intervenants et des aidants de personnes atteintes de démence de type Alzheimer. P.303-314.  Eds.M. Charpentier et al. Manuel de  gérontologie sociale et critique: Analyses plurielles des Vieillissements, Presses de l'Université du Québec, dans la collection « Problèmes sociaux et interventions sociales”.

2010  Groleau, D., F. Lespérance, R.Whitley, L.J. Kirmayer. Spiritual Reconfiguration of Self After a Myocardial Infarction: influence of culture and place. Health & Place, 16 : 853-860

2010 Boon-Ooi Lee, L. J.Kirmayer, D.Groleau. Therapeutic process and perceived helpfulness of Dang-Ki (Chinese Shamanism) from the symbolic healing perspective. Cult. Med. & Psychiatry

2009 Cabral, I.E., Groleau, D.   "Breastfeeding practices after the Kangaroo Method in Rio de Janeiro: the necessity for health education and nursing intervention at home". Esc Anna Nery Rev Enferm. Out-dez; 13 (4) : 763-7.

2009 Groleau, D. , C. Rodriguez. Breastfeeding and poverty : Negotiating cultural change and symbolic capital of motherhood in Québec, Canada. pp. 80-98.  In Eds. Dykes F & Hall Moran V  (2009) Infant and Yound Child Feeding: Challenges to implementing a Global Strategy. Pages 240.  Wiley-Blackwell: Oxford

2009 Groleau, D., &  Cabral, I.E., P. Zelkowitz.  Enhancing generalizabiity : moving from an intimate to  a political voice. Qualitative Health Research. Vol.9 Num. 3 :416-26.

2009 Groleau D., & Cabral, I.E. Reconfigurating Insufficient breastmilk as a sociosomatic problem: mothers of premature babies using the Kangaroo Method in Brazil. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 5 :10-24. 

2008  Dinh, N.M.H., & Groleau, D. Traumatic Amputation: A Case of Laotian indignation and injustice. Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry. Sep; 32(3): 440-57. 

2008 Kirmayer, L.J., Rousseau, C., Corin, E., & Groleau, D. Training Researchers in Cultural Psychiatry: The McGill-CIHR Strategic Training Program. Academic Psychiatr. 32:320-326, July.

2007 Groleau, D., Pluye, P., & Nadeau, L. Mix methods approach to the problem of understanding  depression and health behavior. Journal of Mental Health 16: 1-11.

2006 Groleau, D., Kirmayer, L.J., & Young A. The McGill Illness Narrative Interview (MINI): An interview schedule to explore different meanings and modes of reasoning related to illness experience. Transcultural Psychiatry 43(4): 697-717. 

2006 Groleau, D., Soulière M., & Kirmayer, L.J. Breastfeeding and the cultural configuration of social space among Vietnamese immigrant woman. Health & Place 12(4): 516-526. 

2006 Whitley, R., Kirmayer, L.J., &  Groleau, D. Public Pressures, private protest: illness narratives of West Indian immigrants in Montreal with Medically unexplained symptoms Anthropology & Medicine 13(3): 193-205.

2006 Whitley, R. Kirmayer, L.J., &  Groleau, D. Understanding immigrants’ reluctance to utilize health services; a qualitative case study from Montreal. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 51(4): 205-209.  

2006 Groleau, D. “Psycho-cultural determinants of adherence to diet after a myocardial infarct“Public Health Nutrition, 9:7(A): 216. 

2006 Groleau, D. “Psycho-cultural determinants of low breastfeeding rates and duration in French-canadians living in context of poverty and marginality“Public Health Nutrition, 9:7(A): 166.  

2006 Groleau, D. “Can voices from poverty and marginality influence health policy?” Public Health Nutrition, 9:7(A): 76. 

2005 Groleau, D.  La détresse et l’enfantement: l’hyperemesis gravidarum revisité en  contexte migratoire. Evolution Psychiatrique 70(3): 623-641.

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