Master’s student recipient of 2022 Women’s Health Scholars Award

Through analysis of data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Jahin Khan is working to understand the risk of psychosis among migrant women in Ontario. (submitted photo) - At a time of unprecedented global migration, Jahin Khan's research is aiming to better understand the factors that impact mental health for migrant women, specifically on how language may play a role in psychosis. Her work has been recognized with a 2022 Women's Health Scholars Award from the Council of Ontario Universities. The award is one of eight across Ontario recognizing ground-breaking women's health research. "It was very exciting to have this recognition for my work, and what I can do," said Khan, a master's student in epidemiology and biostatistics at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. "I hope it will also help raise awareness of the issue we are trying to address in our work." The risk of psychotic illness, characterized by difficulties distinguishing what is real from what is not, is more than two-times higher among certain migrant groups. Although the migration-psychosis relationship has been observed for nearly a century, the causes of this heightened risk, and the differences in risks between migrant men and women, remain unclear.