Karline Wilson-Mitchell
Associate Professor
Department: Midwifery Education Program
Office: DCC-668, Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex
Phone: 416-979-5000 x557686
Email: k.wilsonmitchell@torontomu.ca
Education: RM, RN, DrNP, MSc, BSN, FACNM
Discipline: Midwifery
Areas of Expertise:
Birth Outcomes & Health Disparity
- Global Health & Equity
- Immigration & Settlement
- Newcomer Familiies
- Reproductive & Environmental Justice
- Repectful Maternity Care
Research Interests
Perinatal Outcomes of Refugee and Migrant Women and Newborns; Perinatal Loss; Cultural Health Beliefs; Canadian Health Disparity Research; Scholarship of Teaching & Learning; Global Applications of Health Information Technology; Mental Health Issues Facing Newcomer Women; Psychosocial Factors Affecting Pregnant Jamaican Adolescents.
Dr. Karline Wilson-Mitchell, DNP, MSN, CNM, RM, RN, has been practicing midwifery since 1992 and has been a faculty member in the Midwifery Education Program at Toronto Metropolitan University since 2008. She supports and mentors students in the Chang School’s International Midwifery Preregistration Program, a bridging program for internationally educated midwives preparing for work in Canada.
Dr. Wilson Mitchell’s clinical experience spans the U.S. (urban and rural), Canada (Ontario, remote Quebec), and the Global South, including Jamaica, Tanzania, Zambia, Burundi, and South Sudan. Her work encompasses midwifery practice, education, global leadership training, curriculum development, and mentorship. She is passionate about reproductive justice and creating equitable, inclusive, and resilient environments for midwives and vulnerable populations.
In 2017, she launched the MEP Mentorship Program in partnership with the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Student Collective. This evidence-informed initiative aims to improve career trajectories and academic experiences for midwifery students of color. Her scholarship explores strategies to diversify the midwifery workforce, support midwifery students’ resilience, and enhance leadership in the profession.
Dr. Wilson Mitchell’s research projects include partnerships with the University of the West Indies School of Nursing, Mona, Jamaica; Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (Immigration Trajectories of Immigrant Families Project, ITIF); Rights for Children and Youth Partnership: Strengthening Collaboration in the Americas (RCYP (external link) ); MITAC multidisciplinary project training student interns to explore humanized birth and obstetrical violence in Brazil in collaboration with Universidade Federal Fluminense; and as a volunteer and consultant for CAM Global (external link) , developing Tanzanian Respectful Maternity Care and South Sudanese Leadership SMS2 workshops for nurses and midwives. Her current research, the Canadian Midwives of Color History Project, interrogates the hidden histories of racialized immigrant and refugee midwives working in Canada in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Dr. Wilson Mitchell serves as an editorial reviewer for several high-impact professional journals. She emphasizes intellectual partnerships with students, exploring intersections of midwifery, community service, ancestral healing traditions, spiritual wellness, and respectful leadership.
- 100ABC Women Award, 2024
- Dorethea M. Lang Pioneer Award, American College of Nurse-Midwives, 2022
- Viola Desmond Award, 2019
- Fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, 2019
- Carrington-Hsia-Nives Doctoral Scholarship for Midwives of Color, 2017
Scholarly Calling
Since 1992, I've been conducting births and teaching in the U.S. (urban and rural) and Canada (Ontario, remote Quebec), as well as in the Global South (Jamaica, Tanzania, Zambia, Burundi, and South Sudan). My scholarship problematizes the health disparities experienced by Black Canadian families. I launched a course that examines Black Canadian family health through an equity lens.
My coursework and scholarship come from a passion for reproductive justice that informs midwifery education, practice, and global partnerships.
Related Content
- Cates, E. C., Ramlogan-Salanga, C., MacKenzie, R. K., Wilson-Mitchell, K., & Darling, E. K. (2024). A cross-sectional survey of the mental health of midwives in Ontario, Canada: Burnout, depression, anxiety, stress, and associated factors (external link) . Women and Birth, 37(4), 101613.
- Darling, E.K., Grenier, L.N., MacKenzie, R.K., Ramlogan-Salanga, C., Cates E.C., Graybrook. R., Wilson-Mitchell, K. (2023). A mixed-method study exploring barriers and facilitators to midwives’ mental health in Ontario. BMC Women's Health. 2023 Dec;23(1):1-6.
- O’Mahony, J., Wilson-Mitchell, K., Kassam, S. (2022). Childbearing family nursing. Chapter 7, Family health care nursing: Theory, practice and research; In Robinson M, Padgett Coehlo D, Smith P, editors. 7th ed. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis.
- Elizabeth, A., Donnelly, E. A., Dau, K. Q., Wilson-Mitchell, K., Wren, J. Racism and Health Disparities. (2020). In: Women’s Gynecologic Health, 4th Ed: With an Introduction to Prenatal and Postpartum Care. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Sept 1:13.
- Loftman, P. O., Watts Carrington, B.J., Clarke, H., Curtis, C., Wilson-Mitchell, K.(2018). Grand midwives of African ancestry in Midwifery: Clients, Context, and Care, Chapter 2. In (Eds.) T.L. King, M.C. Brucker, K. Osborn, & C.V. Jevitt, Varney’s Midwifery, 6th Ed. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
- Project: The Colour of Birth Project. History of Canadian Midwives of Colour. Teaser video (external link) . An interdisciplinary collaboration of historians & archivers, filmmaker, web designer, social scientists, anthropologists, midwifery and history students, Immigration & Settlement Studies alumnus. , Co-I: May Friedman PhD, Megan Davies PhD, Margaret MacDonald PhD, Cyrus Sundar Singh PhD (c). Year: 2020, Co-PI, Co-PI: Karen Flynn PhD. Funding received: $50,000 SSHRC Insight Development, $30,000 AOM Career Researcher
- Project: Humanized Birth and Obstetrical Violence in Brazil. Year: 2019, Co-Investigator, Co-Applicant. Funding received: $6000. Funded by: MITACS
- Project: Rights for Children & Youth Partnership: Collaboration in the Americas. Year: 2012, Co-Investigator, Co-applicant, Governance Team for partners Violence against children Team. Funding received: $5 Million. Funded by: Social Studies and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership grant
- Project: Integration Trajectories of Immigrant Families. Year: 2013, Co Applicant, Co-Investigator. Funding received: $153,636. Funded by: SSHRC Partnership Development Grant
For the latest updates, please visit the faculty page linked below.
Selected Media & Activities
Watch an excerpt from the 2024 Colour of Birth Living Art Exhibition & Reception, hosted by Dr. Karline Wilson Mitchell, showcasing interdisciplinary perspectives on reproductive health and history.
Read about the Colour of Birth Living Art Exhibition & Symposium — a first‑of‑its‑kind celebration of the history and contributions of Afro‑descendant Canadian midwives, led by Dr. Wilson‑Mitchell through the Canadian Midwives of Colour History Project.
(external link)
Learn about Dr. Karline Wilson-Mitchell’s research team's current efforts to uspacale an AI-faciliated, Clinical Learning & Communication smartphone app to even the playing field for diverse types of learners.