Passion for research challenges FHS MPH graduand to push through uncertainty

While many students in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) Master of Public Health (MPH) program do a capstone project to complete their degree, graduand Kezia Kesson was challenged with the realization she wanted to dig even deeper into the health systems by, instead, pursuing a thesis.

“I did not initially plan to complete a thesis, but my practicum at the BC Centre for Disease Control made me realize how much I enjoyed asking research questions and working with data to understand real health-system issues,” she explains. “My thesis focused on British Columbia’s Minor Ailments and Contraception Service and compared pharmacist care for uncomplicated urinary tract infections with care provided in primary care, examining both healthcare utilization and how closely antibiotic prescribing aligned with clinical guidelines.”

Kesson looks to the supports of her supervisors and committee in helping her pursue a thesis, which presented new challenges for her in learning new analytical methods and making decisions when answers were uncertain.

“One of the biggest things I learned is that research is rarely straightforward. It requires patience, flexibility and a willingness to revisit your thinking. By the end, I had grown not only in my research skills but also in my confidence and ability to work through uncertainty.”

Initially from Ghana, and having completed a Doctor of Pharmacy from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, her expertise and experiences helped her realize the nuances to research outcomes she did not expect.

“My pharmacy background helped me understand medications, prescribing and patient care. Public health training taught me to look at those issues through epidemiology, population health, policy and health-services research,” Kesson says. “I realized in research that one outcome never tells the whole story. In my thesis, for example, knowing that a service was being used did not tell us whether prescribing aligned with clinical recommendations. That is why healthcare utilization and guideline concordance needed to be examined separately.”

Kesson intends to continue  working at the intersection of public health, pharmacy, epidemiology, infectious disease and health-services research with her MPH degree in hand. She also plans to turn publish her thesis so her findings can contribute to broader conversations about pharmacist prescribing and healthcare delivery. Kesson also urges students who are facing uncertainty to know that changing paths is perfectly okay, and to grow from opportunities that help you grow.

“Don’t underestimate your own growth. When you are in the middle of assignments, deadlines, revisions and research challenges, it can be difficult to see how much you are changing,” she says. “It was only when I reached the end of my MPH that I could really look back and appreciate how far I had come.”