If you’re here, it likely means that you’re a qualitative health researcher who is searching for the next right step in your qualitative research journey. Maybe you are wondering if it’s even possible to have an impactful career as a qualitative researcher…

I’ve been a qualitative researcher myself for more than a decade now, but what really defines me are the other roles I play in my life. I’m a mother of two, a wife and a wine and food lover (in my opinion everything tastes better with salted butter).

Oops! I forget to mention that I’m also a Registered Dietitian (yes, a Registered Dietitian who loves butter 😉).

I did my Masters and PhD at the University of Alberta, Canada. In 2015 I was awarded the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (a super prestigious doctoral award) with a graduate project that was 100% qualitative!  By the end of my PhD, in January 2020, I had…

All of that to say that, yes, you can have an impactful career as a qualitative health researcher!

If you’re wondering why I didn’t pursue an academic career as a qualitative researcher, the answer is pretty personal. Although my position as an entrepreneur/Quali Q owner is very fulfilling, it’s one that was carved out of one the worst experiences of my life…not so much by choice yet by design.

I was determined to become a successful academic and build a strong qualitative research portfolio. But, when my second child was diagnosed with cancer at five months of age in September 2018 and went through chemotherapy, everything changed.

I realized an academic career no longer aligned with my life priorities. In a serendipitous moment (I was baking cookies and browsing recipes online), I found an online course and thought to myself, “Wow! I can teach *something* I know online and outside of an academic institution.”

Fast forward to today and I have:

• Launched two successful, highly-ranked qualitative courses

• Taught various online (hello pandemic!) qualitative research seminars and workshops

• Published three publications post PhD

With a big smile on my face, I can proudly say I’ve supported more than 100 qualitative researchers worldwide.

I’ve been described as someone who is very knowledgeable about qualitative research and can explain rather complex concepts in a simple, tangible and fun way! I agree with this description because I love what I do and have made it a career mission to help academics, researchers and clinicians in the health sciences and interdisciplinary fields related to health move their qualitative projects along with ethics and confidence!

I hope that you find something on this website that serves you and your research. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to email me at info@qualiq.ca.

I look forward to serving and working with you!

Publications:

Ford, K.L., Nasser, R., Basualdo-Hammond, C., Laur, C., Quintanilha, M., Keller, H., Gramlich, L. Exploring gaps, opportunities, barriers and enablers in malnutrition policy through key informant interviews: a qualitative inquiry from the CANDReaM initiative. BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health. 2024; e000891. doi: 10.1136/bmjnph-2024-000891

Quintanilha, M., Yamamoto, J.M., Aylward, B., Feig, D.S., Lemieux, P., Murphy, H.R., Sigal, R.J., Ho, J., Virtanen, H., Crawford, S., Donovan, L.E., Bell, R.C. (2024). Women’s and Partners’ Experiences with a Closed-Loop Insulin Delivery System to Manage Type 1 Diabetes in the Postpartum Period.Canadian Journal of Diabetes. In press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjd.2024.08.005.

Haight, J., Daniels, J., Gokiert, R., Quintanilha, M., et al. (2024). Essential Conditions for Partnership Collaboration within a School-Community Model of Wraparound Support. J Child Fam Stud. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-024-02903-1

Ford, K.L., Quintanilha, M., Trottier, C.F. et al. (2024). Exploring relationships with food after dietary intervention in patients with colorectal cancer: a qualitative analysis from the Protein Recommendations to Increase Muscle (PRIMe) trial. Support Care Cancer, 32, 418. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-024-08620-1

Babyn, K., Quintanilha, M., Ross, S., Makowsky, M., Kiang, T., Yuksel, N. (2024). Women's perceptions and experiences with cannabis use in menopause: a qualitative study. Menopause, 31(9), 781-788. https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000002388

Godziuk, K., Prado, C.M., Quintanilha, M., Forhan, M. (2023). Acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of a single-arm 12-week digital behavioral health intervention in patients with knee osteoarthritis. BMC Musculoskelet Disord, 24, 129. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-023-06238-8

Quintanilha, M. and Mayan, M. (2022). Cross-lingual focus groups in cross-cultural community-based participatory research. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.). Handbook of Qualitative Cross-Cultural Research Methods: A Social Science Perspective (pp. 180-195). United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Edward Elgar Publishing

Idowu, O., Makhinova, T., Quintanilha, M., Yuksel, N., Schindel, T.J., Tsuyuki, R.T. (2021). Experience of Patients with COPD of Pharmacists’ Provided Care: A Qualitative Study. Pharmacy, 9(3), 119. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy9030119

Lieffers, J.R.L., Quintanilha, M., Trottier, C.F, Johnson, S.T., Mota, J. F., Prado, C.M. (2021). Experiences with and perception of a web-based mindfulness, nutrition and fitness platform reported by Canadian first-year university students: A qualitative study. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2021.04.019

Quintanilha, M., Tink, L., Perez, A., M, G.N., Holt, N. L., Bruce, A., . . . Ball, G. D. (2020). Pediatric ambulatory appointment scheduling: a qualitative study of stakeholders' perceptions and experiences. Int J Qual Health Care, 32(10), 643-648. doi:10.1093/intqhc/mzaa105

Quintanilha, M., Mayan, M. J., Jarman, M., & Bell, R. C. (2019). Prevalence and experiences of food insecurity among immigrant women connected to perinatal programs at a community-based organization in Edmonton, Canada. International Journal of Migration Health and Social Care, 15(2), 121-132. doi: 10.1108/IJMHSC-09-2018-0064

Quintanilha, M., Mayan, M. J., Raine, K. D., & Bell, R. C. (2018). Nurturing maternal health in the midst of difficult life circumstances: a qualitative study of women and providers connected to a community-based perinatal program. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 18(1), 314. doi:10.1186/s12884-018-1951-6

Quintanilha, M., Mayan, M. J., Thompson, J., & Bell, R. C. (2016). Contrasting "back home" and "here": how Northeast African migrant women perceive and experience health during pregnancy and postpartum in Canada. Int J Equity Health, 15(1), 80. doi:10.1186/s12939-016-0369-x

Quintanilha, M., Mayan, M. J., Thompson, J., Bell, R. B., & The ENRICH Study Team. (2015). Different Approaches to Cross-Lingual Focus Groups: Lessons from a Cross-Cultural Community-Based Participatory Research Project in the ENRICH Study. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1-10. doi:10.1177/1609406915621419

Invited Appearances:

1. Entrepreneurship in Health: Possibilities, Visions & Realities. Panel of health entrepreneurs organized by Emerging Health Leaders (Edmonton Node) on October 26th, 2020.

2. Qualitative Research Methods. Presented to undergraduate and graduate students in Nutrition at the University of Alberta, Canada. (Yearly, in October) 

3. Qualitative Research in Nutrition. Presented to graduate students in Nutrition from the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil on August 13th, 2020. 

4. How environments influence women’s health – Learnings from the ENRICH Research Program. Presented as an introduction to the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Healthy Pregnancies (ANGEL-HP) Workshop led by Dr. Kim Raine during the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program Meeting on Oct 2nd, 2017 in Edmonton, Alberta.

5. Community-University Partnership (perspectives of a graduate student). Co-presented with Martin Garber-Conrad (Chief Executive Officer, Edmonton Community Foundation) and Karen Edwards (Acting Director, Community-University Partnership at the University of Alberta) at the Community Jam for the Community2University Expo on May 2nd, 2017 in Surrey, British Columbia.

6. Food as a Gateway: From Maternal Health to Social Enterprise. Presented on behalf of the ENRICH Research Program to the Community-University Partnership (University of Alberta) Steering Committee on Feb 16th, 2017 in Edmonton, Alberta.

7.“Back home” and “here”: how international migration has changed the boundaries of global nutrition. Presented on behalf of the ENRICH Research Program at the Global Health Fair organized by the Division of Community Engagement, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta on Jan 30th, 2017 in Edmonton, Alberta.

Creative Works:

Maternal Health of Migrant Women (http://bit.ly/maternalhealthofmigrantwomen). Short whiteboard video that illustrates key findings from Maira’s PhD research with Northeast African immigrant and refugee women at the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative in Edmonton, Alberta. The video was narrated by former CBC Edmonton Radioactive Host, Portia Clark.