About

Bahia Abdallah, PhD, MPH, RN, IBCLC

Dr. Bahia Abdallah joined LAU in September 2022 as the nursing program director of the Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing.  

She is a seasoned professional registered nurse with more than 27 years of experience in academia, accreditation, and management. From 1995 until 2022, Dr. Abdallah served as a founding member of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Nursing Program Director at the University of Balamand (FHS-UOB). She launched the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program with two tracks, adult care, and neonatal and childcare as well as the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) accreditation process for the Nursing Program at FHS-UOB. She holds a certificate in nursing program accreditation and quality assurance.

Dr. Abdallah has been an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) since 2011 and a member of the Technical Advisory Group at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) for the development, implementation, and oversight of the National Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Policy.

Education

Scholarly Interests

Dr. Bahia Abdallah is a qualitative and quantitative researcher.  Currently, her diverse research combines systematic reviews with qualitative and quantitative methods. She is a peer reviewer for numerous journals. Her research interests are focused on neonatology, maternal and child health, complementary therapy, psychosocial determinants of health and interprofessional and nursing education. 

Dr. Abdallah is currently involved in several interdisciplinary collaborative studies with academics from several universities. 

Publications

Abir Abdel Rahman, Nada O F Kassem, Marc Lewis Emrys Edwards, Bahia Abdallah, Rana Abdel Malak, Adding sugar to children’s beverages: a theory of planned behavior study of Lebanese mothers, Health Promotion International, Volume 39, Issue 6, December 2024, daae146, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daae146.

Abdallah, B., Whitford, H., Bradbury‐Jones, C. and Jones, M. (2020), Perceptions and attitudes of parents and healthcare professionals about the option of using infant massage in neonatal intensive care units. Journal of Clinical Nursing.

Badr, L. K., Abdallah, B., & Kahale, L. (2015). A Meta-Analysis of Preterm Infant Massage: An Ancient Practice With Contemporary Applications. MCN. The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing.

Abdallah, B., Irani, J., Sailian, S. D., Gebran, V. G., & Rizk, U. (2014). Nursing faculty teaching a module in clinical skills to medical students: a Lebanese experience. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 5, 427.

Abdallah B., Badr L., & Hawari M. (2013). The efficacy of massage on short and long term outcomes in preterm infants. Infant Behavior and Development, 36(4), 662-669.

Abdallah, B. (2012). Kangaroo care in NICU: A case report. Lebanese Journal of Nursing.

Abdallah, B. (2011). Success story on Skin-to Skin Contact first hour after delivery. Lebanese Journal of Nursing.

Badr-Kurdahi L, Abdallah B, Purdy I. (2011) Nursing Care in Lebanon: A Nursing Perspective. Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews. 11(2): 88-94.

Badr, L. K., Abdallah, B., Hawari, M., Sidani, S., Kassar, M., Nakad, P., & Breidi, J. (2010). Determinants of premature infant pain responses to heel sticks. Pediatr Nurs, 36(3), 129-36.

Badr, L. K., Abdallah, B., Balian, S., Tamim, H., & Hawari, M. (2007). The chasm in neonatal outcomes in relation to time of birth in Lebanon. Neonatal Network, 26(2), 97-102.

Badr, L. K., Abdallah, B., & Mahmoud, A. (2005). Precursors of preterm birth: comparison of three ethnic groups in the Middle East and the United States. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 34(4), 444-452.

Badr, L. K., & Abdallah, B. (2001). Physical attractiveness of premature infants affects outcome at discharge from the NICU. Infant Behavior and Development, 24(1), 129-133.

Community service

At both the national and international levels, Dr. Abdallah has led numerous IYCF Training of Trainers (TOT) sessions and workshops. She has also served as a consultant on a number of projects and as an external assessor for the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). The Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), IYCFE, Home Health Care, 20-hour and 40-hour courses on breastfeeding and lactation, Essential Care for Every Baby and Small Baby were among the many continuous in-service education programs she conducted for health care professionals for more than 12 years with MoPH, international NGOs, and the Order of Nurses (ONL). 

She spearheaded the ONL committee for developing the vaccination policy and guidelines for nurses in collaboration with MoPH. Dr. Abdallah is representing LAU and ONL in the Global Breastfeeding Collective to increase investment in breastfeeding worldwide. She is also a member of two national committees at the MoPH, the IYCF and the National Certification Committee (NCC).