Welcome

Welcome to JaniceMBell.com

WELCOME and THANK YOU for visiting my website. I am Janice M. Bell, RN, PhD, a leading international educator in Family Health and Healing and the co-creator of the Illness Beliefs Model.

My life’s work is focused on increasing the capacity of nurses and other health care professionals to care for families who are experiencing serious illness and distress.

* Please check back frequently as new content will be added once the new site is up and running!

Most Recent Blog

History of the International Family Nursing Conferences

The first International Family Nursing Conference was hosted in June 1988 by the University of Calgary, Faculty of Nursing under the leadership of Dr. Lorraine M. Wright. Twenty-one years later, the University of Iceland successfully hosted the 9th International Family Nursing Conference in Reykjavik in June 2009. Please go to the Iceland conference website to see the program and pictures from this wonderful conference.

Copies of Conference Final Program and Book of Abstracts for the International Family Nursing Conferences are available for free public access through DSpace, University of Calgary Library, Family Nursing Unit Collection under Proceedings

Here is a list of the past and future International Family Nursing Conferences:

1988 – 1st International Family Nursing Conference – Calgary Alberta, Canada, May
24-27, 1988 (Hosted by Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary; Chairperson: Lorraine M. Wright, RN, PhD) https://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/45216/1/FNU_ConfProc_1988.pdf

A book of selected papers was published from the 1st International Family Nursing Conference: Bell, J.M., Watson, W.L., & Wright, L.M. (Eds.). (1990). The cutting edge of family nursing. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Family Nursing Unit Publications.

1991 – 2nd International Family Nursing Conference – Portland, Oregon, USA
(Hosted by a consortium of universities including Oregon Health Sciences University, University of Washington, University of California, San Francisco, and University of Montana)

A book of selected papers was published from the 2nd International Family Nursing Conference: Feetham, S.L., Meister, S.B., Bell, J.M., & Gilliss, C.L. (Eds.). (1993). The nursing of families: Theory/research/education/practice. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

1994 – 3rd International Family Nursing Conference - Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
May 25-28, 1994 (Hosted by McGill University, School of Nursing and University of Montreal, Faculte des sciences infirmieres; Co-chairpersons: Fabie Duhamel, RN, PhD and Laurie Gottlieb, RN, PhD)

1997 – 4th International Family Nursing Conference - Valdivia, Chile, November 11-
14, 1997 (Hosted by Universidad Austral de Chile; Chairperson: Dr. Luz Angelica Munoz)

2000 – 5th International Family Nursing Conference, “Family Nursing for the 21st
Century”, Chicago, Illinois, USA, June 19-22, 2000 (Hosted by University of Illnois at Chicago; Co-chairpersons: Kathleen Knafl, PhD, and Suzanne Feetham, RN, PhD) https://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/47258/3/FNU_Chicago_2000.pdf

2003 – 6th International Family Nursing Conference - Gaborone, Botswana, Africa
(Hosted by University of Botswana; Secretariat: Dintle Mogobe, RN, PhD and Sheila Shaibu, RN, PhD) (CANCELLED)

2005 – 7th International Family Nursing Conference, “Opening Spaces: Inviting
Dialogue in Family Nursing”, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, June 1-4, 2005 (Hosted by School of Nursing, University of Victoria and School of Nursing, University of British Columbia; Chairperson: Virginia E. Hayes, RN, PhD) https://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/46332/3/7FNUConf_2005.pdf

2007 – 8th International Family Nursing Conference, “Healing Families, Healing
Communities: New Innovations in Practice, Education, and Research”, Bangkok, Thailand, June 4-7, 2007 (Hosted by Faculty of Nursing, Burapha University; Chairperson: Suntharawadee Theinpichet, RN, PhD) https://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/46331/1/8FNUConf_2007.pdf

2009 – 9th International Family Nursing Conference, “From Insights to Intervention:
The Cutting Edge of Family Nursing” , Reykjavik, Iceland, June 2-5, 2009, Website: http://www.ifnc2009.com (Hosted by Faculty of Nursing, University of Iceland; Chairperson: Erla Kolbrun Svavarsdottir, RN, PhD)

2011 – 10th International Family Nursing Conference, “Making Family Nursing
Visible: From Knowledge Building to Knowledge Translation” – Kyoto, Japan, June 25-27, 2011, Website: http://www.ifnc2011.org (Hosted by Japanese Association for Research in Family Nursing; Chairperson: Michiko Moriyama, RN, PhD)

Future Workshops

May 3-7, 2010   -   Bell, J.M. and Wright, L.M.
Families & Illness Externship
University of Calgary, Calgary Alberta.
Click here to download a PDF Brochure.



September 22-23, 2010
3rd Nordic Conference on Family-Focused Nursing - Plenary Address
Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
Click here to download a PDF Brochure

Please check back frequently for updates on future workshops and speaking engagements.

Featured Publications


    Wright, L.M., & Bell, J.M. (2009). Beliefs and Illness: A Model for Healing. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: 4th Floor Press.

    For more information visit the book website at www.illnessbeliefsmodel.com.

    To make arrangements to obtain your copy today simply send me an email at jmbell@ucalgary.ca.






    Journal of Family Nursing

    The Journal of Family Nursing is a forum for lively debate and critical dialogue on the nursing of families in health and illness.

    The Journal of Family Nursing is the first periodical devoted exclusively to family nursing bringing you the best in family nursing scholarship from a variety of perspectives.



I am a nurse educator and registered psychologist who provides international leadership in the field of Family Health with a particular focus on Family Systems Nursing theory, practice, and research.

I am the founding Editor of the Journal of Family Nursing and served as Director (2002-2007) of the Family Nursing Unit, University of Calgary. One of my most rewarding contributions is the co-development of the Illness Beliefs Model, a clinical intervention for reducing illness suffering in families.

My research and clinical scholarship focuses on increasing health care professionals' confidence and competence in collaborating with families experiencing serious illness. One of my research team's projects, “Understanding the process of therapeutic change in Family Systems Nursing Practice”, resulted in the development of the Illness Beliefs Model to guide practice with families.

My colleagues and I have taught this model to thousands of practicing health care professionals, graduate students, and academics in Canada, United States, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Brazil, Portugal, and Poland.



The Illness Beliefs Model


The Illness Beliefs Model is currently being examined in several research projects in Canada and around the world. I am excited to announce that a newly revised edition is now available! The REVISED Illness Beliefs Model is described in the following book:

          Wright, L.M., & Bell, J.M. (2009). Beliefs and Illness: A Model for Healing.
          Calgary, Alberta, Canada: 4th Floor Press.


For more information on the book please visit the new book website at www.illnessbeliefsmodel.com.



Consultation With Dr. Bell


Email jmbell@ucalgary.ca to request information about sponsoring a workshop, consultation, or training event with Dr. Bell at your agency or in your country. A "Workshop Sponsor's Packet" that includes information about cost, marketing, scheduling, etc. is available upon request.

I offer consultation to families and health care professionals in the following areas:

  • Clinical practice models for family focused care including:
         (Illness Beliefs Model, Trinity Model, Calgary Family Assessment and Intervention Models)
  • Beliefs and illness
  • Mastering the challenges of illness
  • Repairing family relationships
  • Addressing and diminishing illness suffering
  • Family health research
  • Family intervention research
  • Curriculum innovation and program development for collaborative care and practice with families
  • Manuscript development and publication