Dr. Birgitta Kerstis is an Assistant Professor at Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden. She completed her PhD in Medicine at Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden 2015. She has been on thirteen medical missions as a Pediatric Nurse for Operation Smile as a volunteer. At the University, she supervises and teaches at basic and advanced levels, mainly in pediatrics and quantitative methods. Her research interests include mental health in parenthood, adolescents, and older people.