Current Projects
Interdisciplinary and Indigenous Pathways to Wellness is working on health and wellness programs/services asset mapping with Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation. The purpose is to increase knowledge about the programs and services available to community members and bring attention to any gaps or duplications in services.Interdisciplinary and Indigenous Pathways to Wellness will develop an asset map of existing health and wellness programs and services, create materials that are accessible for all community members, and a brief simulation training module for service providers and Band Councillors.
This project is entitled IndWisdom and supports the resurgence and assertion of Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Being, and Doing in research contexts. The ultimate goal is to bring Indigenous knowledge systems into the academy to transform the way people access, view, and value Indigenous Knowledge. This project looks at how and why Inedigenous Knowledge is included in research to the benefit of Indigenous peoples. For more information on this project, please visit the project website.
Based on a request from organizational partners on the Waterloo Region Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Action Group, we are currently conducting a scoping review of literature (published and grey) on effective and promising practices/supports for the transition from youth to adulthood for individuals living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. This review will be valuable to caregivers, community organizations, people living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and other stakeholders who are involved in planning for successful and sustainable living, working, and social networking arrangements of people living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
We are developing an evaluation framework using an iterative process that ensures that a) Innu leaders and service providers’ perspectives, priorities, and knowledge are centered; b) the indicators are both observable/measurable and reflective of Innu culture, practices, and values; c) evaluation framework is realistic and built into the strategy itself; d) key non-Innu policy makers, service providers, decision makers, and program funders are included in the articulation of the framework; and e) experienced evaluators in the fields of FASD and Indigenous health research are helping to facilitate the process and document the evaluation framework. The framework is be developed with the guidance of many key rightsholders who centre community strengths, initiatives, visions and priorities for the forthcoming years, and other synergistic initiatives.
Siann Gault, a Community Psychology graduate student in our lab, is currently leading a study that explores the experiences of adults living with FASD in housing with supports across Canada, their mental wellbeing, and the use of FASD-informed practices by supported/supportive housing staff. The goal of this project is to lay the foundation for developing best practices for supporting adults with FASD living in housing by privileging their lived experiences and documenting the supportive practices that are effective and valued.
Funder: SSHRC Partnership Engagement Grant
- Conducting patient-oriented research: An online tutorial for the use of a collaborative framework for community-research partnerships. (With Janet Jull, Alexandra King, Malcolm King, Ian Graham, Kristen Jacklin, Penny Moody-Corbett, Julia Moore, & Jaime Flamenbaum. Funded by SPOR Evidence Alliance, CIHR)
- Community Researcher Outcomes and Indicators in Participatory Research. (With Zack Marshall, Simon Coulombe, Edith Law, Ciann Wilson, Catherine Worthington, Janice Duddy, Sonia Gaudry, Elayne Greeley, Christine Lalonge, Mohammad Lasker, Darren Lauscher, Valerie Nicholson, Sherri Pooyak, Sarah Switzer, James Watson, & Derek Yee. Funded by SSHRC)
- Minuinniuin: Understanding ways of achieving wellbeing among the Labrador Innu (listed by CIHR as Outpost Program: A culture intervention for suicide for the Innu of Labrador). (With Mary Janet Hill, Annie Picard, Samantha Wells, Janet Jull, & Nathaniel Pollock. Funded by CIHR)
- The First Nations wellness initiative: A community-driven approach to promoting mental wellness in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. (With Samantha Wells, Renee Linklater, Branka Agic, Lisa George, LeeAnn Hampton, Sheena Kewageshig, Lori Kewaquom, Sonya Roote, Kathryn Graham, & Sean Hillier. Funded by CIHR)
- Indigenous community research partnerships: A community-centred research approach to develop and conduct Indigenous evaluation of an open access training resource. (With Janet Jull, Lindsay Brant, Michelle Firestone, Gordon Moses, Alexandra King, Darrel Manitowabi, Patricia O’Campo, Cassandra Opikokew Wajuntah, Malcolm King, Angela Mashford-Pringle, Jennifer Walker, & Malaya Zehr. Funded by CIHR)