OCPHR NEWSLETTER
Summer 2012
The Office For Community
Partnerships in Health Research
What we do…
The OCPHR examines community health issues that affect the well being of residents of Nanaimo and
the surrounding region. Such research is generally undertaken in collaboration with community
partners, including institutions, health agencies, NGO’s and others who are involved in community
health. The OCPHR promotes well-being by exploring community health issues, policies and processes.
The OCPHR fosters collaboration between VIU researchers, faculty and students, and external partners
Project Updates
CANADIAN
INSTITUTES FOR HEALTH
RESEARCH: DIGITAL STORIES MEETING
PREVENTION AND PRESERVATION: DIGITAL
HARVEST UPDATE
The OCPHR was excited to host a national meeting,
funded by the CIHR, on June 18th and 19th to explore
the use of digital stories as a tool for health promotion
and disease prevention. The meeting brought together
35 academics and representatives from community
organizations with experience in the use of digital
stories across issues such as food security,
homelessness, violence prevention, pregnancy and
parenting, resilience and healing in First Nations’
communities, mental health promotion, and
immigration. Attendees noted that the real impact of
digital stories is the process of participating in the
production of stories. The multi-layered benefits
participants can experience in the exploratory process
of creating representations of their experiences that
are presented, and often respectfully recognized, in the
community were repeatedly acknowledged. The
meeting created opportunities for sharing experiences
and best practices in the use of digital stories. It also
guided the development of future research initiatives
related to the use of digital stories in health
promotion.
The Prevention and Preservation project, funded by the
Vancouver Foundation is a collaboration between the
OCPHR, the Vancouver Island Coastal Communities
Indigenous Foods Network (VICCIFN), VIHA and the
Canadian Diabetes Association. Over the next two years,
the project will work to bring together First Nations
youth and elders from across Vancouver Island to learn
about traditional foods and life-ways and to gain skills in
the creation of digital stories. Participants will then return
to their communities to create their own digital stories,
showcasing experiences and strengths in their
communities related to healthy living and traditional lifeways. The project coordinator has been hired and the first
official meeting of the project was held in May to get
feedback on the project plan with youth from the pilot
project, as well as the advisory team. Job descriptions for
youth researchers have been circulated and youth
researchers have been hired to guide aspects of the project
and mentor incoming participating youth in creating
digital stories. We are looking at beginning the first set of
digital stories workshops for the project in September.
“Shifts in thinking occur when people who are defined as problems achieve the
power to define the problem” – McKnight 1995
OCPHR Newsletter
Summer 2012
THE EVALUATION OF THE IMPACTS OF
HIGH FIDELITY SIMULATION
PROPOSAL
DEVELOPMENT
WITH
SOCIETY OF ORGANIZED SERVICES (SOS)
The OCPHR is in the initial stages of developing a
program of research with the Nanaimo Family
Practice Residency Program that will work to
evaluate the impacts of the state of the art high
fidelity simulation set up at the Nanaimo Regional
General Hospital. High fidelity simulation is used
by physicians provide debriefing feedback in order
to improve clinical skills. Meetings have occurred
with program directors to determine desired
research outcomes.
The OCPHR has been working with the Society of
Organized Services in Parksville to develop and submit a
proposal to the Human Resources and Skills
Development Canada for a project that will create the
knowledge base needed to enhance supports and
strengthen homelessness prevention efforts for the at-risk
population in the Oceanside region on Vancouver Island.
Homelessness in rural areas includes those who are
staying with friends, those who rent motel rooms with
others, those who stay at shelters, those who camp or
inhabit public or private areas, those who are facing
immediate eviction, those who return to living in unsafe
or unacceptable conditions, and those who choose to
migrate to urban centres. Using a variety of mixed
methods such as interviews with individuals at high risk
for homelessness, focus groups with service providers,
and asset mapping, the researchers will:
PROPOSAL
DEVELOPMENT:
MUSIC
APPRECIATION THROUGH THE AGES
The OCPHR is working with VIU’s Dr. Rachel
Cooper to develop a proposal with the Vancouver
Foundation to discover which types of music are
most beneficial for seniors with cognitive
impairments. Youth will interview seniors with
minimal or no cognitive impairment to determine
musical preferences. Playlists will be compiled on
iPods for seniors with cognitive impairments and
the effects analyzed according to seniors’ responses.
About Us
at
THE
•
Determine best practices for serving
populations in smaller rural communities
risk
•
Gain understanding of the current at risk population
in Oceanside to inform future prevention initiatives
•
Enhance support for our at risk population and
(determining where there are gaps that need to be
Dr. Jennifer Mullet is the director of the OCPHR and is passionate about community based
research and participatory methodologies. She holds a PhD in Community Psychology from the
University of Victoria and has worked for a variety of health organizations and institutions in
Health Promotion Research, human and social development, and community based research. She
was the director of research and evaluation for the Ministry of Health, research scholar for the BC
Health Research Foundation, and has worked as a director of research at both the University of
Victoria and Vancouver Island University. Her achievements include: working with non profit
agencies to develop a model of collaboration; examining best practices at a children’s psychiatric
hospital through collaborative inquiry with parents; and working with marginalized communities in
participatory ways to enhance access to health services. Recently, Jennifer led a cooperative
inquiry research project with an inter-disciplinary team to evaluate aspects of family physician
residency training program at the Nanaimo Regional Hospital and is currently working with the
Vancouver Island Coastal Communities Indigenous Foods Network (VICCIFN) and VIHA to
conduct a research project using digital stories to support health promotion and disease prevention
among First Nations Youth on the Island.
Email: [email protected]
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OCPHR Newsletter
Summer 2012
Sarah Fletcher is the Community Research Coordinator at the OCPHR. Sarah is a PhD candidate
at UVIC, in medical anthropology. Her dissertation research, funded by the Charles
Banting/Fredrick Best CIHR award, involves a participatory research project with immigrant youth
on Vancouver Island. As part of her research she is training youth in research methods, exploring
the relationship between stress, resilience and subjectivity, and what could be done, from the
perspective of youth, to enhance the support for immigrant youth on Vancouver Island. Sarah’s
background is in medical anthropology and community based research. After completing her BA at
McGill, Sarah spent time working in community based research in health promotion as well as
intermittently touring in a rock band. She then completed her Masters in medical anthropology at
Brunel University, conducting fieldwork in Australia, collecting success stories of community
control in health and exploring community control as a mechanism to overcome the structural
violence of a colonial history.
Email: [email protected]
Kristy Tymos joined the Community Based Research Institute in 2011 and moved over to the
OCPHR when it opened. She is motivated by a strong desire to participate in the community and
be actively involved in research that focuses on building friendlier and more inclusive
communities. Kristy’s favourite part of her role in the OCPHR is networking with inspired
community members and mentoring under those who impart new research skills that she hopes to
carry forward into future studies. Kristy is a fourth-year Bachelor of Arts student, majoring in
Psychology at Vancouver Island University. In addition to her involvement with the OCPHR, she
chairs Access Nanaimo, a local advocacy group that endeavours to educate, inform and sensitize
local government, the business community, and the public about the issues of disability,
accessibility, and inclusion.
Email: [email protected]
Kassandra Hamilton joined the Community Based Research Institute in 2011 as a research
assistant and also moved over to the OCPHR when it opened. Last summer she worked as a
research assistant on a a multi-year, community-based capacity building project which analyzed
the impacts of climate change on human health and well-being in Inuit communities in Canada.
For this project, Kassandra analyzed the ways in which digital storytelling can be used to
communicate the impacts of climate change on indigenous health, as well as the potential of
digital storytelling as a tool for future public health policy. Her research experiences have
encouraged and inspired her to be involved in community-based, local, participatory projects, and I
have seen first hand how transdisciplinary approach can help build both individual and community
resilience and capacity-building. Prior to becoming a VIU student, I completed a degree in biology
and international development, with a focus in both global and community health.
Email: [email protected]
Contact Us
OFFICE FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS IN HEALTH RESEARCH
Vancouver Island University
Building 305, Room 432
900 Fifth Street
Nanaimo, BC V9R 5S5
Ph: (250) 753-3245, Ext 6618
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