Michael Smith Health Research funds social sciences scholars
December 09, 2024
Eighteen UVic scholars receive funding for 22 projects that convene, collaborate and share new knowledge
The and Reach programs mobilize communities for research impact. These awards of $20,000 over 18 months enable health researchers to foster collaboration with people who will use the research and knowledge, disseminate and implement research evidence and increase the impact of their research.
With these and other projects, UVic researchers advance Sustainable Development Goals 3 Good health and well-being; and 5 Gender Equality, as well as Aspiration 2030 impact areas Health and Wellness, Indigenous-led scholarship, Social justice and equity, and Technology and the human experience.
Convening and Collaborating
Fourteen UVic scholars are leading C2 projects that will enable knowledge exchange and meaningful collaboration. The program supports researchers, trainees and those who use research to co-develop research that is relevant and impactful for people such as patients, health practitioners and policymakers.
From the Faculty of Social Sciences:
Megan Ames Healthy youth then, healthy adults now? Strategic planning for the midlife follow-up of the Victoria Healthy Youth Survey
Ames and her team will build on an existing, robust community-based sample, the Victoria Health Youth Survey which began in 2003 with 662 people aged 12-18. They’ll develop a plan to collect follow-up data from these now adults including evidence-based measures of physical health, mental health, substance use, healthy relationships, and social determinants of health.
Theone Paterson Community Collaboration in the Gamification of a Proactive mHealth Intervention for Late-Life Cognitive Health
Paterson’s team’s mHealth-app-based psychoeducation intervention targeting cognitive health promotion for older adults has shown good results. Participants want more, so this project will develop a plan for enhancing engagement through gamification.
Paweena Sukhawathanakul Incorporating Social-Emotional Learning into Youth Suicide Prevention Efforts in Schools: The development of a comprehensive toolkit for Island Health’s School Health Promotion Specialists
Sukhawathanakul’s team will review best practices of social-emotional learning promotion in the context of suicide prevention in schools in order to develop a toolkit and training workshop for Island Health’s newly appointed team of School Health Promotion Specialists. The goal is to support their efforts to prevent suicide, the leading cause of non-accidental deaths of children in BC.