Research Projects
“Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future”.
- Nelson Mandela
Our team is passionate about collaborating with clinicians who are on the ground working with children and families to understand what factors increase risk for mental health difficulties and promote resilience in the face of adversity. The SPARK project is a community-partnered research initiative focused on exploring the use of social prescribing to support the mental health of children and youth facing adversity. Social prescribing is an approach where healthcare providers connect individuals to non-clinical, community-based supports to address the social and emotional factors that influence health and well-being. While this approach is well-established in adult populations, its application with children and youth is still emerging. SPARK works with clinical and community partners to link families on mental health waitlists or receiving care to tailored services and resources in their communities. The project aims to better understand how social prescribing can improve access to care, reduce barriers, and support the well-being of children and families while they await formal mental health treatment.
SPARK Project: Expanding Pathways to Mental Health Care for Children and Youth
Better Together: Identifying Collaborative Research Priorities and Literature Gaps in Child Maltreatment Research
The Better Together project created partnerships between youth, caregivers, clinicians, and researchers to identify key research priorities that would guide the future of child maltreatment treatment, and prevention in Canada. Historically, there has been over-reliance on caregivers’ reports which resulted in a biased understanding of child maltreatment experiences. In line with the saying “nothing about us, without us”, the project recognized that capturing the perspectives of youth who had experienced abuse and neglect was needed to inform the next meaningful steps in research and ensure it was relevant, efficient, and cost-effective. This project has culminated in a priority setting partnership where we collaboratively established the top ten research priorities for child maltreatment research in Canada.
Early Relationships Project: Evaluating and Implementing Early Intervention Programs for Young Children Exposed to Adversity
Funded by a Canadian Institutes for Health Research Mental Health in the Early Years Team Grant, the Early Relationships study uses a unique opportunity to learn from two community-based early intervention programs serving infants and young children exposed to high levels of adversity. Using a longitudinal, multi-site design across Breaking the Cycle in Toronto and Maxxine Wright Community Health Centre in Surrey, British Columbia, the study incorporates a community-based research approach at both sites. It examines how participation supports caregiver wellbeing, strengthens the caregiver–child relationship, and promotes healthy early development. The study also explores which families benefit most and the mechanisms through which change occurs, with the goal of informing broader implementation and scale-up.