Sept. 23, 2020
Translating research into social change
A new program at the O鈥橞rien Institute for Public Health will support research aimed at addressing the needs of society鈥檚 marginalized, and translate that research into action.
The Social and Structural Vulnerabilities Program, led by Dr. Katrina Milaney, PhD, will advance existing work being done at the O鈥橞rien Institute in this area, and foster new opportunities with researchers, community agencies and decision makers to affect social change.
鈥淭here is already very good research happening in the area of social and structural vulnerabilities at the O鈥橞rien Institute, and there is an opportunity to be a national leader in this work,鈥 says Milaney, who is an associate professor in the at the .
Milaney, who has spent her research career working in the area of social vulnerabilities such as homelessness, poverty, domestic violence, mental health, and addiction says supporting vulnerable groups requires an understanding of the systemic and structural issues that have a negative impact on health and wellbeing. Focusing on the 鈥渦pstream鈥 determinants of health can influence change at a high level, rather than focusing on individual people and individual problems, she says.
With the right infrastructure in place, Milaney hopes to learn from the experiences of people who live with these vulnerabilities and move beyond academia to improve service delivery, the health care system and public policy.
鈥淲e have an obligation as academics to take this work beyond traditional publications and conference presentations to really start to move the needle on social and structural vulnerability at a systems level,鈥 she says.
After undertaking broad consultation with community, government and other stakeholders, Milaney says there is an identified gap between academic research, the community organizations supporting vulnerable groups, and decision makers and policymakers which this program will address.
A public health priority
The Social and Structural Vulnerabilities Program reflects one of two O鈥橞rien Institute research priority themes under Improved Population Health 鈥 the other being healthy cities.
Read about the research priority themes of the O鈥橞rien Institute .
The large body of work already being done at the Institute in the area of social and structural vulnerabilities, along with funds from an anonymous donor and a societal need spurred the development of this program, says Dr. Jamie Day, PhD, O鈥橞rien Institute administrative director.
"Both member 'push' and community 'pull' in social and structural vulnerabilities have made this a priority research area for the Institute, and Dr. Milaney is an ideal lead to further our capacity and excellence in this area,鈥 she says.
In addition to Milaney, a research associate and will support the work of this program, as well as O鈥橞rien Institute members working in this area.
Institute members who are interested in working with the research associate, or applying for for their projects with a focus on social and structural vulnerabilities should contact iph@ucalgary.ca.
A note on language: The title social and structural vulnerabilities has been chosen intentionally as other more common phrases such as 鈥榲ulnerable populations鈥 can obscure structural determinants of vulnerability, or the ways in which systems, structures, policies and programs make people vulnerable.