Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a public health epidemic and priority social concern, affecting more than 1 in 3 women in their lifetime and contributing to premature death and complex physical and mental health issues. Current health promotion strategies for women experiencing GBV (e.g., counselling, pain management), while valuable, have been criticized for their limited attention to evidence-informed population-level interventions that benefit both physical and mental health. It is well documented for instance that physical activity (PA) can decrease premature death and suffering associated with chronic diseases and can improve depression- and anxiety-related symptoms. To date, however, minimal work has explored the role of PA in improving the health and well-being of women experiencing GBV. Crucially, while any increase in PA levels would likely benefit women experiencing GBV, it has been shown that individuals experiencing marginalization are less likely to engage in standard PA programs. In acknowledgment of this problem, the World Health Organization published a report providing guidelines for PA promotion in marginalized communities, highlighting the need for consultation with these communities and for the design of multidisciplinary and intersectional interventions, which prioritize social inclusion and connectedness and work to improve access to opportunities for PA. Using a mixed-methods design, I will collaboratively engage with women experiencing GBV to develop a 12-week, group-based PA program in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia and explore its feasibility, assess its acceptability to participants and providers, and evaluate preliminary data on key mental and physical health outcomes. This research will contribute to our understanding of health programming for individuals from marginalized communities and provide insight surrounding the feasibility, and therefore real-world application, of an innovative equity-oriented PA program.