Grant: Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

This research respectfully involves Indigenous communities. The effects of climate change have been increasingly experienced across Canada, with people living in rural and remote areas being the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of warming temperatures and extreme weather events. Indigenous food systems are especially sensitive to climate change because Indigenous Peoples have a strong connection to the land. As a result, even small changes in the environment can have a big impact on Indigenous Peoples' food security. Emerging research shows a link between adverse weather events, anxiety, and depression. However, there is a need to better understand how the long-term effects of climate change influence mental health through its detrimental impact on food systems. This project aims to engage Indigenous communities to identify the complex relationships between climate change, food insecurity, and mental health, as well as adaptation strategies necessary for improving food insecurity and mental health status. The project will use the SMART Platform, an innovative mobile health (mHealth) platform developed at the DEPtH Lab, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (two campus School at the Universities of Saskatchewan and Regina). Community members in northern Canada will have an opportunity to be citizen scientists in this project, engaged both in-person and remotely using citizen-owned smartphones. The project will involve Indigenous communities that have existing collaborations with the DEPtH Lab and the Indigenous Peoples' Health Research Centre. Smartphone-based data collection will allow continuous engagement with citizen scientists over a two-year period to capture rich population health behavioural, social, and environmental data in real time. Ultimately, this research will provide a voice to Indigenous communities who have the greatest risk of adverse climate change impacts by utilizing smartphones as a tool of equity.