Grant: Doctoral Research Award -PA: Research in First Nations, Métis &/or Inuit Health

Most healthcare professions are built within a Western, biomedical paradigm that has largely left out Indigenous Peoples. Similarly, Indigenous Peoples tend to experience the most health disparities and poorer health outcomes. In order to improve health outcomes for Indigenous Peoples, research needs to be completed with Indigenous communities to understand the needs better. Although much of the statistical related data is fairly well documented around the health disparities, Indigenous definitions of health are often poorly understood. This project will develop a framework that explores Indigenous concepts of health to support the development of curriculum that will allow training Occupational Therapists to understand the issues affecting Indigenous communities more fully. This project will explore diverse Indigenous communities to identify the gaps between western frameworks and Indigenous populations within the profession of Occupational Therapy.