Grant: New Investigator Award-PA:Ontario HIV Treatment Network-Health Serv/ Pop Health
University of Toronto
$0.00
Reducing stress and improving mental health and wellness among Indigenous women with socio-economic insecurities, living with and without HIV
FY 2015-16
Summary
Some First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women called Indigenous women with socio-economic insecurities experiences challenges to thriving and living healthy. These factors may cause chronic stress that negatively affects quality of life and leads to the acquisition, development, progression and/or worsening of health concerns such as depression, HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections (STBBIs). The proposed project associated with this application intends on working with a research team composed of Indigenous and allied scholars and service providers to develop a stress-reducing intervention grounded in Indigenous culture. The intervention will also be developed with Indigenous Elders, other healing practitioners and study participants to include stress relaxation techniques and educational strength-based components building on Indigenous knowledge and cultural practices. It will be implemented in Thunder Bay and Toronto, Ontario, where 40 women will be recruited for each site of which 20 are living with HIV and 20 without HIV. Our primary objective will be to compare stress levels by measuring substances (i.e., biological markers of stress) in the saliva of women with and without HIV before starting and after 6 months of practicing the intervention every two weeks. We are also aiming to improve self-esteem, self-determination, quality of life, HIV health outcomes, and HIV and STBBIs prevention and care knowledge which will be measured through questionnaires and discussion groups. Using the RE-AIM framework, we will also evaluate the intervention for an additional 3 months after the study is completed in order to assess its feasibility and utility in a real world setting. The overall purpose of this project is that the intervention developed is effective at reducing stress levels and improving the overall wellbeing of Indigenous women and that service providers are able to incorporate it within their programming for Indigenous women
Department
Program
New Investigator Award-PA:Ontario HIV Treatment Network-Health Serv/ Pop Health
Recipient
Location
Ontario, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
CIHR Funding Decisions Database
As published
Id
341461
Name
Benoit Anita C
Region
Ontario
Country
Canada
Orgtype
Institution Paid; Research Institution
Partnername
Ontario HIV Treatment Network
Instname2
Indigenous Peoples' Health
Theme2
Social / Cultural / Environmental / Population Health
Prcname2
Health Research Salary A
Projecttitle
Reducing stress and improving mental health and wellness among Indigenous women with socio-economic insecurities, living with and without HIV
Programtype2
Salary Programs
Orgnameinp2
University of Toronto
Cihramount2
$0
Cihrequipment2
$0
Programname2
New Investigator Award-PA:Ontario HIV Treatment Network-Health Serv/ Pop Health
Keyworddelim
Community-Based Research; Determinants Of Health - Socio-Economic Insecurity; Hiv; Indigenous Culture For Healing; Indigenous Methodology; Indigenous Women; Mental Health And Wellness; Mixed-Methods Research; Stress; Stress-Reducing Interventions
Abstract
Some First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women called Indigenous women with socio-economic insecurities experiences challenges to thriving and living healthy. These factors may cause chronic stress that negatively affects quality of life and leads to the acquisition, development, progression and/or worsening of health concerns such as depression, HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections (STBBIs). The proposed project associated with this application intends on working with a research team composed of Indigenous and allied scholars and service providers to develop a stress-reducing intervention grounded in Indigenous culture. The intervention will also be developed with Indigenous Elders, other healing practitioners and study participants to include stress relaxation techniques and educational strength-based components building on Indigenous knowledge and cultural practices. It will be implemented in Thunder Bay and Toronto, Ontario, where 40 women will be recruited for each site of which 20 are living with HIV and 20 without HIV. Our primary objective will be to compare stress levels by measuring substances (i.e., biological markers of stress) in the saliva of women with and without HIV before starting and after 6 months of practicing the intervention every two weeks. We are also aiming to improve self-esteem, self-determination, quality of life, HIV health outcomes, and HIV and STBBIs prevention and care knowledge which will be measured through questionnaires and discussion groups. Using the RE-AIM framework, we will also evaluate the intervention for an additional 3 months after the study is completed in order to assess its feasibility and utility in a real world setting. The overall purpose of this project is that the intervention developed is effective at reducing stress levels and improving the overall wellbeing of Indigenous women and that service providers are able to incorporate it within their programming for Indigenous women
Competitiondate
201512
Approvedterm2
5 yrs 0 mth
Pinamesdelim
Benoit, Anita C
Approvedterm
5 ans 0 mois
