Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Vulnerable and marginalized populations - including those who are homeless, experience mental health and substance use issues and who are living in poverty - have higher rates of illnesses that will lead to their death and difficulty getting their needs met at end-of-life. While most people who are coming toward the end of their lives are cared for at home by family members, this is not the case for many people who are vulnerable and marginalized. Who supports these vulnerable and marginalized populations as their health is getting worse and they are approaching the end-of-life? Studies I have coordinated found that people who are vulnerable are cared for by many people that we would not traditionally think of as caregivers. These included people like "street family" rather than people's biological family. But there is little description of who these "street family" caregivers are, what they do, how caregiving affects them, and what supports they might need. As part of a larger study working with inner city palliative care teams in three Canadian cities to examine who "family" is in this context, I will focus on "street family" to understand what they do in relation to their roles. With these caregivers' consent, I plan to observe them in their community settings and interview them. I will explore what influences their capacity to give care and document what impact caregiving has on them. My goal is to provide a detailed description so that we can figure out how to best provide supports to them in order to reduce negative health outcomes including emotional distress, trauma, grief and burnout.