Grant: Project Grant

Although Black Lives Matter is a movement that aims to abolish police violence against black lives, it is also a broad call to institutions to better prioritize the lives of racialized people. According to the Ontario Human Right Commission, racialized people are non-white and face oppression. The pediatric health care system is one institution that has failed to address the needs of racialized children/youth with disabilities and their parents (RCYDP). Although the evidence demonstrates that RCYDP face health barriers, to date, qualitative researchers have not investigated the health care experiences of RCYDP as they navigate the Canadian health care system. The existing literature has failed to engage health providers and the health policy landscape as well. We will conduct a two-phase qualitative study to address these critical gaps. Our study will be informed by conceptual theories that de-centre whiteness and be guided by the institutional ethnography methodology. In Phase 1, we will conduct a policy analysis of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) documents across all children's hospitals in Canada to facilitate a better understanding of how these spaces produce diversity knowledge. In Phase 2 (empirical), we will undertake qualitative interviews and an arts-based method known as poetry with 18 RCYDP child-parent dyads to understand their experiences navigating the health care system. We will also conduct 12 qualitative interviews with health care workers to investigate their experiences interacting with RCYDP in clinical settings. Our final subsample will consist of 12 interviews with health policy makers to gain understanding of how health leaders view EDI. In addition to producing knowledge products such as digital reports, a poetry gallery, and workshops, our high risk study will enhance the health of RCYDP and the health care system by generating new knowledge on the experiences of these marginalized patients and parents through the arts.