Grandview Kids and Ontario Tech University secure prestigious research grant

$200,000 Partnership Development Grant advances field of disability research in Durham Region

Research shows that children and youth from equity-deserving communities experience health care differently from their peers. Sometimes these experiences are affected by multiple identities, such as race, gender or disability. Together with Ontario Tech University, Grandview Kids hopes to better understand the barriers, biases and inequities faced by children and youth with developmental concerns when they are waiting and accessing paediatric rehabilitation.

To help address these critical societal issues, Grandview Kids and Ontario Tech University secured a $200,000 Partnership Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). This funding will help advance the field of childhood disability research, strengthening the ongoing collaborative efforts of Ontario Tech University and Grandview Kids, which formalized a partnership in February 2023 to advance research, innovation and education in Durham Region.

“Grandview Kids is dedicated to providing culturally-safe care to all children, youth and caregivers. Through this investigative research, we will advance our work, alongside our Family Advocates, to find a way to better understand the communities we serve. This is an exciting next step in our ongoing partnership with Ontario Tech University.”

Tom McHugh, Chief Executive Officer, Grandview Kids

• Partnership Development Grants support formal partnerships between academic researchers, community organizations and other partners that will advance knowledge and understanding on critical issues of intellectual, social, economic and cultural significance.
• The grants allow partners to design and test new approaches to research and its real-world applications, foster valuable research relationships and networks across sectors, and provide hands-on training for students and new scholars.

The SSHRC funding will enable the partners to conduct research that will help shape the future of culturally-safe care at Grandview Kids and beyond. The three-year project is titled, “Building knowledge and understanding of the intersection of race and disability in accessing pediatric rehabilitation services.”

• Dr. Meghann Lloyd from Ontario Tech University and Dr. Taryn Eickmeier from Grandview Kids are Co-Directors for this research. Dr. Lloyd is also the Senior Research Associate for Grandview Kids, while Dr. Eickmeier serves as an Adjunct Professor at Ontario Tech University.
• Co-applicants include: Dr. Robert Balogh (Ontario Tech), Dr. Lesley Jacobs (Ontario Tech), Janicka Auguste (Grandview Kids), Maritza Basaran (Grandview Kids) and Yvonne Mais (The Regional Municipality of Durham).

“This grant demonstrates the strength of the partnership between Grandview Kids and Ontario Tech University. It provides the resources to ask some critical and timely research questions related to the intersection of race and disability when accessing paediatric rehabilitation services. The grant will provide numerous opportunities for students to get involved in meaningful research, while also enabling us to uncover how best to deliver culturally-safe care to children, youth and their families.”

Dr. Meghann Lloyd, Associate Professor, Ontario Tech University and Senior Research Associate at Grandview Kids

This SSHRC-funded research study is the next focus for Grandview Kids and Ontario Tech University’s formal partnership, amplifying the organizations’ shared objective to co-create ethical, sound research that is clinically-relevant and community-informed. The partnership also enables further exploration of experiential learning opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students, joint research activities across different faculties, academic and non-academic programming, innovation, and entrepreneurship that connects students and faculty with the community, and builds new engagement and outreach across Durham Region and beyond.

Together, Grandview Kids and Ontario Tech University are contributing to cutting-edge science that will advance clinical and educational opportunities for the children of the future.

About Ontario Tech University

A modern, forwarding-thinking university, Ontario Tech advances the discovery and application of knowledge to accelerate economic growth, regional development and social innovation. We inspire and equip our students and our graduates to make a positive impact in a tech-focused world. For us, it’s not only about developing the next tech breakthrough. Understanding and integrating the social and ethical implications of technology differentiates us as university. Learn more at ontariotechu.ca.

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