Brook's role is to co-ordinate the research process. This involves: completing initial interviews; developing research plans and job descriptions for community research assistants; training the communityresearch assistant in qualitative interviewing and photovoice; assisting in the data gathering, analysis, writing and dissemination. She has worked on a number of qualitative projects related to this research. Brooks, Thomas-MacLean and Poudrier used photovoice methodology as a qualitative technque to explore Aboriginal women's experiences with breast cancer and health services. This project will identify local knowledge of healthy body image and weight, using the participatory method of photovoice. This community based research is directed by the community and empowers community members to share their stories, "through their own eyes", towards transformative community enhancement.
I have been the Executive Director of Miwayawin Health Services Inc since 1990. Prior to that I worked for Battlefords Indian Health Services from 1978 to its closure in 1990. I sit on various committees at the local and regional level. I have been a surveyor for CCHSA since 2001. I am a registered member of Sweetgrass First Nation where I reside with my family. I am so happy that CIHR accepted our proposal. We’ve established a great team with the U of S, and I look forward to being involved in a project that will benefit women’s health, their families and their communities.
Previous work with youth regarding ideas/constructions of heath and fitness. Through this work youth discussed dominant discourses of health and fitness, but also were critical of these. Also in this project visual research methods were used. The youth drew their understanding of what healthy/unhealthy or fit/unfit individuals would look like. Jennifer feels very fortunate to be a part of this exciting research. In her role she will work with young females and discuss their ideas of healthy bodies and body image.
I am a sociologist and Metis community based researcher with background and interests in First Nations health, visual imagery, Indigenous knowledge and photography. I have been working with Janice Kennedy and others of Miwayawin Health Services Inc. since 2004 to develop this research project. With our various teams of researchers, MHS staff and community members, we hope to better understand how First Nations women interpret and define healthy body weight and body image in their own community. We are doing this through participants’ photography, interviews, sharing circles and community displays or exhibitions. We aspire to draw upon this knowledge to enhance programs offered through MHS. This project has been inspiring for me in so many ways, but particularly because of the amazing people I have met along the way. I very much look forward to learning from the creativity and knowledge that communities possess.
Joelena is a recent M.A. Sociology graduate student at the University of Saskatchewan who has been working with Dr. Jennifer Poudrier as a research assistant on this project since 2009. Being involved in this project has allowed her to gain first hand experience with photovoice methodology and qualitative community based research.
Dr. Karen Chad is the Associate Vice-President of Research and a professor in the College of Kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research interests center around health promotion, the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases and program development to empower individuals to make positive choices. Dr. Chad is the principal investigator of a 2 million dollar CIHR grant that focuses on building community capacity through physical activity and health promotion research. She is also the lead investigator of two developmental grants focusing on obesity.
I was very excited to be invited to contribute to this project. I am sure I will learn a lot from the people who participate in this study, as well as the other team members. Specifically, I hope to learn more about photography and what people think about this way of gathering data. I also look forward to learning more about people's thoughts on embodiment.
Dr. Sylvia Abonyi is an anthropologist working primarily in the area of Aboriginal health. She was recently awarded a Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Health at the University of Saskatchewan. Over the next five years she will be undertaking a research program on Cultural Vitalization as a Health Determinant among Aboriginal Canadians. This program of study will explore the role of culture in health, generally, and in the health and wellness of Aboriginal peoples, specifically. Her research will focus on Aboriginal health in northern and remote contexts, specifically northern Saskatchewan. Projects within this program of study will be community-based, capacity-building and participatory in orientation.
