Award Partner: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Scaling up Trauma and Violence Informed Outreach with Women Affected by Violence

Health Research BC is providing match funds for this research project, which is funded by a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Partnership Grant. Additional support is provided by UBC (Vancouver and Okanagan) and an anonymous donor.

 

Through community-based research design and implementation we aim to address an urgent priority of providing access and receipt of services among women and youth affected by violence who experience the worst severity in terms of types, duration, frequency and impact of violence for their lives. This pan-Canadian team includes 31 co-investigators and 14 partner organizations, across academic, public service, not for profit and private organizations.

 

Together, this team will implement an innovative, trauma and violence informed approach to outreach and community service integration in 4 Canadian cities including two in BC, testing the efficacy of this model to positively impact women’s engagement with an array of health and social services that can help women recover from and prevent ongoing violence in women’s lives. Study outcomes will provide essential information about the current primary care services in the BC Sites, and offer evidence informed strategies with transferability within these and other BC locations to enhance primary care for vulnerable women.

 

Additionally, because our model includes an integrated service approach we will be investigating how not-for-profit service organizations navigate and collaborate with primary care services to support appropriate referral for the women to whom they provide services. This information can also support more effective collaborations between these two service provider sectors.

 

The principal investigator is Victoria Bungay, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, UBC-Vancouver and Canada Research Chair in Gender, Equity and Community Engagement. Other BC team members are:

  • Jennifer Baumbusch, School of Nursing, UBC-Vancouver
  • Aggie Black, Providence Health Care
  • Linda Dewar, Inner City Women’s Initiatives Society
  • Kasari Govender West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund (West Coast LEAF)
  • Kim Hawkins, Rise Women’s Legal Centre
  • Angie Lohr, H.O.P.E. Outreach in Kelowna
  • Karen Mason, Kelowna Women’s Shelter
  • Michelle Novakowski, Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry Society (COEFS)
  • Will Panenka, Department of Psychiatry, UBC-Vancouver
  • Eli Puterman, School of Kinesiology, UBC-Vancouver
  • Paul Van Donkelaar, School of Health & Exercise Sciences, UBC-Okanagan

 

The team also includes an incredible advisory of women with expert knowledge in accessing supports and services within their respective communities.

 

Learn more: “Scaling Up” project website

 

 

Progress Report – May 2025

 

Team and Project Changes:
  • The intervention at the Kelowna hub ended early (half of the planned duration) due to workforce and service demand issues as the Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry Society (COEFS).
  • All pre-implementation activities were completed as planned, and the study was terminated following proper procedures to ensure participant safety and feedback.
Progress and Achievements:
  • Kelowna Hub:
    • The Kelowna hub finished research outreach on April 2024.
    • Follow-up surveys and interviews were conducted from May-July 2024.
    • Data analysis began in September 2024, with an initial report expected in spring 2025.
  • Windsor Hub:
    • Launched on October 2024, with The Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families as the hub co-lead.
    • 33 participants enrolled as of March 2025.
    • A two-part sub-study on research integration in community service sectors is underway to examine how to embed community-based research in frontline services.
Key Achievements:
  • Navigating Fragmented Services – feminist analysis of women’s experience with gender-based violence services.
    • Published in BMC Public Health (March 2025).
  • Dr. Bungay and colleagues presented at the Community Health Nurses of Canada Conference (April 2025).
    • Topics included intervention readiness, partnerships, and equity promotion.
  • Co-presented with Dr. Henry Yu at UBC on sustainable partnered research.
Collaborations & Influence:
  • Dr. Bungay was an invited delegate to Science Meets Parliament (May 2024).
  • Dr. Bungay joined the BC Coalition to End Gender-Based Violence as a Research Advisor.
  • New partnerships established with: 1) the Centre for Research on Healthy Equity and Society Inclusion and 2) Gender, Trauma, and Violence Knowledge Incubator at Western University.