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Change

As community-based researchers, it is important to us to work in partnership with communities to use our research results to create positive change (also called knowledge mobilization) (1). In this way, we aim to use our research to improve 2SLGBTQA+ health and access to health services. How we accomplish this may look different for each project, depending on the results of the research and what opportunities present themselves. However, we always ensure that we present our research findings to the communities that our research is about, so that our research enhances not just academic knowledge but also community knowledge. Knowledge mobilization activities may include:

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  • Creating new community resources, if our research reveals that 2SLGBTQA+ people don’t have access to information they need

  • Developing resources and training for service providers, if our research reveals that providers lack knowledge necessary to provide good care to 2SLGBTQA+ people

  • Using our research to shape policy relevant to 2SLGBTQA+ people

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Here are some of the activities and resources we have created in collaboration with our project partners:

We aim to use our research to improve 2SLGBTQA+ Health and access to health services

LGBTQ2S+ Parenting Resources

  • Adoption brochure – for 2SLGBTQA+ people considering adoption

  • Booklet for adoption workers about 2SLGBTQA+ adoption

  • Family Tree Poster – A poster celebrating the diversity of family structures and increasing the visibility of diverse families

  • A website for 2SLGBTQA+ parents and service providers

Resources for Bisexual People

Our pilot project on bisexual mental health identified the need for more opportunities for bisexual people to connect with one another and access social support. Based on this information, our project partners developed the following resources:​

  • A support and educational group for bisexual people in the Toronto area. ‘The B Side: Exploring Bisexuality’ is run out of the Sherbourne Health Centre.

  • A poster and video campaign to address stigma towards bisexuality

Training

Our research results have been combined with expertise from our partner organizations to create training sessions for service providers. Some of these include:

  • Workshops across Ontario with Adoption workers about working with 2SLGBTQA+ families (Hamilton, Guelph, Sudbury, Ancaster, Ottawa, Toronto)

  • Workshop at the Adoption Resource Exchange about 2SLGBTQA+ adoption

  • Workshops at fertility clinics about 2SLGBTQA+ families – so far approximately 15 organizations in Ontario have received this training

  • Please contact us if you are interested in any of these training sessions (Email: lgbtq.health@camh.ca)

  • An educational intervention addressing values and attitudes of primary health care providers working with people with lived experiences of mental health and substance use issues has been developed. This training intervention was delivered to nursing students at Toronto universities during the 2013-2014 academic year

Influencing Policy

Policy related to Assisted Human Reproduction/Fertility Services:

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Drawing on her expertise and results from our research projects, project partner Rachel Epstein of the 2SLGBTQA+ Parenting Network contacted the Assisted Human Reproductive Agency of Canada (AHRAC) concerning the impact of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA) on LGBTQ2S+ parents. Several actions resulted from this:

  • The formation of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA) / 2SLGBTQA+ Working Group – a group of 2SLGBTQA+ community members, researchers and service providers with a shared concern about the impact of the AHRA on 2SLGBTQA+ people

  • The production by this working group of a position paper on the AHRA and its impact on 2SLGBTQA+ communities

  • Rachel Epstein now sits on several committees of the AHRA, including the editorial committee, the multiple births committee, and the patient committee

In 2008, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services created an Expert Panel on Infertility and Adoption to with the goal of improving access to adoption and fertility services for Ontarians. Our research team submitted a policy brief to this panel and Rachel Epstein and Dr. Lori Ross were invited to present to the panel. Our research findings were cited in the panel’s final document, Raising Expectations: Recommendations of the Expert Panel on Infertility and Adoption.

Legal

Dr. Lori Ross acted as an expert witness (speaking about the results of the MOMs study) in a charter case challenging the requirement that non-biological mothers go through the process of second-parent adoption before they can have legally recognized relationships with their children (Rutherford et al. v. Deputy Registrar General for the Province of Ontario, 2006). Project partner Rachel Epstein was also an Applicant in this case, which successfully eliminated this requirement for same-sex parents who conceive using unknown donor insemination. More recently, Dr. Lori Ross acted as an expert witness (speaking about all of our team’s research on 2SLGBTQA+ parenting) in the case Grand et al. v. Ontario, which ultimately contributed to the All Families Are Equal Act, to ensure that family law in Ontario equitably meets the needs of 2SLGBTQA+ people.​

Other Advocacy

The Re:searching for 2SLGBTQA+ Health team is keen to engage in various forms of advocacy that will serve the health of our communities. Currently, much of our advocacy is related to addressing and ending poverty for 2SLGBTQA+ people. Our team is the lead organization in the Canadian Coalition Against 2SLGBTQA+ Poverty (CCALP). On behalf of CCALP, we prepared a joint submission to the consultation on Canada's first federal poverty reduction strategy. Some of our other recent advocacy activities include:

  • Preparing a brief for the federal Poverty Reduction Strategy team about issues in collecting data necessary to monitor 2SLGBTQA+ poverty in Canada

  • Leading a letter to Pride Toronto protesting their wristband policy

  • Signing off on a letter in support of embedding the right to housing in Canada’s National Housing Strategy legislation

Notes:

  1. “Knowledge translation (KT) is defined as a dynamic and iterative process that includes synthesis, dissemination, exchange and ethically-sound application of knowledge to improve the health of Canadians, provide more effective health services and products and strengthen the health care system. This process takes place within a complex system of interactions between researchers and knowledge users which may vary in intensity, complexity and level of engagement depending on the nature of the research and the findings as well as the needs of the particular knowledge user”.
    (Source)

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