Two teams of researchers led by OSOT faculty have recently received funding through UBC’s Community‑University Engagement Support (CUES) Fund.
Brain Injury CIRCLES
Brain Injury CIRCLES partners with Indigenous communities to understand brain injury experiences and co-create culturally grounded care models supported by story circles, community resources, and improved service pathways.
- Community Partner: Janelle Breese Biagioni, BC Brain Injury Association / Brainstreams
- UBC Partner: Julia Schmidt, Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy
Brain Injury CIRCLES, which will be co-led by Associate Professor Julia Schmidt and Janelle Breese Biagioni, the Director of the CGB Centre for Traumatic Life Losses, builds on the team’s recently completed BC Consensus on Brain Injury, Mental Health, and Addictions. Their goal is to explore how health and social systems exclude people with brain injury and related conditions in Indigenous communities and, in partnership with the BC Brain Injury Association and Haida Gwaii Society for Community Peace, to develop models of care that are rooted in lived experience, Indigenous leadership, and community priorities.
“Together with community and university partners, this work will help build a nationally recognized, equity-driven model of systems change. It will support a shift toward care and policy that are responsive, inclusive, and accountable, starting with the communities that have been most overlooked.”
Dr. Julia Schmidt
Swimming Together: Youth-Led Aquatic Literacy
Youth with disabilities will co design inclusive aquatic literacy programming through participatory action research, resulting in a youth led program model, municipal implementation tools, and an open access Aquatic Literacy Playbook.
- Community Partner: Ana Arciniega, Aquafit for All Association
- UBC Partner: Dr. Tal Jarus, Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy
Professor Tal Jarus, Clinical Instructor Dr. Miini Teng, and Ana Arciniega, a Board Member of Aquafit for All Association, are co-leading Swimming Together: Youth-Led Aquatic Literacy. In collaboration with CNIB, BC Blind Sports, and AutismBC, they are creating an advisory group of disabled youth to guide the project. The reality is that youth with disabilities are often excluded from age-appropriate aquatics once they outgrow children’s swim lessons (typically around age 13 or 14). They are expected to move into adult lessons, which rarely meet their developmental, physical, or social needs. This reflects broader systemic gaps in the continuity and accessibility of life skills and health-promoting programs, which this project aims to address.
“We hope to bring together youth with disabilities, families, community partners, and researchers to collaboratively explore the systemic factors limiting equitable access to aquatic programming in BC.”
Dr. Tal Jarus
Interested in finding out more about our research?
Find research news and a sample of research projects led by faculty members and community partners on the Our Research section.