Collaborative health research

Master's student Anna Billowits believes that health-related research can be made relevant and useful to everyone through collaboration. She is doing a practicum with the Yukon Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (YSPOR) team at YukonU on two initiatives that will support the development of more accessible mental health services in Yukon communities and enhance public understanding of research. 

Anna is currently facilitating research agreements for a youth mental health project that will implement the First Nations principles of OCAP (Ownership Control Access and Possession). She will meet with participating First Nations and non-governmental organizations to discuss data governance practices. These discussions will contribute to a supportive, collaborative, and respectful framework for research moving forward. Anna is also working on a scoping review that will compile health research across the territory into a publicly accessible tool to explain the research, its findings, and its meaning to the general public. 

Our team of YSPOR researchers is providing Anna with practical experience in applied research and programming. This practicum is contributing to her Master of Public Health degree program. 

Written by student communications assistant Naomi Dedon