Posted: Jan 31, 2021 9:49 AM CT | Last Updated: January 31
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers across Canada have been studying its effects on our mental health. (CBC)
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers across Canada have been studying its effects on mental health.
In August six months after the first case of COVID-19 was identified in Saskatchewan researchers used an online poll to reach a comparable probabilistic sample of 576 Saskatchewan residents about their experiences during the early months of the pandemic.
The population-based survey, conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights on behalf of Mental Health Research Canada and supported by the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, was analyzed by researchers at the Saskatchewan Population and Evaluation Research Unit (SPHERU).
U of S researcher recognized for work in Indigenous health
A prominent University of Saskatchewan researcher is being honoured for her work in Indigenous health.
Carrie Bourassa, the scientific director of the CIHR’s Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health at the U of S, is the recipient of the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation’s achievement award.
She said a big part of her research in Indigenous health is ensuring it is community driven.
“We privilege Indigenous knowledges, we privilege Indigenous methodologies and we are basically here to serve Indigenous communities in whatever manner that communities wish to engage in research,” she said.
Posted: Dec 18, 2020 7:02 PM CT | Last Updated: December 19, 2020
One of the researchers involved with a new study says its findings about pandemic-related anxiety reflect what she is hearing from her own clients. (Mont Poll/Shutterstock)
It has been more than nine months since the first case of COVID-19 was identified in Saskatchewan, and researchers have been working to identify how the pandemic has since impacted mental health in the province.
A new study conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights on behalf of Mental Health Research Canada, and supported by the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, found that anxiety and depression levels have increased in Saskatchewan adults this year.
“We have been working hard since June to navigate and synthesize the rapidly growing body of COVID-19 research and resources in relation to vulnerable children and families, some of who are involved with the child welfare system, in the Prairies and beyond,” says Dr. Lise Milne, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Work, who is partnering with CTRC director Dr. Nathalie Reid on the project. “We learned from the service providers themselves that, due to time constraints and work pressure, they have had difficulties accessing, sharing, evaluating, and applying knowledge of best practices,” says Dr. Reid. “The research team has created and populated the website with vetted, synthesized, and translated research and resources to help child-serving organizations across the Prairies mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the mental health of children, families, and workers.”
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University of Regina assistant professor Lise Milne with the Faculty of Social Work notes the strain of COVID-19 is a lot even for people working mainly from home.
For teachers, stresses often layer as they not only worry about their own health and that of their family but try to ensure the physical and mental well-being of the students in their charge.
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Milne and Nathalie Reid with the U of R-based Child Trauma Research Centre were already planning a website intended to compile the vast amount of research and best practices for those who work with children and youth. Then COVID-19 hit, and the need for the website became more obvious than ever.