Federal Funding for First Nations Project at Northern Health
Prince George, B.C. – A unique research project is in the works at Northern Health.
It’s all thanks to a $149,500 federal grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) as part of a new Healthy and Productive Work – Partnership Grant.
It will be led by UNBC researcher Dr. Sarah Leeuw and is centred on First Nations employment with Northern Health.
“We are interested in studying the workplace in relation to Indigenous employees at Northern Health, and how to bring more indigenous workers into the organization,” says de Leeuw, a Northern Medical Program and Geography associate professor.
“We will look at how to best gather information in this area, including innovative approaches such as videos of individuals highlighting what an ideal healthy work climate could look like for Indigenous people.”
According to the Northern Medical Program, the goal is to bring together researchers and stakeholders across sectors “to help develop and put solutions in place that improve the health and productivity of Canada’s diverse workforce.”
Phase one of the program is in effect until 2018 while successful grant applicants will be eligible to apply for Phase two funding for the implementation of a full, multiple-year study.
The project is also being supported through in-kind contributions valued at around $145,000 from various organizations including Northern Health and the First Nations Health Authority.
Comments
Maybe I’m missing something.
Would the easiest way to bring more indigenous workers into the work place be to……perhaps…..hire more indigenous people ??
Give me the $150,000 and I’ll make this suggestion to them!
wow, 150 G should hire at least 1…………
I agree that hiring more people would be a good start. It would also be interesting to know how many First Nations already work for Northern Health. I suspect that there are quite a few.
Why? Or is it more about grant collecting?
$150,000 targeted for the north, and being sent up here in the north, or is that a bad thing?
It sounds like the focus of the grant is on felicitous working conditions for First Nations employees. That suggests that it is believed that at present there is a dearth of First Nations employees and that this is due in part to working conditions that First Nations employees dislike. (I’m just interpreting the article – I know nothing about this grant or its background.)
The bloated employee numbers at NH are well documented. I wonder when they will publish a list of staff making more than $50,000 per year…
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