Dr. Oluwabukola Salami

CHALLENGE: Canada’s Black population is growing, reaching 1.5 million in 2020 with 26.6% being children <15 years. Black children and youths more often live in poverty, are disproportionately affected by gun violence, and have low educational outcomes compared to their non-Black peers. Further, they are overrepresented in the criminal justice (CJ) and child welfare (CW) systems. A UN report calls for data and participatory approaches with Black communities to improve their outcomes across these domains. We comprehensively take up this critical challenge. 

OBJECTIVES: We will facilitate a national research network, informed by critical race theory and intersectional theory, to meet three broad objectives addressing the needs and issues of Black children and youths (0 to 24 years) in Canada, as follows:

• Co-create knowledge and diverse solutions/interventions to address this group’s overrepresentation in the CJ and CW systems, their poor educational outcomes, and settlement issues—via participatory action research (PAR).
• Create an interdisciplinary, intersectoral, and bilingual network, centre, and knowledge hub to mobilize evidence to improve this group’s well-being and build capacity—by engaging researchers, trainees, policymakers, Black communities, and service providers across Canada.
• Train students and postdoctoral (PDF) researchers, including Black youths—facilitating their transition to academic and non-academic workplace settings.

METHODOLOGY, KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION, & TRAINING: Our mixed methods PAR methodology includes a national survey of 2,000 Black parents and 2,000 youths; 480 interviews with parents, children, and youths; 60 stakeholder interviews; and 26 stakeholder focus groups. The actions and research outputs are multi-dimensional: (a) integrated social and technological innovations including arts, drama, music, and multi-media; (b) a national online and media-enhanced Speak Up series; (c) a national mentorship program for Black youth; (d) arts-informed projects with Black children; and (e) capacity-building of community leaders, Black-led organizations, and emerging academics. 

The project director has already presented to the Prime Minister of Canada and to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health on their child and youth wellbeing study, leading to key policy change for Black Canadians. Our diverse community of practice will co-create and disseminate policy briefs, practice guidelines, videos, e-books, social media, and workshops. Our policy forum, stakeholder engagement days, conference, and knowledge hub will also mobilize knowledge. We will also train ~250 emerging Black academics (from high schoolers to PDFs) in research practices via individual mentorships, and yearly seminars and research institutes for graduate students and early career researchers.

BREADTH OF PARTNERSHIP: Our 40 co-applicants and collaborators across Canada will create a strong multidisciplinary multi-stakeholder network focused on Black child and youth well-being. We will engage via (1) regular in-person, web-based (e.g., Zoom), and phone meetings; (2) jointly organized conferences, symposia, and webinars; and (3) collaborative research projects. Partners will also pursue regional projects and commit to the project’s EDI mandate.

PROGRESS INDICATORS: We will track many qualitative and quantitative progress indicators: quality of partnerships, number of network members, number of students trained (disaggregated by race, gender, and geographical location), career path and satisfaction of trainees, number of participants engaged at each stage of our project, attendance at our sessions, number of publications, impact factor and citation of publications, and number of knowledge mobilization outputs delivered.

The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on significant Black/White health disparities in Canada. Black people were more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 and face severe outcomes compared to their White counterparts. Structural inequities, anti-Black racism and deficient access to
health services are potential contributors to poor health outcomes among Black people in Canada. However, a comprehensive national picture on the health of Black populations in Canada is missing. Furthermore, there is a notable lack of national data on innovative strategies designed to enhance the
health of Black people in Canada. The proposed study will examine the health outcomes of Black people in Canada, identify barriers they face in accessing health services, and propose innovative strategies, especially technology enabled) for enhancing their health. We will: (1) conduct a secondary analysis of Canadian Community Health Survey data to gain insights into healthcare utilization and other health determinants for Black people in Canada; (2) undertake a secondary analysis of Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort data to assess the health outcomes specific to Black people in Canada; and (3) organize 20 qualitative interviews and six focus groups to situate our survey findings within distinct local contexts and guide the formulation of targeted innovative interventions, including through the use of technology, to overcome healthcare access barriers for Black people in Canada. Our study aligns with the call as we will seek to overcome participant recruitment challenges through engaging Black communities in co-creating solutions. The focus groups will set the stage for the development of innovative recruitment strategies for future intervention research. Throughout this project, we will closely collaborate with Black people across all provinces and territories. As part of our knowledge mobilization plan, we will produce a video documentary and policy briefs, and anticipate publishing five or more academic articles.

Our research team is currently engaged in two research projects on cancer.  One is on breast cancer screening in Black women in Alberta. This is funded by the Canadian Cancer Society. We are also analyzing Statistics Canada database on colon cancer screening in Black women. This is funded by Alberta innovates. Following is the summary of the breast cancer project. ------- The Black population in Canada is growing, especially in the Province of Alberta. Historically, Black people have experienced poorer health outcomes than other populations. For instance, Black women have a higher risk of breast cancer and poorer breast cancer-related outcomes. They are more likely to be diagnosed at younger ages and at more advanced stages of the disease than White women. However, limited evidence exists to explain these disparities and how to address them. Engagement with Black women with lived experience of breast cancer reveals barriers to breast cancer screening and highlights the importance of engaging Black women, religious leaders, and families to promote increased screening in Black women. Using a community-based participatory action research approach, this project will examine the experience of Black women in accessing breast cancer screening in Alberta as well as co-develop, deliver, and evaluate actions to improve breast cancer screening in this population. At the beginning of the project, we will assemble an advisory committee that will meet every 4 months. Phase 1 will involve conducting up to 10 focus different groups with up to 100 Black women and stakeholders to bring to light their experiences navigating breast cancer screening. Phase 2a will involve a series of 24 discussions to improve breast cancer screening and co-develop knowledge mobilization tools. Phase 2b will involve peer navigators and mental health therapist, who will provide telephone and in-person conversations to equip participants with the knowledge to navigate challenges related to screening and also provide cancer prevention support. We will follow up with participants 3 and 6 months after the group discussion to gauge the extent to which they have committed to changing and improving their screening practices. Throughout the project, we will co-develop tools including a video and policy brief as well as hold yearly knowledge mobilization workshop