RPN BScPN MPN PhD(c) ; Associate Professor, Brandon University
Presenting on: Wednesday October 20
Session Title: Methods Matter: Integrating Trauma-Informed Principles into Psychiatric Nursing and Mental Health Research
Session description: Psychiatric and mental health (PMH) nurses integrate the concept of trauma-informed care and trauma-informed service delivery into practice, policy and education. Despite the frequency and the importance of PMH Nurses practising in a trauma-informed manner, there is paucity of literature within PMH nursing research focused on integrating trauma-informed principles into research methods. In fact, the majority of trauma-informed resources focus on integration in clinical and not within research settings. Professions outside of the nursing sphere, specifically social work and social sciences predominate the discourse around trauma-informed research; examples include (Goodwin & Tigerington, 2020; Voith et al., 2020). This manuscript explores the pre-existing literature from other academic fields on trauma-informed research methods, and the idea of research as testimony and applies these concepts to a study looking at the retrospective experiences of sexual violence survivors.
Learning Objectives:
1) Explore the process of implementing trauma-informed principles into research design and methods.
2) Discuss the concept of research as testimony and the importance of providing support in research on trauma.
3) Consider the role of the PMH Nurse Researcher in trauma-informed research.
Speaker Biography: Candice Waddell- Henowitch is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatric Nursing at Brandon University. Her research includes improving health care practice and systems through the lens of feminist, anti-racist, anti-homophobic and decolonizing approaches; and understanding the perspectives of individuals living with histories of mental illness and trauma.