PROJECT BACKGROUND
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is Canada’s first and largest province-wide, fully-integrated health system, responsible for delivering health services to the more than 4.3 million people living in Alberta, as well as to some residents of Saskatchewan, B.C. and the Northwest Territories. For more information about AHS: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/default.aspx
The AHS research challenge is a professional development opportunity for AHS front-line clinical staff to increase knowledge and skills to access, conduct and apply best-practice research. For the challenge, teams submit research project ideas based on clinical need and professional interest. If successful, teams are awarded $5,000 and the support of experienced research mentors. These teams work together for two years to design and conduct their small-scale study. For more information about AHS Research & Innovation: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/research/research.aspx
COMMUNITY CONSULTATION AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (CPATH) posted the CPATH Ethical guidelines for research involving transgender people & communities in August 2019. The research team have accepted these principles as our guiding ethical framework. For more information about the ethical guidelines: http://cpath.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/CPATH-Ethical-Guidelines-EN.pdf
Community consultation has underpinned the study. Our research team includes a permanent community advisor. In addition, the team has an advisory committee of people with lived experience, who have been consulted during research design, survey development and beta testing phases. The research team acknowledges their invaluable contributions including discussions regarding issues of study need, legitimacy, and culturally relevant language.
MEET THE RESEARCH TEAM
James Demers, Patient Advisor & Trans Activist
Title: Executive Director with MAX Ottawa and Co-Founder of the Queer Education Foundation
Statement of knowledge/skills/experience: James Demers (He/Him) has worked for 10 years at the Executive Director level in the charitable sector, as well as a diversity, equity and inclusion educator across a variety of sectors including healthcare, social services, tech and government policy development. Active for many years in arts and cultural work, James is also a drag performer, show producer, public speaker, trans advocate and athlete in his spare time.
He has committed his life and career to uplifting LGBTQ voices to build bridges of understanding, eliminate stigma and develop actionable empathy in the communities around him.
Tammy Troute-Wood, Research Team Lead
Title: Sexual and Reproductive Health Specialist, Alberta Health Services (Calgary Zone)
Professional credentials: RN, BScN, MN
Statement of knowledge/skills/experience: Tammy Troute-Wood’s (She/Her/Hers) is a permanent staff resource member of the Alberta Health Services, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGIE) and Expression Patient Advisory Council (PAC) and previous co-chair for the AHS Calgary Zone, SOGIE patient advisory committee. Tammy has presented for World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) at the Global Education Initiative (GEI) hosted in Edmonton in 2018.
Tammy has been a member of the Canadian Professional Association of Transgender Health (CPATH), the Trans Equality Society of Alberta (TESA) and, the Alberta Trans Health Network, In 2015, Tammy was named by Action Canada for Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights as a health care provider making a difference.
Dr. Julia Carter
Title: Medical Director, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Alberta Health Services (Calgary)
Professional credentials: BSc. (Hon), MD, FCFP
Statement of knowledge/skills/experience: Dr. Julia Carter (She/Her/Hers) is a family physician who has been working in sexual health since 2000, and has been the Medical Director of the Calgary Sexual and Reproductive Health clinics since 2008. She participates in a variety of Calgary and Alberta health care improvement initiatives, including a quality improvement project in 2017-18 that improved access to STI testing, a vaginitis testing study that was published in 2019, and an ongoing project involving the development and dissemination of primary care supports for management of digestive health conditions within the patient medical home. In 2018, she developed and implemented an HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program in three Calgary Sexual and Reproductive Health clinics. Dr. Carter presents at local and national conferences on a variety of sexual health topics. She has a community family practice, and was elected to the Board of the Directors of the Calgary West Central Primary Care Network in 2019.
Heather Cobb
Title: Sexual Health Promotion Facilitator, Alberta Health Services (Calgary Zone)
Professional credentials: BSc. PGCE (UK)
Statement of knowledge/skills/experience: Heather Cobb (She/Her/Hers) is a Sexual Health Promotion Facilitator with Alberta Health Services and has been working with the Sexual and Reproductive Health program in Calgary since 2000. An education and teaching professional Heather works with children, families, teachers and health professionals to improve access to information and strategies for teaching, learning and talking about healthy sexuality and relationships. As a member of the Alberta Health Services, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Patient Advisory Council, Heather collaborates closely with community partners to create safer and inclusive environments for everyone. Heather’s main area of practice focuses on working with youth with diverse abilities, including a research study exploring the effectiveness of training for parents and service providers (REB15-2596), and a current quality improvement study to improve comprehensive health education services for children and youth with intellectual disabilities (REB19-0949).
Megan McQuiston
Title: Clinical Practice Coordinator, Women’s Health, Alberta Health Services (Calgary Zone)
Additional Roles: Staff Nurse and Community Educator, Sexual and Reproductive Health
Professional Credentials: RN, BN
Statement of knowledge/skills/experience: Megan McQuiston (She/Her/Hers) is a Registered Nurse with Alberta Health Services. She has worked in Women’s Health (Labour and Delivery) since 2001, and joined the Sexual and Reproductive Health team as a clinic nurse and community educator in 2008. In her work with Sexual and Reproductive Health, she has received training to provide safe, inclusive care to all people, and applies this knowledge to her daily work. Megan’s role as Clinical Practice Coordinator is to write evidence based policies to ensure best practice in perinatal health care within the Calgary zone of Alberta Health Services. Within this role, she strives to use inclusive language, and to share her knowledge of creating safety for gender diverse populations with perinatal health leaders.
Alec Moorji
Title: Clinical Safety Lead, Integrated Quality Management, Alberta Health Services (Edmonton Zone)
Professional Credentials: RN, BScN
Statement of knowledge/skills/experience: Alec Moorji (He/Him/His) works as a Clinical Safety Lead for Alberta Health Services. Prior to this role, he was a frontline nurse working in the Women’s Health Program at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women in Edmonton. Alec has many years of experience working with patients seeking access to Reproductive Health Services with a specialization in Gynecology and Post-Partum Care. Alec is also a board member of the Edmonton Men’s Health Collective with a personal interest in Transgender Health and Community Based Research. He is involved with many community based initiatives that are focused on providing access to affirming services and educational resources for queer and trans people.
Natalie Anderson
Title: Clinical Instructor, Sexual & Reproductive Health Clinics, Alberta Health Services (Calgary Zone)
Professional Credentials: RN, BSc, MSc
Statement of knowledge/skills/experience: Natalie Anderson (She/Her/Hers) is a Registered Nurse and Clinical Instructor with Alberta Health Services Sexual & Reproductive Health Clinics in Calgary since 2016 and has worked in the area of sexual health since 2009. In her current role she works with clinical staff to ensure best practice in the provision of sexual health care through staff training and support and the development of guidelines and policy. Natalie recently led a working group in the development of an inclusive clinic intake form for people of all gender identities which has been implemented at Calgary Sexual & Reproductive Health Clinics. Her interests include supporting evidence-based clinical practice in sexual health care, harm reduction approaches to care, and promoting welcoming, safe and inclusive health care spaces.
Research Mentors
Dr. Peter Kellett
Title: Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge
Professional Credentials: BN, MN (Population Nursing/Epidemiology), PhD (Theoretical and Computational Science – Demography). RN
Statement of knowledge/skills/experience: Over the past 25 years, Peter Kellett (he/him) has worked as a registered nurse, nurse educator and manager in both provincial and federal (FNIHB) health systems in three Canadian provinces and one U.S. State in the areas of medical/surgical care, emergency care, primary health care, community health, and First Nations health. Peter is an Assistant Professor the nursing faculty in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Lethbridge. He holds a Master of Nursing degree in population nursing/epidemiology, and a Ph.D in demography. His research interests include: transgender health, masculinities and health, Migration and Health, LGBTQ2+ health, men in nursing, social demography, social epidemiology, social inequality and health, and nursing. He is a member of the Canadian Professional Association of Transgender Health (CPATH), the Trans Equality Society of Alberta (TESA), the AB Trans Health Network, and the Outreach Southern Alberta Society, and is currently engaged in leading research projects in the area of transgender primary care access and queer masculinities and mental health, in addition to serving as a research mentor to the AHS research challenge group exploring Transgender reproductive health needs.
Dr. Wendi Lokanc-Diluzio
Title: Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge
Professional credentials: BN (with distinction), MN (health promotion, program evaluation), PhD (sexual health promotion, adult learning, street-involved youth), RN
Statement of knowledge/skills/experience: Wendi Lokanc-Diluzio (She/Her/Hers) has focused her nursing career in public health since 1997. From 2002-2021, Wendi has worked as a sexual and reproductive health specialist for Alberta Health Services, where she provided leadership in the area of child and youth sexual health promotion, service provider education and training, and program evaluation, and research. Wendi is currently an assistant professor with the University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Health Sciences and a co-investigator with the University of Calgary, Faculty of Nursing.