Immigrant Women, Family Violence and Housing Insecurity: Research Challenges

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Immigrant Women, Family Violence and Housing
InsecurityResearch Challenges

• Prairie Centre of Excellence for Research on
  Immigration and Integration
• Annual Planning Meeting
• February 10-11, 2006
• Lesley Carruthers, MA
• Dept. of Community Health Sciences, University of
  Calgary
• Wilfreda Thurston, PhD
• Professor, Dept. of Community Health Sciences,
  University of Calgary
• Director, University of Calgary Institute for
  Gender Research

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Program of Research

• Health as viewed by mid-life immigrant women
• Gender, socioeconomics and health of immigrant
  women
• Immigrant womens participation in the domestic
  violence health policy community
• Annual Report of the Brenda Strafford Centre
• Women and Fair Income

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Research Team

• Principal Investigator
• Wilfreda E. Thurston, Professor Department of
  Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary
• Co-investigators
• David Este, Associate Dean, Research and
  Partnership, Associate Professor, Department of
  Social Work, University of Calgary
• Liza McCoy, Assistant Professor, Department of
  Sociology, University of Calgary
• Tess Gordey, Executive Director, Brenda Strafford
  Centre for the Prevention of Family Violence,
  Calgary
• Jana Smith, Coordinator, Calgary Coalition on
  Family Violence, Calgary
• Margaret Haworth-Brockman, Executive Director,
  Prairie Women's Health Centre of Excellence,
  Winnipeg
• Barbara N. Clow, Faculty of Health Professions,
  Dalhousie University
• Christine Saulnier, Senior Research Officer,
  Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women's Health,
  Halifax
• Community Partners
• RESOLVE Alberta, Osborne House (Winnipeg), NEEDS
  Centre for War-Affected Families (Winnipeg),
  Immigrant Womens Counselling Services
  (Winnipeg) Bryony and Adsum Houses (Halifax)
• Funding provided by Prairie Centre of Excellence
  for Research on Immigration and Integration and
  the National Secretariat on Homelessness

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Research Questions

• What are the key structural/systemic and
  individual causes of persistent and repetitive
  homelessness of immigrant women experiencing
  family violence?
• What are the key indicators of an increased risk
  of homelessness?
• What are the key indicators for decreased risk?
• What are the pathways into and out of
  homelessness? What are the specific conjunctures
  where critical interventions are most effective?
• What existing services are most effective in
  assisting people exit homelessness, and how can
  homeless people or those at risk of homelessness
  access them?

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Definitions

• Homelessness
• Housing Insecurity
• Secure Housing

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Research Design

• Qualitative interviews with immigrant women
• Qualitative interviews with service providers
• Inventory of employment and education services
• Quantitative data from second-stage shelter
• Consultations with key policy makers

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General Research Challenges

• Constraints and timelines of research, especially
  contract research
• National research
• Methodological

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Key Research Challenges

• Ethics
• Conflicting interpretations of the Tri-Council
  Policy
• Recruitment
• Successful in some areas, not in others
• Community context
• Formation of Halifax Advisory Committee

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Halifax Advisory Committee Members

• Community partners
• Other community stakeholders
• Government representatives
• Researchers

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Role of Halifax Advisory Committee

• Recruitment of a site coordinator
• Recruitment of research participants
• Revisions to the interview guide throughout the
  research process
• Preliminary analysis of research findings
• Dissemination of research findings
• Future research directions

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Opportunities

• Enhanced data collection
• National comparative data analysis
• Facilitate knowledge transfer
• Coalition-building
• Opportunities for advocacy

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Balancing Challenges with Opportunities