Bloomberg Nursing Assistant Professor Amy Wright received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development grant for her project International Perspectives on the Role of Indigenous Fathers in Meeting the Developmental Needs of Their Infants.
It is known that Indigenous infants experience disparities and many Indigenous mothers face difficulty accessing early childhood services due to inequitable access, racist and discriminatory care, and social inequities such as poverty. It is also known that optimizing the healthy development of infants requires a holistic approach involving all parents.
The role of fathers in supporting the developmental needs of their infants remains largely absent in the literature as researchers tend to focus on the role of mothers as primary caregivers and fathers as economic providers. The unique experiences of Indigenous fathers in supporting their infants’ development is even less well understood in the Canadian context.
Wright’s project represents the necessary foundational work in understanding the role of Indigenous fathers in meeting the developmental needs of their infants. Findings will be of interest and use to academics and service providers from a variety of contexts, including sociology, psychology, early childhood development and health sectors.
Wright’s research project consists of two phases:
(1) to conduct a scoping study to synthesize literature concerning what is known of the role of Indigenous fathers in meeting the developmental needs of their infants within Canada, as well as the United States, Australia and New Zealand—countries that have experienced similar periods of colonization with lasting impacts on Indigenous Peoples; and
(2) to develop an Indigenous-led, community-engaged research project to more thoroughly
understand the role of Indigenous fathers in meeting the developmental needs of their infants in the Canadian context through a series of four planning meetings, that will prioritize the gaps identified in the scoping study, and develop an Indigenous-led, community-engaged research project to better understand the role of Indigenous fathers in caring for the developmental needs of their infants in the Canadian context.
Dr. Amy Wright’s research focuses on equitable access to health care and positive health care interactions with a focus on cultural safety and trauma & violence-informed care (TVIC). Her recent work focuses on how Indigenous mothers experience using health care services to meet the health needs of their infants and demonstrates an urgent need for cultural safety and TVIC training for everyone working in health care.