Health in HIPPY Homes: Exploring the pathways and barriers to wellbeing of refugee mothers during resettlement and the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of HIPPY in fostering household health and resilience.

The Health in HIPPY Homes project seeks to explore refugee mothers’ and families’ health during resettlement in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and the various factors that affect their wellbeing during this period. Additionally, we are interested in better understanding the potential impacts that participating in the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program has on the wellbeing of refugee families during resettlement. Finally, in light of the COVID-19 crisis, the project seeks to understand challenges and resilience factors experienced by refugee HIPPY families during the pandemic, as well as the employment experiences of HIPPY facilitators during this unprecedented and challenging time. Data collection for the HHH project took place from November 2020 to June 2021. The intern will work closely with the Mothers Matter Centre, national facilitators of the HIPPY program in Canada, to conduct data analysis and produce both academic and plain-language reports outlining study findings. Findings will be used to enhance the positive impacts of HIPPY on refugee families, and by healthcare and social service providers to better support refugee families during resettlement in Calgary and Canada more broadly.

Faculty Supervisor:

Matthew Little

Student:

Partner:

Mothers Matter Centre

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Guelph

Program: