Deadline: 16-Sep-20
In collaboration with the CIHR Centre for REACH and CANFAR, Feast Centre grants are now being made available to support research related to Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), Sexually Transmitted Blood Borne Infections (STBBI) and COVID-19 in the four pillars of health science (clinical, epidemiology, basic science and social science)
The purpose of this call is to solicit project proposals on the intersections between COVID-19 and STBBI in Indigenous communities that will have a measurable impact. Communities of Indigenous people living with HIV, Hep C, or other STBBI have teachings that are relevant to our understanding of the impact of COVID-19 within Indigenous communities.
Stigma, discrimination, social isolation, colonization, experiences of residential schooling, structural inequities, community bonds, strengths, traditions, and deep resilience have all impacted how Indigenous people have experienced STBBI and how many people and communities will experience COVID-19. These grants aim to support research about keeping Indigenous people healthy by building on Indigenous knowledge and community experiences to maintain and strengthen Indigenous wellbeing.
Funding Information
- Funding amount: $25,000
- Number of available awards: Minimum of six.
Potential Project Ideas
- This grant is open to a broad range of research projects that deal with the intersections of COVID19 and STBBI in Indigenous communities and that can demonstrate a measurable impact. The following list of examples is meant to demonstrate the breadth of options but not, in any way, to suggest what projects will be funded:
Social Determinants of Health
- Mental wellness – effects of COVID-19 crisis/isolation/changes to or withdrawal of services on mental wellness, including restricted access to the ceremony
- Wellness strategies for people living with HIV and other STBBI during COVID-19 crisis
- How does HIV stigma intersect with COVID-19?
Policy Implications
- Policy implications i.e. ODSP or equivalent and how it needs to change (or not) to address COVID.
- Challenges of delivering frontline services to people living with HIV, ie, food banks, dropins, other programming that people depend on, in these challenging times
- Interactions with/acceptability of HIV treatments with potential COVID-19 treatments and therapies?
- How has access to HIV or STBBI testing and care been affected by COVID-19 in Indigenous communities?
Clinical Implications
- How has COVID-19 impacted those using opioid substitution therapy or those living with substance use disorders?
- How has COVID-19 impacted HIV care – has your care gone virtual, how has that experience been?
- Has the COVID-19 pandemic and its required management been well explained and how could this be improved?
- Indigenous participation and acceptability in vaccine development and clinical trials.
Basic Science Implications
- How are individuals living with HIV and STBBIs affected by COVID-19 in terms of:
- Resilience to infection; or
- Duration of disease; or
- viral load during infection;
- Assessing past exposure by correlations of SARS-CoV-2 antibody and lived experience (living density, access to health care, etc)
Culture
- What is the role of culture, ceremony, and Indigenous knowledge in understanding and managing COVID-19 risk? Particularly as it relates to HIV and STBBI?
- How can culture and ceremony, including land-based activities, mitigate the risk of contracting COVID-19?
- How are older Indigenous people living with HIV and other STBBI managing in the COVID-19 crisis, and what are the considerations for prevention, testing, diagnosis, treatment, and care?
- What does culturally safe care look like during a pandemic?
- How do we ensure that Indigenous people living with HIV and STBBI have access to culturally safe care in all settings?
- What needs to give, and what needs to be reinforced under these conditions?
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants should have experience with community-based research and demonstrate a relationship with an Indigenous community, collective, or organization. Grants can be held by academic institutions or community-based organizations. Although REACH 3.0 is a partner in this grant, REARCH partner organizations are welcome and eligible to apply. The team members should include at least:
- One person who has a PhD, is a clinical researcher, and/or is a community member with a minimum of five years of research experience. This person should have a publication and presentation record, including community reports, and be able to demonstrate measurable community impact
- One person who has demonstrated experience and/or knowledge of COVID-19
- One Indigenous person with lived experience of STBBI and/or Indigenous community organization representative.
Team members should collectively be able to demonstrate their previous experience with community-based research by providing examples of current and/or past work such as community reports, conference presentations, publications, articles, arts-based dissemination strategies, etc.
For more information, visit https://canfar.com/request-for-grant-applications/