Research Activities
My
overarching goal is to ensure through research, clinical care and education,
gay and other men who have sex with men in Ontario have access to and are
engaged and retained in informed, relevant, and comprehensive healthcare. Together,
we work with community groups, community members, clinicians, mental health
professionals and researchers to drive change. Our work is in part guided by
results from two large surveys of gay men which we conducted, one in the
Champlain LHIN (674 respondents) and one across all Ontario (1960 respondents).
These surveys enquired about the current health and health priorities of gay
men and how gay men prefer to access healthcare. Using the information provided
by the population we serve, our goals are to (a) better understand the current
deficiencies in healthcare from the perspective of gay men, (b) engage gay men
in their health and in healthcare through on-line resources, (c) support
primary care providers in the delivery of care to gay men through development
of learning modules and clinical practice guidelines, (d) adapt existing
technology to make healthcare more accessible to gay men, and (e) contribute to
the development of new knowledge aimed to improve the health of gay men in
Ontario. Throughout, our approach is gay-positive, gay-informed,
community-oriented and empowering, and engages both gay men and healthcare
providers.