Lawrence Weldon, a veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy who fought in the Battle of the Atlantic, poses for a photo with his niece, Laura Evans and her husband, and Rear-Admiral John F. Newton and Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Pierre Auger after a memorial service in Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 1, 2016. Photo: Corporal J.W.S. Houck, Formation Imaging Services HS2016-0276-006
Submitted to
Shilo Stag Media
Lived experience in research and why it matters
By: Fardous Hosseiny,
President and CEO, Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families
The Atlas Institute’s research is driven by a commitment to mental health equity and is informed by the seven domains of well-being, which include the social determinants of health. We design our research projects so that they answer the questions that matter to veterans and their families.
At the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families, we engage both Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Veterans and Family members in our research efforts because we believe listening to expertise stemming from experience improves the research and helps to create different and better outcomes for the community.
People with lived experience and expertise help guide researchers in identifying issues and prioritizing them for those affected. This not only helps with identifying questions and the aims of the research, but it also supports the identification of practical implications and offers potential future research directions.
There are many opportunities for Veterans and their families to participate in our ongoing studies. Our current projects include appraising the evidence for peer support, creating a sound measure of moral injury, and assessing the prevalence of intimate partner violence in military and Veteran Families. Whether we are leading studies or supporting our research partners in their endeavours, the Atlas Institute aligns its research efforts with what Veterans and their Families tell us are their unique mental health care and treatment needs.
As we look towards the future, we are recruiting CAF and RCMP Veterans and family members who might find themselves interested in sharing their experiences as part of our current studies.
Your experiences matter. They matter to you personally, and your knowledge and wisdom matter to others facing the same issues. If sharing your personal experiences as part of ongoing research speaks to you, we ask that you visit our website at atlasveterans.ca/recruiting-studies to find out more information on how to get involved.
Arthur Conan Doyle, crime writer and creator of Sherlock Holmes, once wisely said, “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.” The truth in this statement is that data will guide us toward the answers we seek. At the Atlas Institute, we conduct research for precisely that reason, and we intentionally engage with people who have lived experience to help guide our research. This first-person knowledge is the key to the doorway to those answers.