Research with Pride

As Calgary celebrates Pride, the O’Brien Institute for Public Health is highlighting researchers whose work is helping improve the health and well-being of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. 

Across the Institute, researchers are examining the many factors that shape health and well-being, from mental health and access to affirming care to stigma, sexuality, disability and the policies and systems that influence people’s lives. 

Together, their work demonstrates both the breadth of 2SLGBTQIA+ health research happening across the O’Brien Institute and the importance of research that is informed by the experiences, priorities and expertise of the communities it aims to serve. 

“As lead of the Health Equity Hub and a queer faculty member, I celebrate the breadth, depth and impact of research being conducted with and for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. The most meaningful and impactful research happens in partnership, and the leadership shown by these researchers and community partners demonstrates what is possible when knowledge is co-created with communities,” says Dr. Katie Birnie, PhD, associate scientific director of population health at the O’Brien Institute and lead of the Health Equity Hub. 

“Calgary Pride offers an important opportunity to recognize these contributions while reaffirming our commitment to equity, inclusion and belonging,”  

Below, meet some of the O’Brien Institute members working with communities to build evidence, challenge barriers and help create more inclusive and supportive systems.

Brae Anne McArthur: Supporting the mental health and well-being of transgender and gender-diverse youth 

For Dr. Brae Anne McArthur, PhD, supporting the mental health of transgender and gender-diverse youth means looking beyond the individual to the environments and systems surrounding them. 

A registered psychologist and director of the University of Calgary’s Trailblazing Research for Equitable Care (TREC) Lab, McArthur studies the factors that shape mental health from childhood to young adulthood. Her work with transgender and gender-diverse youth examines mental health and well-being, the protective role of families and peers and barriers to accessing affirming care.  

In partnership with Calgary’s Skipping Stone Foundation, McArthur and her team have worked directly with transgender and gender-diverse youth to better understand their experiences accessing mental health and gender-affirming care and identify ways services can better respond to their needs. She has also helped develop training for clinicians providing trans-affirming care.  

More recently, McArthur and colleagues examined the impact of Alberta legislation restricting access to gender-affirming care, finding that the proposed legislation affected participants’ emotional well-being, relationships, sense of safety and access to care even before it was passed.  

“Transgender and gender-diverse youth are not inherently vulnerable because of who they are. Their well-being is profoundly shaped by the environments in which they live, learn and grow. When young people feel seen, respected and connected, they are far more likely to experience the well-being that every young person deserves,” says McArthur. 

Carly-Ann Franceschi: Understanding how stigma intersects in health care 

For Dr. Carly-Ann Franceschi, PhD, improving health equity means looking at how different forms of stigma can overlap and shape a person's experience of the health-care system. 

An assistant professor (teaching) in UCalgary's Faculty of Social Work, Franceschi studies fat stigma and its impacts on health, access to care and social well-being, with particular attention to the intersections of fatness, queerness and disability. 

Building on her doctoral research on fat stigma in primary health care, she is currently translating knowledge about the experiences of fat 2SLGBTQ+ people, including those seeking gender-affirming care. Her research has found that assumptions related to both body size and identity can affect care in significant ways, from having health concerns dismissed to experiencing delays or barriers when seeking gender-affirming or reproductive health care. 

Franceschi also works with community organizations, including Accessibility 4 Every Body, and through educational initiatives at UCalgary to help future social workers and health professionals recognize and challenge stigma. 

“Stigma rarely operates in isolation. When we understand how fat stigma intersects with heteronormativity and cisnormativity, we are better equipped to identify systemic barriers and create more equitable, affirming and person-centred approaches to care,” says Franceschi.  

Alan Martino: Making sexual health and sexuality education more inclusive 

People with developmental and intellectual disabilities are often excluded from conversations about sexuality, relationships and sexual health. For 2SLGBTQ+ people with disabilities, those barriers can be compounded by exclusion within both disability services and queer spaces. 

Dr. Alan Martino, PhD, associate professor in Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine is working to change that. His research explores sexuality, relationships and intimate citizenship among people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, with a focus on ensuring disabled people’s own experiences and expertise shape the research. 

In a recent Alberta study, Martino and his collaborators interviewed 31 2SLGBTQ+ adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities about how they learned about sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity. Participants described significant gaps in school-based sexuality education and support from parents and caregivers, with many left to seek out important information on their own.  

Martino’s work looks beyond traditional ideas of sexual health focused primarily on risk and prevention. Instead, it considers access to information, consent, pleasure, relationships, autonomy, safety and community as important parts of health and well-being.  

“People with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the same rich diversity of gender identities, sexual orientations, desires and sexual experiences as anyone else. Disability should never be a reason someone is excluded from conversations about sexual health. Progress isn’t progress if it doesn’t include everyone,” says Martino.