Alice Mũrage

In 2024, I deep dived into an interrogation of work conditions as a social determinant of health. In preparation for my comprehensive exams, I read a myriad of papers from both labour studies and health sciences that discussed pathways through which employment relationships effect health outcomes. Consequently, I developed the ‘Precarious Work-Health Outcome Analysis Framework’ which I am utilizing in my PhD research. I am examining work conditions of Black workers in the BC healthcare sector and how their employment might be affecting their health. I hope to make a nuanced contribution to ongoing policy discourse on addressing the healthcare workforce crisis and inspire an intersectional and equity consideration. (Learn more about this project HERE)

This year, I have also had the pleasure of collaborating with community and academic partners on community-engaged action research. These projects have aimed at informing policy changes that better support workers in the margins of the Canadian labour market. In collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and UNITE HERE Local 40, we examined pandemic and recovery experiences of women hotel workers in BC. What we found was a paradox in COVID-19 recovery where the hotel industry had recovered in revenue, but workers were left worse off. (Learn more HERE.) In collaboration with the Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers’ and Caregivers’ Rights and researchers at UBC and TRU, we investigated Canada’s migrant care worker programs and corresponding lived experiences of migrant care workers. We found a disparity in what the programs promised and what they delivered and consequent effects on workers. Read our report HERE. Working with the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society, we are currently seeking to understand experiences of frontline workers who support survivors of GBV. (Learn more HERE.)

I want to thank Dr. Julia Smith (FHS), Dr. Nicole Berry (FHS), and Dr. Kendra Strauss (Labour Studies) who have continually supported my work.

Alice plans to complete her PhD in 2026

Jaden Gornall

New Year’s Day 2024, I was released from the hospital, an accident in snow-claden mountains having necessitated the sudden amputation of my leg. Otherwise healthy, I resumed full-time classes at SFU. This past year presented me with fascinating opportunities to examine health from interdisciplinary and equity-focused perspectives. Over the summer, I engaged in an incredible field school on ecosocial health on Cortes Island. I also organized a conference for SEL BC, a network of leaders working to advance mental health and EDII in school districts.

This fall, I collaborated with peers and BC4Afghans, developing an equity-centered program model to address social isolation among women refugees. My vocation as a yoga therapist, focused on equipping individuals with evidence-informed practices to support physical and mental well-being, is profoundly rewarding. In 2025, I look forward to providing a partner yoga therapy group at Qmunity, a 2SLGBTQI+ focused organization, accompanied by a research study, as well as yoga therapy programming for patients at GF Strong Rehabilitation Hospital, where I received care. This transformative year has brought revelations, meaningful connections, and the blossoming forward of new and exciting projects. I am deeply grateful to the inspiring faculty and students at FHS for fostering this remarkably welcoming learning community.