Tapping into tech research enables remote child care services
Community Voices on Tapping into Tech is a two-year research project co-led by Dr. Alison Gerlach, associate professor with the School of Child and Youth Care, and Jason Gordon
executive director with the BC Association of Child Development and Intervention. Funding was made possible with a $200,000 Vancouver Foundation Participatory Action Research grant.
Interviews will be conducted with families living in rural and northern regions of BC raising children with disabilities and/or medical complexities. This study is focused on their experience accessing information and communication technologies (ICTs) to find information, supports and services for their children’s early health, development and well-being.
“The lived reality of this population can inform and help tailor the use of ICTs for other families,” says Dr. Gerlach. Research activities will be co-designed by a Community Council* to explain how these devices can be used. “We are looking for supportive practices and policies that brought about sustainable system change to reduce early child development and health inequities.”
Dr. Gerlach says there is untapped potential for the development of ICTs as long term, additional ways families can access child health information and programs. “There is a longstanding lack of access for those living in remote areas in BC. We know that poorer early health can have lifelong consequences, so this research aims to correct this unfairness.”
What are ICTs?
- Software programs, apps
- Cell phones
- Facebook and other social media channels
- Teleconference platforms such as Zoom
Community Council members include rural and northern parents, youth and ECD service providers who serve as community researchers, provincial, grassroots child disability advocacy groups and university researchers.