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School of Nursing

Dr. Ingrid Handlovsky

Assistant Professor

School of Nursing

Accepting graduate students

Contact:
Office: HSD A440
Credentials:
PhD, RN
Area(s) of expertise:
Health equity, social environments/circumstances and health practices, experiences and outcomes, gender and sexual identity, individuals, groups and populations subject to disadvantage due to structural circumstances (with a focus on discrimination) and nursing practice thereof, mental health, substance use, harm reduction, critical theory, grounded theory

Biography

I joined the School of Nursing as an Assistant Professor in 2020. I initially completed a BSc. from McMaster University, followed by a BSN from the University of Toronto, and a Masters and PhD from UBC. My dissertation focused specifically on enhancing equity with gender and sexual identity and was supported by a CIHR doctoral award, UBC four Year Fellowship (4YF) and the CIHR-funded Intersections of Mental Health Perspectives in Addictions Research Training (IMPART) fellowship. My research is informed by a commitment to health equity with an emphasis on situating discrimination (structural and interpersonal) as a determinant of health to explore meaningful and effective approaches to enhancing the health and well-being of equity-owed groups. I am the co-founder of the AdJust Research Collective, an affiliate with the Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health (IALH) and the current coordinator of the Master of Nursing – Nurse Educator program (NUED) at the University of Victoria.

I am a community-engaged researcher and thus I work closely with community organizations, health and social service organizations and community members – along with health systems representatives - to explore enhancing the health and well-being of equity-owed groups. My research is informed by a commitment to health equity with an emphasis on situating discrimination (structural and interpersonal) as a determinant of health. In particular, I am interested in exploring how our complex and multi-faceted social environments-inclusive to historical, political and cultural dynamics – inform health practices, perspectives and experiences of well-being for – in particular – 2S/LGBTQ+ individuals. I draw on social justice and critical perspectives to appreciate the structural conditions that subject individuals, groups and populations to disadvantage while highlighting, and learning from, tremendous demonstrated capacities.

Current Projects:

I am currently co-leading several projects pertaining to exploration of a novel 2S/LGBTQIA+ Liaison Nurse recently implemented in the Island Health Authority:

  • 2025-2030 Exploring a novel 2S/LGBTQIA+ Liaison Nurse Role: A community-engaged mixed-methods study (CIHR project grant, $1, 021, 276)
  • 2025-2026 Enhancing equity in our communities: a community-engaged, mixed-methods feasibility project of a 2S/LGBTQIA+ Liaison Nurse role (Micheal Smith Health Research BC Health Equity Grant, $12, 500)
  • 2025-2026 The power of presence: exploring the lived experiences of 2S/LGBTQIA+ people with affirming and inclusive health service providers (SSHRC Explore Grant, $7,000)
  • 2025-2026 Exploring a novel 2S/LGBTQIA+ Liaison Nurse role in the healthcare system: a focused ethnography (UVic Internal Grant, $4, 080)

I am also co-leading a project investigating nursing student experiences of discrimination, including developing a disclosure pathway for nursing students at the University of Victoria

  • 2025-2026 Enhancing equity: addressing discrimination in Canadian nursing schools (SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant with CASN, $25, 000)
  • 2025-2026 Developing a discrimination disclosure pathway (University of Victoria School of Nursing Violence Prevention Funding, non-competitive)

I am also in the process of wrapping up/completed several projects specific to exploring the impact of the collective trauma of HIV/AIDS on the health perspectives and experiences of well-being of older, gay men

  • 2024-2025 The meaning and impact of community: older gay men’s perspectives and implications for well-being (SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant with the Vancouver Island Persons Living with HIV/AIDS Society (VPWAS), $23, 278)
  • 2022-2024 A qualitative exploration of the processes foundational to promoting psychological well-being (PWB) amongst older, gay men (SSHRC Insight Development Grant, $64, 818)
  • 2021-2023 Examining the sociohistorical context of HIV and older gay men’s health practices (UVic Internal Grant, $4, 975)
  • 2021-2023 Examining the influence of pre-treatment HIV experiences on older gay men’s contemporary constructions of quality of life (QOL) (UVic Internal Grant, $6, 599).

Graduate Courses

NUED 573: Nurse Educator Practice I

NUED 570: Engaging with Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning in Nursing Education

NURA 518: Health Policy and Practice & NUED 574 Nursing Education Practice and Curriculum Design

NURS 524: Evidence for Advanced Practice Nursing

Undergraduate Courses

NURS 341: Nursing Inquiry

NURS 456: Nursing within Communities and Health Systems

NURS 350: Health and Healing VII: Promoting Community and Societal Health

NURS 430: Professional Practice V: Leadership in Nursing

2023     NNPBC Excellence in Teaching Award 

2016     Irene Goldstone HIV/AIDS Social Justice Scholarship

2014      University of British Columbia 4 Year Fellowship (4YF)

2013      Inductee Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing

2012      CIHR Doctoral Award