Voice of the Community, featuring photos by Carlos Reyes-Manzo, is the result of a three-year research project exploring the strengths and challenges facing rural PEI communities. The book is a collaboration between Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Reyes-Manzo, and a research team led by Dr. Vianne Timmons (former Vice-President, Academic Development and Adjunct Professor of Education) and consisting of Drs. Sandy McAuley and Fiona Walton (Education), Barb Campbell and Kim Critchley (Nursing), and Jennifer Taylor (Family and Nutritional Science). (Andes Press Agency)

Shannon Murray (English) has written a children's picture book, Bounce and Beans and Burn. Based on a story that won the L. M. Montgomery Children's Literature Award in 2006, the book tells the story of Sam who is so full of energy that his family sends him out to the garden to play. Little do they know that when he goes he has extraordinary adventures with samurai, giants, and dragons. (Acorn Press).

Students in UPEI's School of Nursing work to promote public health through their clinical placements in health centres, public health offices, hospitals, and manors across Prince Edward Island. In the fall 2009 semester alone, UPEI placed 240 students all across these clinical sites. Fourth-year nursing students also provided much-needed assistance with H1N1 vaccination clinics in November. They worked in public health offices in Charlottetown, Summerside, and Souris, and in various schools across the province.

The Research in Early Child Development (RECD) Initiative is a multidisciplinary collaboration between researchers at the UPEI Centre for Education Research (CER) and the PEI Children's Secretariat. The PEI Children's Secretariat, a group of twelve local networks involved in healthy childhood development, includes both government and community contacts. The RECD research team are working on developing and implementing a conceptual research framework of early child development (ages 0 to 8 years) in Prince Edward Island. The research model nests the child in several spheres of influence — the family, the community, the society, and the global world. Such a framework presents new challenges for the early child sector to rethink current policies and practices related to healthy child development, with the goal of developing more integrated approaches to supporting children and their...

UPEI maintains a commercial partnership with Andrews Hockey Growth Programs, which has trained local and international students for over 20 years. The UPEI campus provides on ice training at MacLauchlan Arena, while accommodations and food services are arranged through UPEI Conference Services.

Dr. Sheldon Opps, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics, is part of a committee that has been raising funds to upgrade the playground equipment at West Kent Elementary School in Charlottetown.

This project includes the installation of a variety of new playground equipment; some of the structures being installed include a wheelchair-accessible slide, swing sets, table with seating, snail spring rider, and a stationary four-wheeler.

Thanks to parents, local businesses, and government agencies, this project will bring joy to the children of West Kent for many years to come.

For over five years, Dr. Jean Mitchell, Associate Professor, Sociology and Anthropology, has been involved in running an action research program with youth between the ages of 12 to 18 years in Hillsborough Park in Charlottetown. In addition to research, an after-school program, aimed at disadvantaged youth, has been running for over three years.

Mitchell has acquired Federal funding of $50,000 to start the program, while continuing to advocate with the community for funds from municipal and provincial governments and local organizations, such as Rotary, for the continuation of the program. A unique aspect of this project is that UPEI students have been volunteering for the past five years. Two of those students are now doing doctoral studies on youth-related topics and this year a student is undertaking an honours degree in youth and education.

The Canadian Tobacco Control Research Initiative (CRTCRI) was conducted at one Prince Edward Island intermediate school by the Comprehensive School Health Research Team (CSHRT). The team surveyed adolescent-aged students’ beliefs and perceptions surrounding the physical and social environmental factors at school which influence students’ decisions to remain smoke-free.

More recently, the School Health Action Planning & Evaluation System / Youth Smoking Survey – Prince Edward Island (SHAPES/YSS-PEI) was implemented in the 2008-09 school year across PEI (grades 5-12 - census sample). The School Health Action Planning and Evaluation System collected data on physical activity, healthy eating, tobacco use, and mental fitness. In the upcoming school year (09/10), we are proposing to meet with schools to discuss their feedback reports, identify areas for improvement, and...

Dr. Janet Bryanton, principal investigator from the School of Nursing, is partnering with the PEI Reproductive Care Program and the PEI Department of Health to conduct a feasibility study on the PEI Perinatal Database. This database houses perinatal information on all PEI mothers and newborns, since 1990, including those giving birth outside of PEI. It holds a wealth of population-based provincial data that are not collected by any other mechanism. PEI is one of only five provinces in Canada with an established provincial perinatal database. The specific objectives to be addressed are:

1. Determine the current barriers to accessing data from the PEI Perinatal Database by researchers outside the Department of Health;
2. Investigate the processes and policies that must be put in place to allow access to the PEI Perinatal Database (i.e., release protocols, privacy, and...

This research project involved six rural communities on Prince Edward Island: O’Leary, Lennox Island, Kensington, Rustico, Montague, and Souris. In each of these communities, focus groups were held to learn about health issues concerning the children and youth of that community. These focus group results have been analyzed and validated by an Advocacy Group of community leaders. After the Advocacy Group has identified a priority health issue, community working groups are formed to develop initiatives that address the priority.

Principal Investigator: Dr. Vianne Timmons
Co-Investigators: Dr. Kimberley Critchley, Dr. Jennifer Taylor, Dr. Fiona Walton, Dr. Barbara Campbell, Dr. Alexander McAuley
Research Co-ordinators: Jane MacDonald & Rosalyn Adamowycz

Students work with family-related professionals in these organizations as part of their professional practice course. The field placements give students many opportunities to integrate theory with practice in a supportive setting. Students’ tasks mirror those of the family professionals who serve as field placement supervisors to the students. Since this program began, 48 various organizations have hosted students from the Family Science and Child and Family Studies Programs.

Third-year students volunteer for a total of 32 hours during the fall semester. Fourth-year students require a total of 80 hours per semester in both the fall and winter semesters.

Eating Between the Lines (EBTL) is an early literacy, healthy eating program for young children, developed and tested in child-care facilities in Prince Edward Island. In 2009, an e-learning resource was created for kindergarten educators, parents, and children. The EBTL website connects children’s early literacy development with their growth and understanding of healthy eating and includes units such as Eating the Rainbow, Breakfast Matters, and The Salad. The website, created by a team of early childhood researchers and an advisory team, includes separate sections for parents, enabling them to link nutrition and literacy activities in the home, and, for educators, allowing the information to be used in the classroom.

Principal Investigators: Dr. Ray Doiron, Education, and Dr. Jennifer Taylor, Family and Nutritional Sciences.