Research summary
We know that children who are maltreated tend to have poorer health outcomes. But preventing child abuse is a difficult task. As Canada Research Chair in Childhood Adversity and Resilience, Dr. Tracie O. Afifi aims to address this challenge.
Afifi and her research team are identifying individual, family and community factors that are associated with decreased maltreatment of children and better health outcomes. They are also applying new knowledge to develop strategies to prevent maltreatment, determining which are most effective, and implementing evidence-based strategies. Overall, Afifi’s vision is to prevent children from being maltreated, improve their health and strengthen families in order to change children’s paths in life for the better.