CBU to Engage Rural Communities with Health Research Van

Cape Breton University will continue to grow its connections in rural communities through research, thanks to funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Research Nova Scotia totaling $307,000 to purchase a mobile Health Research Van.

The project is lead by CBU’s Dr. Janet L. Kuhnke, Associate Professor of Nursing, in partnership with CBU colleagues Dr. Claudette Taylor, Associate Professor of Nursing and Dr. Matthias Bierenstiel, Professor of Chemistry. The team is excited at the prospect of mobilizing research with the support of the new Health Research Van.

“Cape Breton has some of the highest rates of chronic diseases in Canada,” explains Dr. Kuhnke. “There’s a need to decentralize the research to include rural residents so that we can inform healthcare policies and programs with the experiences of diverse populations in rural areas.” She says the Health Research Van will make it much easier to gain valuable input on a range of health research projects by engaging with people in their own communities.

Dr. Kuhnke specializes in research around mental health, wounds and lower-limb cardiovascular disease and has been conducting health research since joining CBU in 2017. She continues to work across Cape Breton, often meeting clients in community centres and firehalls. Her goal is to ensure people from rural Cape Breton are included in national studies around lower-limb, foot health and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Taylor has extensive experience in palliative care research and cardiovascular nursing, while Dr. Bierenstiel’s research is focused on the properties of maskwio’mi, a traditional Indigenous medicine made from birch bark and used to treat skin conditions.

“Currently, rural populations are not sufficiently investigated and supported as health research is typically concentrated in urban centres,” says Dr. Kuhnke.

While the team members recognize benefits for their own research pursuits, they are confident the Health Research Van will also support interprofessional research. “We have CBU faculty conducting research in mental health, homelessness, healthy aging, sports and active living and nutrition,” says Dr. Kuhnke. “The van will be a resource to support research across disciplines and across cultures, including collaborations with Mi’kmaw health researchers and the opportunity for them to use the van for research in Indigenous communities.”

With funding sources in place, specifications are now being finalized for the purchase of a custom vehicle. The team is also working on a visual brand and recently met with local Indigenous artist, River Stevens, who is helping with the creative process. The hope is that the van will be easy to recognize, feel welcoming to all and reflect a Two-Eyed Seeing approach in health research.

“We look forward to having a presence and building confidence among residents that their voices matter when it comes their health and that of their communities,” says Dr. Kuhnke. The Health Research Van will be acquired in the coming months and is expected to be in-community in the spring of 2025.