Ongoing Projects
Project: Mapping mistrust: health-seeking and mobility patterns during infectious disease outbreaks among recently arrived immigrant communities in Montreal.
This project examines how misinformation, mistrust, and social barriers affect how recently arrived South Asian immigrants in Montreal seek care during infectious disease outbreaks. By combining interviews and travel surveys, the team will map how trust influences decisions and movement through the city to access health services. The findings aim to support more equitable, community-informed responses in future health emergencies.
Led by Dr. Prativa Baral.
Project: Understanding Online Hostility Toward Global Health Communicators in an era of Disinformation
Across the world, scientists and public-health professionals face increasing online hostility when communicating evidence-based information about vaccines, climate change, reproductive health, and other global-health issues. This hostility—often gendered and racialized—undermines public trust, damages wellbeing, and threatens the effectiveness of global health communication and emergency response.
The STAND Project (Supporting the Training and Advancement of the Next generation of public-health trainees amidst Disinformation and online hostility) explores how online hostility affects early-career researchers and science communicators in Canada and globally. The Global Health Scholar will conduct a comparative scoping review of academic and grey literature across several countries (Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Spain, and France) to identify common narratives, institutional responses, and protective policies.
Led by Dr. Prativa Baral.