Canadian moral injury research community of practice
What is moral injury?
Moral injury refers to the psychological, social and spiritual impact of events or acts that a person performs, witnesses or fails to prevent, which conflict with one’s own deeply held moral beliefs and values.
What is the Canadian Moral Injury Research Community of Practice?
A research community of practice (CoP) is composed of a group of researchers who share a common interest in a particular topic or area. The members of a CoP typically have diverse backgrounds and expertise and come from different institutions and disciplines.
The Canadian Moral Injury Research Community of Practice (MI Research CoP) aims to promote cross-disciplinary knowledge-sharing and collaboration on moral injury as it pertains to active and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and their Families, health care workers and public safety personnel. Members engage in ongoing conversations, exchange information and ideas and participate in joint activities.
The Canadian MI Research CoP is a platform for Canadian researchers to learn from one another, build bridges across disciplines, promote the integration of multiple perspectives and facilitate the development of new ideas and approaches to inquiries on moral injury.
In addition to exchanging information and expertise, the MI Research CoP explores timely and deep questions about the construct of moral injury and aims to generate new knowledge in this area. By fostering a collaborative environment, the MI Research CoP generates insights into a multidisciplinary understanding of moral injury, paving the way for more effective interventions and supports for those experiencing its effects.
The Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families is the convenor of the MI Research CoP and provides essential support and coordination to ensure its smooth functioning and growth. Our team enables communication between researchers and facilitates the sharing of knowledge, resources and research findings to drive the Canadian moral injury research community forward.
The MI Research CoP is currently open to new members. To see if you or someone you know meet the criteria to join, please complete the expression of interest.
Members and affiliations
Co-chairs
- Stephanie Houle, PhD, C.Psych
Associate Scientist, MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre; Senior Researcher, Research Directorate, Veterans Affairs Canada - Sara Rodrigues, PhD
Director, Applied Research, Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families
Members
- Andrea Ashbaugh, PhD, C.Psych
Associate Professor, Psychology, University of Ottawa - Catherine Baillie Abidi, PhD
Assistant Professor, Child & Youth Study, Mount Saint Vincent University - Stéphanie Bélanger, CD, PhD
Associate Scientific Director, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR); Professor, Royal Military College - Suzette Brémault-Phillips, PhD, MA, BMR, BSc
Professor, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine — Occupational Therapy; Director, Heroes in Mind, Advocacy and Research Consortium (HiMARC) - Katherine Bright, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Mount Royal University - Walter Callaghan, PhD candidate, Anthropology, University of Toronto
- Nicholas Carleton, PhD, R.D. Psych., FCAHS, MCRSC
Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Regina - Andrea D’Alessandro-Lowe, PhD candidate, McMaster University; Homewood Research Institute Trainee
- Bethany Easterbrook, PhD candidate, Clinical Psychology, McMaster University
- LCol (Ret’d) Alexandra Heber, MD, FRCPC
Chief of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs Canada; Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University - Fardous Hosseiny, MSc, CHE
President and CEO, Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families - Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Professor, Psychiatry, Western University - David Malloy, PhD
King’s University College at Western University - Margaret C. McKinnon, PhD, C.Psych
Professor and Associate Chair, Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University; Homewood Research Chair in Mental Health and Trauma - Anthony Nazarov, PhD, PMP
Associate Scientific Director, MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre - Andrew Nicholson, PhD
Director, Clinical Research, Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families; Assistant Professor, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa - J D Richardson, MD, FRCPC
Medical Advisor, Atlas Institute for Veteran and Families; Professor, Tanna Schulich Chair in Neuroscience & Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University; Scientific Director, MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre - Lorraine Smith-MacDonald, PhD
Co-Chair and Assistant Professor, Department of Psychotherapy and Spirituality, St. Stephen’s College - Megan Thompson, PhD
Defence Scientist, Defence Research and Development Canada - Stefan Wolejszo, Defence Scientist, Director General Military Personnel Research and Analysis
For the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families
- Robin Dziekan, Network and Partnerships Lead
- Francesca Tellis, Executive Coordinator
The MI Research CoP wishes to thank and acknowledge its former co-chairs:
- Suzette Brémault-Phillips, PhD, MA, BMR, BSc
Professor, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine — Occupational Therapy; Director, Heroes in Mind, Advocacy and Research Consortium (HiMARC) - Anthony Nazarov, PhD, PMP
Associate Scientific Director, MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre
Current research
Canadian MI Research CoP members are currently working on a range of diverse studies. Current research underway includes studies to:
- Develop reliable and valid measurement tools for moral injury
- Explore the contextual (e.g. social, cultural, economic) factors that contribute to or shape experiences of moral injury
- Assess and evaluate the extent and impact of moral injury on individuals
- Explore the lived experiences of people who have experienced potentially morally injurious events or who live with moral injury
Publications
Houle S, Ein N, Gervasio J, Plouffe RA, Litz BT, Carleton RN, Hansen KT, Liu JJW, Ashbaugh AR, Callaghan W, Thompson MM, Easterbrook B, Smith-MacDonald L, Rodrigues S, Bélanger SAH, Bright K, Lanius RA, Baker C, Younger W, Brémault-Phillips S, Hosseiny F, Richardson JD, Nazarov A and the Atlas Institute Moral Injury Research Community of Practice. Measuring moral distress and moral injury: A systematic review and content analysis of existing scales. Clinical Psychology Review. 2024 Mar 1;108:102377.
