At the Heart of Families Labs

Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Québec
What the facility does

Cutting-edge spaces equipped with advanced technology used for performing multi-site research, in particular, on how families experience the birth or death of a child.

Areas of expertise

Our laboratories use cutting-edge telepresence technology. They are located on two campuses of the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), located 200 kilometres apart in Gatineau (Outaouais) and St-Jérôme (Laurentians). They allow a network of researchers, students, families and practitioners to work dynamically together on multicentre telepresence studies that span from design and data collection and analysis to the dissemination of the research to partners.

The implementation of this university/community infrastructure is a unique initiative that positions UQO as a national and international leader in the field of research on family psychosocial health. This infrastructure makes it possible to achieve the goals outlined in the Chair’s program by:

  1. proposing established methodologies for better exploring the issue and subjecting a group of theoretical statements about the issue to empirical testing;
  2. encouraging more families and practitioners to participate in research activities and knowledge application;
  3. generating high-quality empirical data on the psychosocial health of fathers and their families as well as professional practices with respect to them;
  4. supporting the researcher/practitioner/student partnership to encourage a shared thinking process in the development of innovative actions and the creation of pedagogical products and activities aimed at implementing these actions in the field;
  5. developing exceptional expertise on the research team and within participant communities on assessment, codification and observational data analysis methods regarding parent/children relationships and spousal relationships in vulnerable families
Research services

On each site, the laboratories have:

  1. a space used for family interviews and an adjoining laboratory room used for observing family interviews and holding group interviews. These four spaces are equipped with a telepresence system for broadcasting;
  2. training for research assistants to adequately master assessment procedures, recording of the assessments, and viewing; 
  3. training for research assistants to learn and master various observational data coding systems on children-parents relationships and conjugal relationships
  4. sophisticated digital computer and audio-visual equipment to support assessment and research activities.
Sectors of application
  • Healthcare and social services
Specialized lab Equipment  Function
Interview room Recordings viewed live or delayed broadcast. a) interviews; b) trainings; c) intersite data analysis workshops; d) intervention pretesting; e) research activity management
Observation rooms Telepresence, recordings and viewing. a) interviews; b) observation of activities in interview rooms; c) knowledge application workshops with decision makers and clinicians

 

Title URL
Centre d’études et de recherche en intervention familiale http://cerif.uqo.ca/en
Press releases for the launch http://cerif.uqo.ca/2012-12