Teagan Gran-Ruaz
MA Student
Étudiant à la maîtrise
Teagan Gran-Ruaz (he/him) is an MA Student in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Geomatics at the University of Ottawa. After completing my undergraduate degree at the University of Ottawa in an BSocSci Environmental Economics and Public Policy (Minor in Biology), I decided to pursue my passion in health geography and environmental resilience. My current research focuses on understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadian child care programs including the burden placed on child care professionals. Through this research, I hope to improve resilience in the Canadian Child Care sector and take a humanistic approach to understanding the impact of environmental shocks on essential workers. As I continue along my academic journey my goal is to take these themes of resiliency and apply them to urban environments that face the consequences of anthropogenic climate change.
Email / Courriel : tgran005[at]uottawa.ca
Research Project
Factors affecting environmental health perceptions and practices among child care professionals in the context of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all Canadians in different ways. Of those who have faced the brunt of this pandemic, the essential and frontline workers, the burden has been unimaginable. Child care is one such working group and throughout the pandemic the Canadian child care sector has been forced to adapt with little notice, which has placed strain on the child care professionals and the programs themselves. This research seeks to understand some of the changes that have occurred in Canadian child care programs as a result of the pandemic and how these changes have been preserved by the front line working staff. These may include changes to daily lesson plans/ routines, interacting with children, parents, and colleagues, cleaning measures, etc.. As well, a focus is placed on how these changes have impacted the mental health and wellbeing of the child care professional. This research will allow us to hear from child care professionals (including those working directly with children and those at the administration level) through two different mediums: a national web-based survey and a series of in-person interviews. This methodology will provide a voice to a forgotten essential working group and will also add to the current discussion on frontline worker burnout as well as the physical and mental reverberations that stem from working during the pandemic in Canada.