Research and Advocacy
Advocacy is standing behind what we believe in. Research gives it substance.
At CUPS, we don’t just help people overcome adversity. Together with our partners, we strive to influence the policies and actions of governments, the corporate sector and other agencies to create lasting change. We know that we can only achieve success if we challenge those with the power to influence change.
We focus on applying and contributing to the research on the science of building brains and resilience and finding ways to reduce barriers to care.
To find out more about the science behind the work that we do, please visit the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative and Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child.
For more on our research initiatives, please reach out to our team today.
Partnerships
Partnerships with government, research organizations, local businesses, places of worship and other charities benefits both sides and strengthens the broader community.
At CUPS, we believe that building a healthy community is not the job of one organization, but a collective effort of many agencies that are working together for a common goal. Ours is to provide an entire system of care that supports people who are experiencing poverty and trauma.
Partnership Profile: Dr. Karen Benzies
Not only is she a nurse, but she’s also an esteemed professor in the Faculty of Nursing and an adjunct research professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Community Health Services, Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary (UCalgary). And don’t forget that she’s won multiple awards and published more than 110 articles in peer-reviewed journals (over a dozen of which are in partnership with CUPS), 40 technical reports and two books showcasing her research. It’s not surprising given her extensive and impressive career that Dr. Karen Benzies was appointed as UCalgary’s director of social innovation.
Articles published in collaboration with CUPS
Benzies, K. M., Perry, R., & Cope Williams. (accepted). Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Executive Skills in Canadians Experiencing Social Vulnerability: A Descriptive Study. Health and Social Care in the Community.
Benzies, K. M., Perry, R., & Cope Williams, J. (accepted). Resilience in Social Service Staff Caring for Vulnerable Clients in Canada during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Correlational Study. Social Work in Mental Health.
Ginn, C., Perry, R., & Benzies. K. (accepted). Intergenerational attitudes toward child maltreatment: A mixed methods study of parents and their late adolescents following a Canadian two-generation preschool program. Journal of Family Issues JFI-21-0345
Perry, R., Ginn, C., Donnelly, C., & Benzies, K. M. (2020, October 23). Assessing resiliency in vulnerable populations: Preliminary evaluation of the CUPS Resiliency Interview Schedule and CUPS Resiliency Questionnaire. Health and Social Care in the Community, 00,1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13202
Mughal, M. K., Keys, E., Ginn, C., Perry, R. L., & Benzies, K. M. (2020). Parenting stress, maternal perception, and child development in families experiencing adversity. University of Calgary. Nursing Research and Publications http://hdl.handle.net/1880/112727
Ginn, C., Mughal, K., Kline Pruett, M., Pruett, K., Perry, R. L., & Benzies, K. M. (2020). Engaging from both sides: Facilitating a Canadian two-generation prenatal to three (P to 3) program for families experiencing vulnerability. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 52(2), 117-128. doi.org/10.1177/0844562120905710.
Ginn, C., & Benzies, K. (2020). Struggling with reciprocity and compassion: Mentoring pregnant and parenting mothers experiencing vulnerability. Qualitative Health Research, 30(4) 504–517. doi.org/10.1177/1049732319855961
Ginn, C., Benzies, K., Keown, L., Raffin Bouchal, S., & Thurston, B. E. (2019). A theoretical framework for mixed methods research with Canadian families living with low income. International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, 11(3), 255-276. doi: 10.29034/ijmra.v11n3a2
Ginn, C., Benzies, K., Keown, L., Raffin Bouchal, S., & Thurston, B. E. (2018). Stepping stones to resiliency following a community-based two-generation preschool program. Health and Social Care in the Community, 26(3), 364-373. doi: 10.1111/hsc.12522
Ginn, C., Mughal, M. K., *Syed, H., *Storteboom, A. R., & Benzies, K. (2017). Sustaining engagement in longitudinal research with vulnerable families: A mixed-methods study of attrition. Journal of Family Nursing, 23(4), 488-515. doi: 10.1177/1074840717738224
Mughal, M. K., *Ginn, C., & Benzies, K. (2016). Longitudinal Effects of a two-generation preschool program on receptive language skill in low-income Canadian children to age 10 years. August. Child: Health, Care and Development, 186(8), 1316-1326. DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2015.1092141.
Benzies, K., *Mychasiuk, R., Kurilova, J., Tough, S., Edwards, N., & Donnelly, C. (2014). Two-generation preschool programme: Immediate and 7-year-old outcomes for low-income children their parents. Child and Family Social Work, 19, 203-214. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2206.2012.00894.x
Mychasiuk, R. M., & Benzies, K. (2012). Face book an effective tool for participant retention in longitudinal research. Child: Care, Health and Development, 38(5), 753-756. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01326.x/pdf
Benzies, K., Tough, S., Edwards, N. E., *Mychasiuk, R., & Donnelly, C. (2011). Aboriginal children and their caregivers living with low income: Outcomes from a two-generation preschool program. Journal of Child and Family Studies, (3)20, 311-318. doi: 10.1007/s10826-010-9394-3
Benzies, K., Edwards, N., Tough, S., Nagan, K., *Nowicki, B., Mychasiuk, R., & Donnelly, C. (2010). Effects of a two-generation preschool programme on receptive language in low-income Canadian children. Early Child Development and Care, 181(3), 397-412. doi: 10.1080/03004430903424579
Benzies, K., Tough, S., Edwards, N., Nagan, K., *Nowicki, B., Mychasiuk, R., & Donnelly, C. (2009). Effects of a two-generation Canadian preschool program on parenting stress, self-esteem, and life skills. Early Childhood Services: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Effectiveness, 3(1), 19-32. doi: not available. url: http://www.pluralpublishing.com/cgi-bin/apps/orderLive.cgi?FormID=JournalArticlesPDF&ShowForm=1&PublicationID=ECS