SARAVYC has developed an innovative, award-winning method of studying site-level longitudinal effects of population health interventions (SLEPHI) that can be applied to site-level research in any field.
Using the SLEPHI method, SARAVYC is evaluating recent and previous British Columbia Adolescent Health Surveys to explore the impact of GSAs (Gay Straight Alliances or Gender Sexuality Alliances). Our study into their impact on student health, found that GSAs make schools safer not only for LGBTQ2S+ students, but for all students. The research also revealed that the longer a GSA exists, the safer students feel.
Our goal now, is to use the SLEPHI method to explore other impacts of GSAs, including specific outcomes among ethnic minority LGB youth, and how GSAs effect school connectedness, bullying, and suicide.
Principal investigator: Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc
Co-authors: Gu Li, Amery D. Wu, Sheila K. Marshall, Ryan J. Watson, Jones K. Adjei, Minjeong Park, Mauricio Coronel Villalobos
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research