Distinguished Professor, CRC Tier1
University of Manitoba, Canada
Dr. Woodgate, RN, PhD, is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Child and Family Engagement in Health Research and Healthcare, and a Distinguished Professor at the University of Manitoba, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, College of Nursing.
Dr. Woodgate’s research program, IN•GAUGE, embraces a dynamic approach to: involve children, youth, and families in the research process; interact with researchers and knowledge users in the research, intervention, and evaluation process; and be innovative in the use and exchange of knowledge with the combined goal of improving the health and well-being of children and youth. IN•GAUGE uses child and youth-friendly methodologies and innovative, art-based approaches that help children and youth express themselves thereby increasing understanding of their lived experiences.
Dr. Woodgate's program is infused by an approach to knowledge inquiry that is grassroots, embedded in the needs, experiences, and practices of children and youth experiencing health challenges and their families. Her program also works alongside health care providers, knowledge users, and decision makers to address their needs, barriers, and any gaps that exist. Dr. Woodgate embraces a rights-based approach to research that recognizes that the voices of children and youth have in the past been silenced in research and in the decisions affecting their lives, including their health, and advocates for an approach that recognizes that children and youth are key actors in their own development, with the right to participate in decisions that affect them in accordance with their evolving capacities.
Dr. Woodgate researches the perspectives and lived experiences of children and youth across a wide range of health conditions (e.g., mental illnesses, disabilities, complex care needs and conditions, chronic illnesses) and life challenges (e.g., transitioning from the child welfare system, accessing respite services) as well as various communities (e.g., Indigenous youth and their families and newcomer families).