Evidence reigns supreme

The genesis and evolution of government policies and programs is shrouded in mystery for most Canadians. Policies and programs can be implemented for political reasons, but they’re also the product of dedicated public servants and academics looking beyond the symptoms and digging into analysis and research to understand the root cause of the problem. When it comes to good public policies and programs, evidence reigns supreme.

At Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), the research that’s needed to inform solid program and policy decisions is informed by the research directorate, among other channels inside and outside the department. Earlier this year, the Women Veterans Research and Engagement Network (WREN) spoke with the research directorate’s Mary-Beth MacLean to better understand how the department identifies gaps in veteran well-being and in research.

After the Second World War, VAC owned a series of veterans' hospitals across the country, such as Toronto's Sunnybrook, where much clinical research was conducted on veterans. In the 1950s, VAC’s research team numbered 112, including physicians, research fellows and assistants, and the department had collaborations under way with universities and researchers across the country. By 1962, there were 90 research studies under way by VAC.

As hospitals transitioned to provincial authorities through the 1970s and 1980s, Canada lost capacity in veterans' health research and it became a lower priority for the department. During that time, the context of service and life as a veteran shifted, with occupations traditionally held only by men within the Forces open to women, and Canada’s involvement in military operations throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Research was never not needed, but by 2000, the department had a research deficit to catch up on, to better reflect who veterans were becoming. In some ways, it’s still catching up.

MacLean, who has been with the Research Directorate since 2008, brings a health-economy background to the current team. The directorate was established in 2001 and now includes a team of 12 with expertise in epidemiology, biostatistics and occupational health and exposure assessment.

Of a department with 3,000 employees, just 12 staff in research seems inadequate, especially considering an estimated veterans population of roughly 650,000. But it’s not always about how many boots are on the ground — it’s also about strategy and working smart.
 

The importance of targeted research

The research directorate does research, but also leverages large-scale studies that have identified veterans, to interpret and monitor health and other trends among the population. The team focuses energy on aligning research work with academic groups, including the more than 40 universities affiliated with the Canadian Institute of Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR). The directorate also facilitates access to VAC, National Defence and Statistics Canada data for folks in the wide world of academia, and transfers knowledge about veteran health and well-being to support good policy and service providers who work with veterans.

Identifying veterans has been an ongoing project for the department, and one that’s evolved over time, from records dating back to the First World War. There was a question in the 1971 census and there’s one coming on the 2021 census. The 2021 data on veterans will identify what the veterans population looks like in Canada and the data will be available through Statistics Canada to researchers and policy-makers alike. Researchers will then be able to link the 2021 census data with other records, including archival records from Library and Archives Canada. What will it mean? A clearer picture of who veterans are, and what they’re experiencing.

Right now, research is also needed — and occurring — on issues important to veterans, ranging from cannabis to equine therapy. The critical part? Making sure all veterans’ experiences are accounted for in research, starting with how questions are defined and how projects are structured. That includes accounting for the experiences of veterans who are women, Black, Indigenous or People of Colour (BIPOC) and LGBTQ2. The unique identities we each possess, after all, shape how we navigate and experience our lives.

One way to make sure the right questions are asked and knowledge gaps are filled in, is applying the principles of Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) at every step — something on which Canada is still catching up. The federal government first committed to considering women and women’s issues in policy decisions in 1970, and to challenge assumptions about how policy impacts women differently than men. The government has periodically reaffirmed its commitment, but progress has been slow and inconsistent. GBA was eventually rebranded GBA+, recognizing that gender-based analysis also accounts for other identity factors such as race, ethnicity, religion, age and disability.

GBA+ being applied to research will lead to better outcomes for all of Canada’s veterans. It’s beginning to happen within VAC, especially following the department’s setting up of the Office of Women and LGBTQ Veterans in 2019.