Dr. Sharon H. J. Hou on Cultural Diversity, Child Health and Wellness, and Community Engagement – Research Hub @ Faculty of Education

Dr. Sharon Hou (she/her) joined the Faculty of Education as an assistant professor in Educational Psychology in Fall 2024. She is also a psychologist and investigator at BC Children’s Hospital and the Research Institute. Dr. Hou earned her MA and PhD in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology from the University of Guelph and her BA (Honours) in Psychology and French from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Hou completed two postdoctoral fellowships, including a specialization in oncology and psychology at the University of Calgary and a focus on knowledge mobilization and implementation science at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Hou’s research seeks to advance understandings of the social and cultural processes that shape children’s health and wellness. Findings from this work contribute to the creation, delivery, and evaluation of personalized interventions to support optimal outcomes for all children and families, especially for underrepresented and underserved populations. Dr. Hou’s research has been supported by BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, Kids Cancer Care, Michael Smith Health Research BC, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). She has published work across disciplines in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice, and International Journal of Intercultural Relations, among others.

Currently, she serves as the principal or co-investigator on several multi-year projects focused on enhancing the health and psychosocial outcomes of children with serious and life-threatening conditions. For instance, in her role as an early career researcher and co-investigator on a CIHR funded CHILD-BRIGHT network project, Dr. Hou is working in partnership with community pediatric practices in BC to better manage the pain experience for children with severe neurological conditions. This project considers that children with a high degree of health complexity and their families have distinct healthcare and psychosocial needs and are considered an equity-deserving group. Therefore, a focus of this research is to shed light on the geographic, social, and cultural barriers faced by these children and families and increase reach and capacity to better serve them across the province.

Across all areas of study, Dr. Hou prioritizes co-researching with people with lived and living experiences, guided by a patient-oriented and community-engaged approach. The value of working in equal partnership with youth, family, and community partners has been instilled in Dr. Hou’s work from the outset. This approach allows Dr. Hou and her team to ask relevant research questions and bring about meaningful outcomes to be shared in an accessible and usable way. Most importantly, Dr. Hou appreciates being able to collaborate with people who offer diverse perspectives and expertise and to foster meaningful relationships and innovation. Much of Dr. Hou’s work is also shaped by her own immigration experience and growing up with cultural diversity.

Dr. Hou brings rich experience in clinical practice, teaching and mentorship, and community engagement to the faculty. As a clinician-scientist in psychology, she cares deeply about championing cultural safety and humility in clinical and counselling practice. She has delivered educational seminars and workshops related to these topics at hospitals, schools, and in the community. Likewise, she is passionate about providing culturally responsive mentorship to students and has worked with a diverse student body in psychology, education, and medicine. Dr. Hou is the 2024 recipient of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Postdoctoral Award at the University of Calgary, which recognizes her longstanding commitment to fostering equitable, sustainable, and measurable change in EDI and accessibility through her teaching, research and scholarship, and community engagement.

Moving forward, Dr. Hou anticipates continuing her collaborative work while leaning into new interdisciplinary opportunities with the faculty. Her research is moving towards a greater emphasis on knowledge mobilization and community engagement with underrepresented populations by including racialized, immigrant, and neurodivergent children and families in the research process. Dr. Hou is particularly excited to extend her research to understanding how diverse children and families can flourish in educational contexts, and ultimately, to support the complete health and wellness of diverse children and families living in multicultural Canada.