Participate in a Youth Panel

About the Opportunity

Are you a young person who provides, or has provided, care or support to a family member, friend, or loved one? Researchers and educators at the University of Toronto and Royal Roads College are inviting young caregivers (ages 18-29) to join a virtual youth panel exploring how Canada’s health system can better recognize, include, and support young people who have caregiving responsibilities. This panel is part of a project to better understand ways health systems can support young caregivers.

About the panel

This panel is part of a presentation titled Toward a Caregiver‑Inclusive Health System: Understanding and Addressing the Barriers Young Caregivers Face at the 6th Annual Canadian Children, Youth and Communities (CCYC) In|Equity Conference at the University of Toronto. The goal is to ensure young caregivers’ voices guide recommendations for health-system leaders, clinicians, educators, and policymakers.

They want to hear directly from young caregivers about questions such as:

• What is it like to navigate the healthcare system as a young caregiver?
• When have healthcare professionals made you feel included—or excluded?
• What barriers make caregiving more difficult for young people?
• What kinds of information, recognition, or support would make a difference?
• What should healthcare professionals and decision-makers understand about young caregivers?
• What would a truly ‘caregiver-inclusive health system’ look like?

What would participation involve?

Panelists will take part in a one-hour facilitated virtual conversation, with 30 minutes dedicated to youth presenters and the rest to contextualizing the topic and audience participation, about young caregivers and the health system. Information and discussion questions ahead of time so you know what to expect.

• Date: October 28 at 2:30pm ET (to be finalized)
• Location: Virtual

Total Time Commitment: 3-4 hours, including a one-hour preparation call, your optional personal preparation time, a possible dry-run, the conference session, and a short, optional post-event group debrief. They are available for additional conversations about your presentation and contributions.

While they are not able to offer an honorarium for this panel. The researchers recognize that young caregivers’ time and insight are valuable. To honour that, participation is flexible and supportive. Panelists will be credited as contributors in an academic publication that will come out of this project. A recognition letter that you can use for your CV or future applications will be provided.

How to get involved

If you are interested in participating, please contact us at Dr. Kate Butler (katepbutler123@gmail.com and Dr. Uttam Bajwa uttam.bajwa@utoronto.ca) by September 8 You can write to either one of us. Please share a few sentences about yourself and why you would like to join the conversation. Even if you’re not sure if you meet the participation criteria, they'd love to hear from you.