In August 2019, Liz Lartey joined Radius Child and Youth Services as an integral part of our Research team. Our Research team is continuously involved in multiple exciting research projects each year, and we were thrilled when Liz joined our team. We thought you would be interested to learn more about Liz’s role at Radius and why she chose the career path she did.
What do you do at Radius?
I work as a Research Assistant in the Research Department at Radius.
Why did you choose to work at Radius?
Mental health services is a new field of research for me, while I have an educational background in Psychology, I have not formerly worked in a research capacity in that field before. It was a welcome change of pace from working in mostly bio-medical research. Also, Radius is one of a few organizations which has its own research department where research involvement informs clinical practice.
What attracted you to work with children/youth and especially children who have been abused and neglected?
Abuse and neglect are taboo topics that are not spoken about as often as other issues. Anecdotal evidence supports the idea that abuse and neglect cases are severely under-reported and professional services are often not sought out due to this. While the world is currently not free of abuse and neglect, Radius’s mission is to support children, youth and families build their futures free from violence, abuse and neglect, and it’s a mission I am fortunate to be part of.
Is there a particular moment or memory that stands our for you while working at Radius?
Before working at Radius, I worked in a hospital/research setting which had specific language when dealing with illness, patients and health outcomes. Attending my first Research Committee and Research Ethics Committee was an opportunity to learn from the wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise that the clinicians and consultants brought to the table.
Is there an achievement or contribution that you are most proud of? Why?
I had the amazing opportunity to go to Vietnam and support research activities for a public health initiative called One Health at the Hanoi School of Public Health. Working with healthcare researchers at Hanoi School of Public Health, I got the chance to work in the field, creating research instruments, conducting field research, and analyze different kinds of data for public health research and proposals. Initially, I was hesitant to up and move to a foreign country. However, looking back, my experience of the country, the people, the health challenges, and health initiatives is one that I value and cherish greatly. It taught me the value of always being open to help wherever life takes you.
What would you say to someone considering working in the field?
Connecting with clinicians is so important, not just to talk about research, and ensure that research informs practice, but also to check in to see how clients are doing. At times working in research can seem a bit disconnected from service provision since we don’t work directly with children, youth and their families. Connecting with clinicians allows for a full-circle moment, where you see how research informs practices, and how practice can be used to influence research.
To learn more about our Research Department and Research Team, visit: https://radiuscys.ca/research/
