CAE

Ashley Heaslip, MD, MPH, BA

PhD Student

[Email]

Dr. Ashley Heaslip is a PhD student in the University of British Columbia's Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program. Her supervisory committee includes Dr. Susan Cox (School of Population and Public Health and the Centre for Applied Ethics), Dr. Becki Ross (Department of Sociology), Dr. David Kuhl (Department of Family Practice), and Dr. Arthur Frank (Department of Sociology, University of Calgary).

Dr. Heaslip obtained her Masters of Public Health from the University of Toronto (Dalla Lana School of Public Health) in 2009. Under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Flicker, she explored various mediums of art as tools for health promotion engagement with Aboriginal youth in relation to HIV prevention efforts. Through this experience she gained knowledge and skills in both community-based research and arts-based health research. She was supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and the Indigenous Health Research Development Program (IHRDP) for this work.

From 2009-2012, Dr. Heaslip completed her medical degree training at McMaster University. During her time at McMaster, she developed a strong interest in care for the dying and in narrative medicine. She is currently pursing further clinical training in Family Medicine through St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, BC. In addition to her academic and clinical interests, Dr. Heaslip is an avid runner and cyclist. She is in constant pursuit of baking the perfect pecan flan.

Dr. Heaslip's research aims to explore patient, partner and health care provider perspectives on intimacy and sexuality in the context of hospice-based palliative care. Her research combines qualitative and arts-based methodologies to explore challenging topics related to creating a more holistic understanding of the experiences of patients, their loved ones, and their care providers at end-of-life. This research utilizes narrative inquiry to explore an area of patient care that has often been left behind closed doors. Dr. Heaslip and her committee hope that this research will enable a broader understanding of patient experiences of intimacy and sexuality at end of life, while contributing to a public dialogue exploring the space(s) of intersection between intimacy and dying. It is hoped that this research will have direct contributions to the scholarly understanding of end-of-life care from ethical and theoretical perspectives, and will also contribute to practice-based growth in palliative care.

1. Patient, Partner and Health Care Provider Perspectives on Intimacy and Sexuality at End of Life (Study begins January, 2014; Funding applications submitted)
2. Isolation and Resilience Experiences of LGTBQ Elders in Residential Care: An Arts-Based Exploration (Study begins October, 2013; Funding through the Vancouver Division of Family Practice)
3. Arts-based HIV Prevention with Aboriginal Youth, University of Toronto and York University (2007-2009; Funded by CIHR ($17,500) and the Indigenous Health Research Development Program ($22,500))