K evin Barlow is Mi’kmaq from Indian Island First Nation in New Brunswick. Staying close to his roots he has dedicated his more than 20 year career to improving the health and wellness of Aboriginal peoples. In 2006, Mr. Barlow received an Award of Excellence in Aboriginal Programming for his work in harm reduction by the Kaiser Foundation. Barlow is the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN), a non-profit coalition of individuals and organizations which provides leadership, support, and advocacy for Aboriginal people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, regardless of where they reside.
For the past 4.5 years, CAAN has been building its research department by actively nurturing academic relationships within community, universities and government. CAAN has done so using a Principles of Research Collaboration document that emphasizes the importance of incorporating Aboriginal values and perspectives into the philosophy of community-based research that is both methodologically sound and scientifically rigorous.
Through his work with CAAN, Barlow is responsible for the oversight of multiple projects and participates in regular consultations and advisory bodies to government. He also serves in various roles on several research projects, including; Principal Investigator on Cultural Competence in service provision and Principal Investigator for Sexual Violence, HIV/AIDS and Aboriginal women.
Other areas of research include mental health and specifically the experience of depression; incarceration issues around HIV/AIDS, Hep C and Residential Schooling; and Alcohol Use in regards to accessing care and treatment for HIV/AIDS.
His International work with Indigenous peoples includes contributions to the Indigenous people’s satellite for the XVI International AIDS Conference and research into Indigenous resiliency factors (which is an International collaboration with New Zealand, Australia and Canada).
Barlow has authored papers on residential schooling and developed the Aboriginal Strategy on HIV/AIDS in Canada. He has extensive experience developing various resources, including Young Eagles Challenge for youth, and Circle of Knowledge Keepers for inmates, both are peer education manuals.
Barlow has also served on the Board for the Atlantic Aboriginal Health Research Program at Dalhousie University, one of the Aboriginal Capacity and Developmental Research Environment (ACADRE) centres funded by Institute of Aboriginal Peoples Health.
|
