Brenda Gladstone, PhD

Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health,
Director, Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research

University of Toronto
155 College Street, #580
Toronto, ON M5T 1P8

Websites

To view her profile with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, please click here.

Biosketch

Brenda Gladstone is a health sociologist with a PhD from the Social and Behavioural Health Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Director of the Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research (CQ), University of Toronto. Brenda teaches graduate-level courses in a cross-disciplinary approach to the theory and practice of critical qualitative health research. Her training began ‘on the ground’ doing qualitative research in health care settings such as the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Brenda began teaching in the CQ curriculum at the University of Toronto in 2016 where she continued to develop her program of research. Her research focuses on two interconnected themes: 1. the intergenerational experiences and dimensions of mental health and illness in research with young people; and 2.  the development and advancement of theoretically informed qualitative health research.

1. The aim of the first theme is to investigate issues of marginalization, equity, and social justice in the field of children’s mental health, particularly the social, political, institutional and ideological practices that intersect to (re) produce ways of being a child (of a parent with mental health difficulties), child/adult social relations in this context, and systems of knowledge and beliefs about intergenerational dimensions of mental health and illness. 2. A primary goal of the second theme is to produce new methodological knowledge, including the development, adaptation, and evaluation of qualitative methods in health research. ‘Research on research’ is challenging as an oject of inquiry because the emphasis of funding and academic hiring and promotional practices tends to be on the substantive topic, rather than on questions about how we produce knowledge and study the world. To address this  dilemma I include research questions about methodology in funding applications and  co-authored publications with other critical qualitative scholars (see several included in sample publications below). Importantly, the concept of doing ‘research on research’, is reflected in the methodological and educational mandate of the Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research (CQ) where I have the privilege of teaching and learning with the next generation of critical qualitative health scholars and I am currently the director.

Qualitative Teaching

CHL5131 – Theoretical Foundations of Qualitative Health Research
CHL5115 – Qualitative Analysis & Interpretation

Research Interests

Critical qualitative methodology and method; qualitative analysis; ‘research on research’; social theory; sociology of health/illness; sociology of childhood; intergenerational experiences of mental health.

Sample Publications

Shaw, J., Gagnon, M., Carson, A., Gastaldo, D., Gladstone, B., Webster, F. & Eakin, J. (2022). Advancing the impact of critical qualitative research on policy, practice and science, International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221076929

Gladstone, B.M., Exenberger, S., Weimand, B., Lui, V., Haid-Stecher, N. & Geretsegger, M. (2021). The ‘Capability Approach’ in research about children and childhood: A scoping review. Child Indicators Research, doi.org/10.1007/s12187-020-09766-0

Eakin, J. & Gladstone, B.M. (2020). ‘Value-adding’ analysis: Doing more with qualitative data. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, doi.org/10.1177/1609406920949333

Teachman, G. & Gladstone, B.M. (2020). Editorial, Special Issue, Constructions of ‘children’s voices’ in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920980654

Webster, F., Gastaldo, D., Durant, S., Eakin, J., Gladstone, B., Parsons, J., Peter, E. & Shaw, J. (2019). Doing science differently: A framework for assessing the careers of qualitative scholars in the health sciences. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, DOI:10.1177/1609406919838676.

Gladstone, B.M., and Stasiulis, E. (2017). Digital Story-telling Method in the Health and Social Sciences, In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Volume 3, Innovative research methods in health social sciences, Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences, Springer. Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-2779-6_11-1.

Gladstone, B.M., McKeever, P., Seeman, M. and Boydell, K. (2014). Analysis of a support group for children of parents with mental illnesses: Managing stressful situations. Qualitative Health Research. 24(9): 1171-1182.

Gladstone, B.M., Boydell, K.M.and McKeever, P. (2006). Recasting research into children’s experiences of parental mental illness: Beyond risk and resilience. Social Science and Medicine. 62:2540-2550