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The Knowledge Hub Community of Practice: Building and Sharing Knowledge on Trauma-Informed Health Promotion and Innovation

What is a Community of Practice?

Communities of practice are a promising approach to exchanging and building knowledge. They dynamically connect individuals, organizations, workgroups, and teams and promote sharing, learning, and collaboration. Members of a community of practice are united by their mutual interest in the subject area that brought them together and by their desire to address this topic in a way that moves the field forward. When successful, communities of practice have the potential to transform our understanding, approach and practice in a given field.

What is the Knowledge Hub Community of Practice?

The Knowledge Hub Community of Practice brings together researchers and practitioners committed to enhancing the knowledge and practice of trauma-informed health promotion for survivors of intimate partner violence and child maltreatment. Members of this community of practice represent the community projects funded through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s investment—Supporting the Health of Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence and Child Maltreatment through Community Programs.

The current membership is comprised of the leads for seven projects and it will grow as more projects come to life in the upcoming months. The size of the community established will be proportionate to the number of community programs resourced through the investment. Members will come from across Canada.

The community of practice’s initial task is to identify issues and areas of trauma-informed health promotion that members want to focus on and address. Through this identification process and continued opportunities for interaction, members’ relationships will be strengthened, the community’s potential will be determined, and knowledge will be shared and constructed. Regular activities will include meetings, webinars, and knowledge exchanges.

Meet the Knowledge Hub Community of Practice (as of June 2016)

The Knowledge Hub Community of Practice is a dynamic group comprised of individuals who bring expertise from various research and practice areas across Canada. Check out our community map to learn more about our Community of Practice.

(Click image to expand. Size to print on 11 by 17 paper.

How the Knowledge Hub Community of Practice will benefit the broader community…

As the Knowledge Hub Community of Practice comes together and develops knowledge and expertise in trauma-informed health promotion, we plan to:

develop common indicators for evaluating community-based trauma-informed health promotion programs for survivors of IPV and child maltreatment
identify core competencies for trauma-informed health promotion in various settings (school-based, workplaces, multicultural, sports and recreation, etc)
share what we’ve learned with our agencies and others to improve practice
provide learning opportunities to help embed the knowledge and expertise into the broader community
offer networking opportunities between community members and researchers to support collaboration, shared problem-solving and the development of social capital

Project Spotlight

Check out Renee Turner’s interview with CBC on the Reaching out with Yoga project where she discusses the principles of trauma-sensitive yoga and its impacts on women and children fleeing domestic violence.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/trauma-sensitive-yoga-classes-for-women-fleeing-violence-launch-at-transition-houses-across-b-c-1.3647899

Audio: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/programs/theearlyedition/trauma-sensitive-yoga-classes-launch-at-transition-houses-across-b-c-1.3647864

Featured Resources

	Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health: Building and Sustaining Effective Communities of Practice (COP) This learning module offers an excellent overview on building and enhancing communities of practice, and what it takes to evaluate and strengthen them.
	Communities of Practice – A Brief Introduction This document provides information on communities of practice, what they are, what they look like and how they be applied in different settings.
	Family Violence through a Trauma-Informed Approach In this webinar, Rina Arseneault from the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research discusses the importance of understanding family violence through a trauma-informed approach to better comprehend the emotional, psychological and physical impacts on an individual. The presentation will define trauma-informed approach and discuss the importance of integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, processes, and practices.
	Trauma-Informed Practice: Supporting Clients Who Have Experienced Complex Trauma This webinar, hosted by AMSSA (Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC), explores the issues of complex trauma and identifies how immigrant serving agencies can offer services in a trauma-informed manner, set policies, and encourage interactions with clients that facilitate healing and growth.