UNBC PhD Candidate Janet Ocloo is being recognized for her work on the challenges of caregivers of children with cerebral palsy in Ghana.
She received the recognition, trying to understand what those caregivers go through in a country with a lot of stigma.
During her research, Ocloo decided to expand on how they were being supported.
“I decided to take it a bit further to see if there were any support systems that those caregivers could leverage.”
“I wanted to collect their stories and publish them, and also use that as a tool for advocacy for policy change and social support.”
In terms of what support is needed, Ocloo said public education is key, along with a form of institutional reforms to support the inclusivity of youth with special needs in schools.
She says her research can also be applied here in Canada, and while there are lots of supports, most haven’t been evaluated to see if they’re making the impact they’re supposed to.
Ocloo, who’s born and raised in Ghana studied Medical Laboratory Sciences at the University of Ghana, then earned a Master’s in Public Health Promotion from Leeds Beckett University in the UK.
She came to Prince George in 2023 to pursue a PhD in Health Sciences at UNBC, specializing in Public Health Promotion in Global Health.
The $20,000 award supports fieldwork that addresses critical global development challenges.
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