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Sharon Hou

(she/her)
BA (Hons), MA, PhD, Rpsych

Investigator and Psychologist, BC Children's Hospital

We live in a Canadian society that is quickly evolving in social and cultural diversity. With this growth, it is important for us to gain a complete understanding of how children’s social and cultural environments can influence their health and wellness. Gaining this insight is essential to addressing the challenges related to inequality and exclusion experienced by some, for example, in their encounter with systems such as healthcare. At the same time, it is important to identify the constellation of strengths and resilience strategies that others draw on, to live well with their health and mental health.

Our research team is dedicated to studying how culture shapes the health, well-being, and flourishing of children, young people, and families within diverse social systems, including healthcare, education, and communities. We take an interdisciplinary approach that bridges clinical, developmental, and cultural psychology, and we are deeply committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity. Using participatory research methods, we work closely with youth, families, and communities as partners throughout the research process. Our goal is to generate knowledge that helps shape culturally responsive strategies and interventions, advancing health equity and improving outcomes for underserved and underrepresented children and youth.

Academic Affiliations

  • Assistant Professor, , , Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University
  • Research Theme: Brain, Behaviour & Development
  • Research Group(s): Childhood Cancer and Blood Research; Implementing Knowledge for Equity and System Change; Mental Health and Behaviour; Neurodevelopmental and Neurological Disorders; Pain and Stress

Contact Information

Location

Simon Fraser University, Education Building, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, V5A 1S6

sharon.hou@bcchr.ca

Culture and Child Health Lab

SFU Faculty Profile
Grants

2024-2027: CIHR Strengthening the Health Workforce for System Transformation Grant, Capacity Building in the Pediatric Eating Disorders Workforce: System Transformation to Improve the Continuum of Care, Co-Applicant and EDI Co-Champion

2023-2028: Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar Research Grant, IMplementation of Physical Activity for Children and adolescents on Treatment (IMPACT): Adapting and evaluating individual- and system-level outcomes to support uptake, Research Team Member

2023-2025: CIHR Implementation Science and Knowledge Mobilization, A hybrid Implementation-Effectiveness Study on the Pain Pathway in Community Pediatric Practices in BC to Manage Pain and Irritability in Children with Severe Neurological Impairments, Early Career Researcher and Co-Investigator

2023-2025: SSHRC Insight Development Grant, Well-being and Vicarious Resilience in Healthcare Professionals: Cultural Considerations, Co-Applicant

2023-2024: BC Children’s Hospital Trainee Boost Award, Establishing a Foundational Understanding of the Intersectionality of Disability and Social/Cultural Determinants as Related to Health Inequities in Children Living with Health Complexity, Principal Applicant

2022-2024: Kids Cancer Care in Childhood Cancer Research, Surviving and Thriving: Creating an Online Follow-up Care Platform for Survivors of Childhood Cancer, Co-Principal Applicant

2022-2024: BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute Clinical and Translational Research Seed Grant, Evaluation of an Innovative, Culturally Responsive, and Equitable Mixed Model of Care for Survivors of Childhood Cancer and Their Families in BC, Canada, Principal Applicant

Honours & Awards

2025-2029: Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar Award, Michael Smith Health Research BC

2025-2029: ENRICH REACH (Recipients of External Awards in Perinatal and Child Health) Learner Award

2024-2027: Michael Smith Health Research BC Trainee Award, Michael Smith Health Research BC

2024: Peer Mentorship Excellence By a Trainee, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute

2024: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Postdoctoral Fellow Award, University of Calgary

2023: Howard Research Publication Award, Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute

2022-2024: Programs and Institutions Looking to Launch Academic Researchers (PILLAR) Award, Empowering Next-Generation Researchers in Perinatal and Child Health (ENRICH)

2019: Diversity Graduate Travel Award, Society for Personality and Social Psychology

2018: Certificate for Teaching Excellence, Council of Canadian Departments of Psychology

2016: Certificate of Academic Excellence, Canadian Psychological Association

2010: Chancellor’s Service Award, University of California, Los Angeles

Our Research

At BC Children’s, we are making discoveries that save lives and transform health care for children in our province and around the world. Our research portfolio includes basic, clinical, population, and public health research.

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BC Children's Hospital Research Institute operates on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples — xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Further, this acknowledgement, gratitude, and respect extends to all of the First Nations communities on whose territories the Research Institute builds relationships and operates in British Columbia.

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