Researcher Spotlight: Kayla Benjamin

Kayla Benjamin is a third year Ph.D. student in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and a Vanier Scholar. She is a Research Assistant on the Care Economies in Context project, and is the lead RA for the Caring across Generations project. Outside of her studies, Kayla works with missINFORMED a national non-profit organization she co-founded in 2020. missINFORMED is a youth-led health education and advocacy platform that crafts resources from an intersectional and community-informed lens.

How did you first become interested in your area of research/ dissertation topic?

For me, studying care work is inspired by family. In my family, I have been both a care recipient and a caregiver and I have had the privilege of being raised (in part) by two grandmothers who spent the entirety of their working lives contributing to the paid and unpaid care economies in Portugal and later in Canada. I have immense respect and gratitude for the work of caregivers, and my intention with this work is to contribute toward the scholarship on which more equitable and sustainable care economies are built.

What challenges have you encountered through your research, and what kinds of policies are required for addressing them?

My research is contributing to the growing evidence of adverse mental health outcomes related to unpaid care, particularly for women caregivers.

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution or single policy that can address this challenge, because these adverse mental health outcomes are associated with a variety of care conditions; from a lack of respite to financial struggles or loss of paid employment. It is for this reason that I believe we need to acknowledge and appreciate the many determinants of caregiver mental health and engage caregivers in the policy process to develop intersectoral policy and program initiatives that meet their needs. For some, this may be policies or programs that improve access to and affordability of paid care, for others it may be support that enables caregivers to continue providing unpaid care without suffering the financial consequences of not taking up formal employment.

What do you wish the general public and/or policymakers knew about your research, and what would you like them to do with this knowledge?

One of the best parts of working on the multi-country Care Economies in Context project is the opportunity for learning from other country contexts. Through this project, I have had the absolute pleasure of working with a research team in Bogotá, Colombia called Proyecto Digna. This incredible team has put together a large body of research, reports, and presentations related to care in Colombia. Among their many projects, one area of focus is on Bogotá’s District Care System (DCS), a policy initiative I am investigating in my dissertation. The DCS is an incredible example of policy innovation to address the gendered burden of unpaid care. The DCS aims to: (1) strengthen and expand care services, particularly for children, seniors and PWD; (2) develop a strategy that values and redefines care work; and (3) change the cultural perspective on care to be one in which care is a shared responsibility between home and community (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs [UNDESA], 2020).

For people interested in care research, policies, and programs, I would highly recommend looking at the wonderful work Proyecto Digna does and looking to other country contexts for examples of unique policy solutions that might inspire innovative solutions here at home.

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs [UNDESA]. (2020). Bogotá – District Care System. Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development. https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/bogota-district-care-system

What advice do you have for students who are interested in doing research that takes up themes that are similar to yours?

There are so many opportunities to gain exposure to and get involved with research focused on care. Read articles, attend conferences, and reach out to students or academics doing research on topics or using methods that you’re interested in learning more about. Every graduate student was once in your position – so connect with us to set up a coffee chat and learn about our research and our experience applying to and being in graduate school. You can also look for opportunities to support this area of research and build your skillset through volunteer and paid research positions. At our university, the Work Study Program is a great way to get involved with research that interests you!