Jennifer Zwicker
Biographic Data
| ID | 6243840 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jennifer Zwicker |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jennifer |
| FAMILY NAME | Zwicker |
| SIGNATURE | ZWICKER J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Calgary |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0722-5929 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
One size does not fit all
Introduction: Youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic due to health and socioeconomic factors and system level disruption of essential supports. To date, few studies have engaged directly with youth with NDD to understand how they were been impacted by the pandemic. The aim of this study was to uncover experiences of youth with NDD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Purposive …
Service access for youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities transitioning to adulthood
Introduction: Youth with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (NDD) who are transitioning to adulthood often struggle with accessing services. This limited access can result in poorer health, reduced ability to perform daily activities and engage in independent living and decreased levels of participation in society. Despite Canada's commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, British Columbia (BC) youth with NDD face a…
Validity evidence for the use of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale-25, and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale in measurement-based ca…
There is evidence to support the use of these PROMs for MBC in child and adolescent mental health. However, further investigation is needed into response processes, internal structure, and to establish clinically meaningful thresholds to improve interpretability, and ensure the validity of their use
Needs-based care coordination
Background: There is a lack of integrated medical, educational, and social care for children with medical complexity and disorders that impact the brain and neurological system, otherwise known as neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD-MC). Caregivers must fill in the gaps for fragmented systems of care across systems and sectors and are impacted with unmet care needs and lack of integrated support. There is limited understanding of the needs and impa…
Service integration for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities with support needs and their families
Background: In alignment with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities commitments (1), government support and services are important in reducing barriers to social participation through access to services for children and youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) and their families (2). Research has demonstrated that children with NDD and their families face several challenges in navigating the fragmented l…
Measure what matters
Introduction: Care Coordination (CC) is a significant intervention to enhance family's capacity in caring for children with neurodevelopmental disability and medical complexity (NDD-MC). CC assists with integration of medical and behavioral care and services, partnerships with medical and community-based supports, and access to medical, behavioral, and educational supports and services. Although there is some consensus on the principles that char…
Youth engagement in mental health research
Children with Disabilities in Canada during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Children with disabilities were especially vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic, and policies designed to mitigate its effects were limited in addressing their needs. We analyzed Canadian policies related to children with disabilities and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify the extent to which these policies aligned with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) and responded to thei…
Lifespan Navigation-Building Framework for Children/Youth With Neurodisability and Their Families
This study served to conceptualize neurodisability (ND) navigation-building. Capacity-building toward wide-reaching ND navigation or help-seeking service lacks empirical evidence. Researchers widely agree that a system-wide framework is absent. While research emphasizes service-level findings, other jurisdiction- and policy-level insights are lacking. Using Collective Community Impact and Participatory Action Research, government and nongovernmen…
The transition to adult income supports for youth that received special education in British Columbia, Canada
Youth in special education have complex needs that are supported across multiple systems. Our research investigates the use of adult income assistance, as one structure that supports youth as they transition to adulthood. We created a cohort of youth (5-22 years old) using linked administrative data from British Columbia government ministries from 1996 to 2018. Youth were grouped by their special education funding (most to least; Level 1, Level 2…
Disability Considerations for Measuring Poverty in Canada Using the Market Basket Measure
Persons with disability (PWD) in Canada experience disproportionately high poverty rates. Poverty measures are often used to benchmark income assistance levels and social policies across Canada. The Market Basket Measure (MBM) is the official poverty measure in Canada that accounts for differences in family composition and geography. It does not, however, account for cost-incurring factors like disabilities, despite the evidence of differences in…
Navigating Government Disability Programs across Canada
Effective and accessible disability programs are essential to supporting Canadians with disabilities and achieving Canada’s commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The limited availability of centralized data on disability programs in Canada makes it difficult to understand, let alone evaluate, existing programs. To address this issue, we used government publications to create a database that compil…
The cost-effectiveness of screening tools used in the diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Findings suggest that screening is associated with less use of healthcare recourses but also fewer years of life with an FASD diagnosis over a no screening strategy. Since diagnosis can be key to children receiving timely and appropriate health and educational services, cost-savings must be weighed against the fewer years of life with a diagnosis associated with screening
Identifying and critically examining government legislation relevant to children's dental caries in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Analysis of legislation relevant to children's dental caries reveals policies that are more often upstream in nature, and unsurprisingly are multijurisdictional. Despite this, there remains a high prevalence and inequitable distribution of children's dental caries in Canada. This suggests that the nature of upstream involvement and fragmented government involvement is ineffective in tackling this pervasive and urgent public health issue. Implicat…
Trajectory of service use among Albertan youth with complex service need
Navigating Government Disability Programs across Canada
Effective and accessible disability programs are essential to supporting Canadians with disabilities and achieving Canada’s commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The limited availability of centralized data on disability programs in Canada makes it difficult to understand, let alone evaluate, existing programs. To address this issue, we used government publications to create a database that compil…
The cost-effectiveness of screening tools used in the diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Findings suggest that screening is associated with less use of healthcare recourses but also fewer years of life with an FASD diagnosis over a no screening strategy. Since diagnosis can be key to children receiving timely and appropriate health and educational services, cost-savings must be weighed against the fewer years of life with a diagnosis associated with screening
Identifying and critically examining government legislation relevant to children's dental caries in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Analysis of legislation relevant to children's dental caries reveals policies that are more often upstream in nature, and unsurprisingly are multijurisdictional. Despite this, there remains a high prevalence and inequitable distribution of children's dental caries in Canada. This suggests that the nature of upstream involvement and fragmented government involvement is ineffective in tackling this pervasive and urgent public health issue. Implicat…
Trajectory of service use among Albertan youth with complex service need
Navigating Government Disability Programs across Canada
Effective and accessible disability programs are essential to supporting Canadians with disabilities and achieving Canada’s commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The limited availability of centralized data on disability programs in Canada makes it difficult to understand, let alone evaluate, existing programs. To address this issue, we used government publications to create a database that compil…
Lifespan Navigation-Building Framework for Children/Youth With Neurodisability and Their Families
This study served to conceptualize neurodisability (ND) navigation-building. Capacity-building toward wide-reaching ND navigation or help-seeking service lacks empirical evidence. Researchers widely agree that a system-wide framework is absent. While research emphasizes service-level findings, other jurisdiction- and policy-level insights are lacking. Using Collective Community Impact and Participatory Action Research, government and nongovernmen…
The transition to adult income supports for youth that received special education in British Columbia, Canada
Youth in special education have complex needs that are supported across multiple systems. Our research investigates the use of adult income assistance, as one structure that supports youth as they transition to adulthood. We created a cohort of youth (5-22 years old) using linked administrative data from British Columbia government ministries from 1996 to 2018. Youth were grouped by their special education funding (most to least; Level 1, Level 2…
Disability Considerations for Measuring Poverty in Canada Using the Market Basket Measure
Persons with disability (PWD) in Canada experience disproportionately high poverty rates. Poverty measures are often used to benchmark income assistance levels and social policies across Canada. The Market Basket Measure (MBM) is the official poverty measure in Canada that accounts for differences in family composition and geography. It does not, however, account for cost-incurring factors like disabilities, despite the evidence of differences in…
Measure what matters
Introduction: Care Coordination (CC) is a significant intervention to enhance family's capacity in caring for children with neurodevelopmental disability and medical complexity (NDD-MC). CC assists with integration of medical and behavioral care and services, partnerships with medical and community-based supports, and access to medical, behavioral, and educational supports and services. Although there is some consensus on the principles that char…
Youth engagement in mental health research
Children with Disabilities in Canada during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Children with disabilities were especially vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic, and policies designed to mitigate its effects were limited in addressing their needs. We analyzed Canadian policies related to children with disabilities and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify the extent to which these policies aligned with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) and responded to thei…
One size does not fit all
Introduction: Youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic due to health and socioeconomic factors and system level disruption of essential supports. To date, few studies have engaged directly with youth with NDD to understand how they were been impacted by the pandemic. The aim of this study was to uncover experiences of youth with NDD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Purposive …
Service access for youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities transitioning to adulthood
Introduction: Youth with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (NDD) who are transitioning to adulthood often struggle with accessing services. This limited access can result in poorer health, reduced ability to perform daily activities and engage in independent living and decreased levels of participation in society. Despite Canada's commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, British Columbia (BC) youth with NDD face a…
Validity evidence for the use of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale-25, and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale in measurement-based ca…
There is evidence to support the use of these PROMs for MBC in child and adolescent mental health. However, further investigation is needed into response processes, internal structure, and to establish clinically meaningful thresholds to improve interpretability, and ensure the validity of their use
Needs-based care coordination
Background: There is a lack of integrated medical, educational, and social care for children with medical complexity and disorders that impact the brain and neurological system, otherwise known as neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD-MC). Caregivers must fill in the gaps for fragmented systems of care across systems and sectors and are impacted with unmet care needs and lack of integrated support. There is limited understanding of the needs and impa…
Service integration for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities with support needs and their families
Background: In alignment with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities commitments (1), government support and services are important in reducing barriers to social participation through access to services for children and youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) and their families (2). Research has demonstrated that children with NDD and their families face several challenges in navigating the fragmented l…
Medicine (9 works) · Psychiatry (7 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Political science (6 works) · Nursing (5 works) · Adolescent and Pediatric Healthcare (4 works) · Business (4 works) · Economic growth (4 works) · Family and Disability Support Research (4 works) · Government (linguistics (4 works)