Brooke Allemang

Title: Engagement Research Specialist, Office of Patient, Family, and Community Engagement

Pronouns: she/her

U of T Positions: Assistant Professor (Status), Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto

Other Positions: Project Investigator, Child Health Evaluative Sciences, SickKids Research Institute

Hospital Positions

Brooke Allemang is a PhD-prepared social work researcher, educator, and passionate advocate for amplifying youth voices in health and mental health service delivery. Throughout her career, she has dedicated herself to improving pediatric-adult healthcare transitions for youth with chronic conditions through a unique blend of clinical social work, program development, quality improvement, and research. In her current role as an Engagement Research Specialist in the Office of Patient, Family, and Community Engagement at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), she conducts independent research focused on embedding meaningful engagement of youth and families into clinical care, research, and education in pediatric hospitals. She also supports research teams across SickKids in implementing, evaluating, and reporting on patient engagement activities within their studies.

Brooke’s passion for patient and family engagement stems from her clinical background as a social worker, where she witnessed firsthand the value of developing programs and services in collaboration with youth with lived experience of health and mental health conditions. She brings this dedication to active partnership with youth and families to all aspects of her work to inspire meaningful change in the healthcare system. Brooke holds a Master's and PhD in Social Work and is a recipient of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Patient-Oriented Research Transition to Leadership Fellowship (Phases 1 and 2).

Research

Brooke's research focuses on understanding how to effectively engage youth, families, and community members in health service delivery and research at the institutional level. She is dedicated to using ethical and developmentally-appropriate engagement methods tailored to the needs of youth and young adults in her work. In addition, Brooke has led several research studies aimed at exploring the experiences and priorities of youth with chronic health conditions as they transition from pediatric to adult healthcare in order to refine clinical interventions and improve outcomes. She is particularly interested in understanding and supporting the needs of youth with co-occurring health and mental health conditions during transition.

Utilizing qualitative and patient-oriented research methodologies, Brooke addresses issues that are relevant and important to youth and families. She is committed to co-creating research and clinical initiatives with youth, families, and multidisciplinary teams through robust and meaningful partnerships.

Education and experience

2023–2024: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Child Health Evaluative Sciences, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
2021–2025: Sessional Instructor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
2019–2023: Clinical Research Associate, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
2018–2023: PhD in Social Work, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
2014–2018: Transition Navigator, Hemoglobinopathy Program, Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
2012–2014: Master of Social Work, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Achievements

2024: Beverley Antle Trainee Award, Child Health Evaluative Sciences, SickKids Research Institute
2023–present: Associate Editor, JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies
2022: J.B. Hyne Research Innovation Award, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Calgary
2021–present: Early Career Researcher Editorial Board Member, Health Expectations: An International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy
2017: Hourglass Award, Thalassemia Foundation of Canada
2016: Allied Health Award of Excellence, Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario

Publications

Allemang, B., Browne, M., Barwick, M., Bollegala, N., Fu, N., Lee, K., Miatello, A., Dekker, E., Nistor, I., Ahola Kohut, S., Keefer, L., Micsinszki, S., Walters, T.D., Griffiths, A.M., Mack, D.R., Lawrence, S., Kroeker, K.I., de Guzman, J., Tausif, A., Maini, P., Tersigni, C., Anthony, S.J., & Benchimol, E.I. (2024). Mental health experiences of adolescents and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease: A qualitative descriptive study. The Journal of Pediatrics, 273, 114123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114123
Bailey, K.*, Allemang, B.*, Vandermorris, A., Munce, S., Cleverley, K., Chisolm, C., Cohen, E., Davidson, C., El Galad, A., Leibovich, D., Lowthian, L., Pillainayagam, J., Ramesh, H., Samson, A., Senthilnathan, V., Siska, P., Snider, M., & Toulany, A. (2024). Benefits, Barriers and Recommendations for Youth Engagement in Health Research: Combining Evidence-Based and Youth Perspectives. Research Involvement and Engagement, 10, 92. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-024-00607-w *contributed equally as co-primary authors
Allemang, B., Patton, M., Greer, K., Pintson, K., Farias, M., Schofield, K., Samuel, S., Patten, S.B., Sitter, K.C., & Dimitropoulos, G. (2023). Development of the Strengths, Skills, and Goals Matrix: A tool for facilitating strengths-based adolescent and young adult engagement in research. Research Involvement and Engagement, 9(89). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-023-00502-w
Allemang, B., Samuel, S., Patten, S.B., Sitter, K.C., Mackie, A.S., Greer, K., Schofield, K., Pintson, K., Farias, M., Patton, M., & Dimitropoulos, G. (2023). Transition Readiness of Youth with Co-occurring Chronic Health & Mental Health Conditions: A Mixed Methods Study. Health Expectations, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13821
Allemang, B., Sitter, K., & Dimitropoulos, G. (2022). Pragmatism as a paradigm for patient-oriented research. Health Expectations, 25(1), 38-47. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13384

Funding

2024–2029: Optimizing Care Transitions in Congenital Heart Disease, Co-investigator, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada: Congenital Heart Disease Team Grant, $1,748,450 CAD
2024–2027: Developing a Consolidated Strategy for Pediatric Patient and Family Engagement in Healthcare Delivery, Research, and Education, Principal Investigator, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Patient-Oriented Research Transition to Leadership Fellowship (Phase 2), $345,000 CAD
2024–2025: Youth and Family Specific Engagement in Research (UNITE): A Framework Development Project, Co-investigator, CIHR Healthy Youth Catalyst Grant, $100,000 CAD
2024–2025: Co-development of a youth engagement in research training program, Co-investigator, CIHR Healthy Youth Catalyst Grant, $100,000 CAD
2024–2025: Canadian Network for Child and Youth Mental Health Trials, Co-investigator, Accelerating Clinical Trials – Mental Health Stream, $187,500 CAD
2022–2026: TransitionED: Co-Designing and Implementing Canadian Practice Guidelines for Transitions for Youth with Eating Disorders, Co-investigator, CIHR, $959,725 CAD
2020–2023: Transition Readiness of Youth with Co-occurring Health and Mental Health Conditions, Principal Investigator, CIHR Patient-Oriented Research Transition to Leadership Fellowship (Phase 1), $165,000 CAD
2019–2020: Transition Experiences of Youth with Health and Mental Health Conditions, Principal Investigator, Alberta Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research Graduate Studentship, $30,000 CAD
2018: A multi-stakeholder exploration of a clinical intervention to support transitions to post-secondary education in young adults with hemoglobinopathies, Principal Investigator, Garron Family Cancer Centre Nursing and Allied Health Summer Student Program, $5,500 CAD