Laura M. Funk, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor (joined department in July 2011)
Laura.Funk@ad.umanitoba.ca
*Please note: Dr. Funk will be on leave from approximately September 2013 to June 2014*
Training and Education:
Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Centre on Aging, University of Victoria, 2009-2011 (supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research)
Ph.D., Sociology, University of Victoria, 2008 (supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council)
M.A., Sociology, University of Victoria, 2002 (supported by the B.C. Health Research Foundation and Canadian Health Services Research Foundation)
Post-Baccalaureate Diploma, Gerontology, Simon Fraser University, 2000
B.A., Sociology (Honours), University of British Columbia, 1997
Research Interests:
My program of research addresses responsibility, health and care/support across the life course. This encompasses aspects of the sociology of health, aging, and family as well as the social determinants of health, including social support and care work. I utilize qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods to address the issue of responsibility for health and care, within various ‘sites’ (i.e., long-term care, health promotion, home care and family caregiving), and employ primarily interpretive or critical perspectives. My current focus is on family care provided to older, chronically and terminally ill individuals, understood within broader social, cultural and structural contexts.
I am the Book Review Editor for the Canadian Journal on Aging. In addition, I am a Research Affiliate with the Centre on Aging at both the University of Manitoba and University of Victoria, and with Riverview Health Centre (Winnipeg). I am a Member Scholar of the International Institute of Qualitative Methodology and a Member of the University of Manitoba’s Qualitative Research Group.
Teaching and mentorship:
I welcome graduate students with interests in the above areas, and am open to a variety of methodological, theoretical and applied perspectives. I am committed to promoting integrity within a supportive and encouraging graduate student-supervisor partnership. Currently, I am teaching or have taught Soc 1200 (Introduction to Sociology), 2620 (The Sociology of Aging), and 7420 (Qualitative Methods). I have facilitated the Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) and continually seek opportunities to develop my own teaching skills. Past students have commented that I provide prompt and complete feedback, am well-prepared, approachable, helpful, and enthusiastic; these have been identified as principles of effective teaching.
Research Grants and Awards:
Recipient, Exploring Policy Opportunities for Supporting the Well-Being of Caregivers of Older Manitobans (2013-2016). Manitoba Health Research Council Establishment Grant.
Co-Investigator, The Right to Clean Water in First Nations: The Most Precious Gift (2013-2016). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Partnership Development Grant (K. Busby, P.I.).
Principal Investigator, Emotional Labour in Residential Care for Chronically and Terminally Ill Persons and their Families (2012-2013). Riverview Health Centre Research Grant, Winnipeg, Manitoba (L. Hilash, Co-I).
Principal Investigator, Volunteers and Paid Companions: Supporting Older Adults in In-Patient and Residential Settings. Centre on Aging Research Fellowship, University of Manitoba (2012-2013).
Principal Investigator, Loving Together, Living Apart: Exploring Commitment in Long Distance Couples. University of Manitoba University Research Grants Program, 2012-2013 (K. Kobayashi, Co-I.)
Co-Investigator, Loving the Distance Between: Exploring the Nature of Living Apart Together (LAT) Relationships. University of Victoria Internal SSHRC Research Grant, 2011-2012 (K. Kobayashi, P.I.)
Co-Applicant, Innovative Models of Community-Based Primary Healthcare for Chronic Life-Limiting Conditions. Canadian Institutes of Health Research Planning Grant, Dec 2011. (K. Stajduhar, P.I.)
Co-Investigator, The Interpretation and Practice of Family Empowerment in Home Care Nursing: Palliative and chronic illness contexts. Canadian Institutes of Health Research Operating Grant, 2009-2011 (K. Stajduhar, P.I.)
Co-Applicant, International Collaborative on Family Caregiving Research in Palliative and End of Life Care. Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Meetings Grant, 2008 (K. Stajduhar, P.I.)
Co-Investigator, Filial Responsibility across Cultures: A comparison of filial attitudes and behaviours in caregiving to older adults. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2007-2009 (N. Chappell, P.I.)
Co-Applicant, CLSA-BCNAR Joint Psychology and Social Theme Working Group Pilot Study: Methods Documentation. B.C. Network for Aging Research, 2007-2008 (M. Penning and H. Tuokko, Co-P.I.s)
Selected Publications:
Funk, L.M., Waskiewich, S., and Stajduhar, K.I. (forthcoming). Meaning-making and managing difficult feelings: providing front-line end of life care. OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying.
Funk, L.M. (forthcoming). Home health care and family responsibility: a critical discourse analysis of talk and text. Healthcare Policy Special Issue.
Funk, L.M., Chappell, N.L., and Lui, G. (2013). Associations between filial responsibility and caregiver well-being: are there differences by cultural group? Research on Aging, 35 (1), 78-95. DOI: 10.1177/0164027511422450.
Funk, L.M., Stajduhar, K.I., Cohen, R., Heyland, D., & Williams, A. (2012). Ligitimizing and rationalizing in talk about satisfaction with formal health care among bereaved family memebers. Sociology of Health and Illness, 34 (7), 1010-24. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9566.20-11.01457.x
Funk, L.M. (2012). Shared responsibility? Family caregivers and home care nurses. Canadian Nurse, 108(6), 52. PMID: 22866574
Funk, L.M. (2012). “Returning the love,” not “balancing the books”: talk about delayed reciprocity in supporting ageing parents. Ageing and Society, 32, 634-654. *Translated into Italian for reprinting as Funk, L. (2011) Reciprocità differita nei rapporti di cura? Lavoro Sociale, 11(3), 341-356.*Funk, L.M., & Stajduhar, K.I. (2011). Analysis and proposed model of family caregivers’ relationships with home health providers and perceptions of the quality of formal services. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 23(5), 318-328.
Funk, L.M. (2011). Book Review of Generations: The Time Machine in Theory and Practice, by J.A. Burnett. Canadian Journal on Aging, 30(2), 303-6.
Funk, L.M., Stajduhar, K.I., & Purkis, M.E. (2011). An exploration of empowerment discourse within home care nurses’ accounts of practice. Nursing Inquiry, 18(1), 66-76.
Funk, L.M. & Kobayashi, K. (2011). “Choice” in unpaid intimate labour: adult children with aging parents. In: Benoit, C., and Hallgrímsdóttir, H.K. (Eds.), Valuing Care Work: Comparative Perspectives on Canada, Finland, and Iceland. Pp. 171-192. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Funk, L.M., Stajduhar, K., & Cloutier-Fisher, D. (2010). Exploring family caregivers’ rationales for nonuse of formal home health services when caring for a dying family member. Home Health Care Management and Practice, 23(5), 318-328.
Funk, L.M. (2010). The interpretive dynamics of filial and collective responsibility for aging parents. Canadian Review of Sociology, 47(1), 71-92.
Funk, L.M. (2010). Prioritizing parental autonomy: adult children’s accounts of feeling responsible and supporting aging parents. Journal of Aging Studies, 24, 57-64. *Awarded the CIHR Institute of Aging Age+ Prize in 2010*
Funk, L.M., Stajduhar, K.I., Toye, C., Grande, G., Aoun, S., & Todd, C. (2010). Part 2: Home-based family caregiving at the end of life: A comprehensive review of published qualitative research (1998-2008). Palliative Medicine, 24(6), 594-607.
Funk, L.M., Allan, D.E., & Stajduhar, K.I. (2009). Palliative family caregivers’ accounts of health care experiences: the importance of ‘security.’ Palliative and Supportive Care, 7, 435–447.
Funk, L.M. & Kobayashi, K. (2009). ‘Choice’ in filial care work: moving beyond a dichotomy. Canadian Review of Sociology. 46(3). 235-252. *Reprinted in Tepperman, L., and Kalyta, A., (Eds). (2012). Reading Sociology: Canadian Perspectives. 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press. Don Mills, Ontario*
Funk, L.M. & Stajduhar, K.I. (2009). Interviewing family caregivers: implications of the caregiving context for the research interview. Qualitative Health Research, 19(6), 859-867. *Awarded the Anselm Strauss Award for Outstanding Qualitative Family Research, National Council on Family Relations, 2010*
Funk, L.M., Allan, D.E., & Chappell, N.L. (2007). Testing the relationship between involvement and perceived neighborhood safety: a multinomial logit approach. Environment and Behavior, 39(3), 332-351.
Funk, L.M. (2004). Who wants to be involved? Decision-making preferences among residents of long-term care facilities. Canadian Journal on Aging, 23(1), 47-58.
updated: June 2013