The Resident Health Matters project emerged through collaboration between the Department of Family Medicine, Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME), and Resident Affairs to better understand the experiences of residents living with chronic illness and disability.
Following HiREB approval on November 4, 2025, the Resident Health Matters research team conducted 14 in-depth semi-structured interviews between November 2025 and January 2026 with trainees representing multiple specialties and stages of training at McMaster University. Interviews explored experiences navigating accommodations, medical leave, disclosure decisions, and institutional support systems. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.
While the project initially focused on residents’ informational needs, findings suggested that barriers were driven less by awareness of resources and more by stigma, professional identity concerns, trust, system complexity, and uncertainty surrounding disclosure and support processes. Although all participants reported health-related challenges affecting their training, only one participant reported using formal accommodations. Residents emphasized the importance of trusted relationships, transparent processes, supportive leadership, psychological safety, and accessible systems.
These findings informed resident-driven recommendations focused on culture change, improved system navigation, enhanced communication strategies, and more accessible support pathways. The project was funded through the Department of Family Medicine PGY-3 Research & Scholarship Fellowship.
Project Team: Catharine Munn, Caroline Bowman, Rosheen Grady, Jennifer Ham, Nadine Abu-Ghazaleh Contact: Nadine Abu-Ghazaleh (Nadine.Abu.ghazaleh@medportal.ca)
Research Project Update