Allie Slemon

Affiliate Investigator, BC Children's Hospital

My research focuses on addressing disparities in mental health that stem from injustices in our society and in our healthcare systems. In particular, I use community-engaged approaches, working directly with people with lived experiences of mental health challenges and healthcare providers to develop practical strategies for enhancing healthcare delivery for people within equity-owed groups. I use a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches, with a consistent focus on building from lived experience to drive change.

Academic Affiliations

  • Assistant Professor, , School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, University of Victoria
  • Research Theme: Brain, Behaviour & Development
  • Research Group(s): Mental Health and Behaviour

Contact Information

Location

3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8P 5C2

Shifting Towards Trauma- and Violence-informed Care in the Early Learning and Childcare Sector: An Exploratory Study in Western Canada

Journal of Childhood Studies

Alison Gerlach and Mehmoona Moosa-Mitha and Mariel Macasaquit and Allie Slemon

DOI: 10.18357/jcs511202622400

03 / 2026

Insights Into Dialysis Initiation: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis of the r/dialysis Reddit Forum

Qualitative Health Research

Su Han Ong and Allie Slemon and Vera Caine

DOI: 10.1177/10497323251394206

12 / 2025

Defining and characterizing the role of the liaison in supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ people to navigate health-service settings: a scoping review protocol

JBI Evidence Synthesis

Allie Slemon and Ingrid Handlovsky and Jaymelyn Hubert and Bernadette Zakher and Jessica Mussell and Jess Crawford and Dara Gan and Sage Schmied

DOI: 10.11124/JBIES-24-00261

06 / 2025

Absences and Silences in Critical Discourse Analysis: Methodological Reflections

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

Slemon, A.

DOI: 10.1177/16094069251321250

Social justice as nursing resistance: a foucauldian discourse analysis within emergency departments

Nursing Philosophy

Slemon, A. and Bungay, V. and Varcoe, C. and Blanchet Garneau, A.

DOI: 10.1111/nup.12508

A Mixed Method Study of Nursing Students' Experiences of Discrimination Within Their Programs

Journal of Advanced Nursing

Dhari, S. and Slemon, A. and Handlovsky, I.

DOI: 10.1111/jan.16772

Social Justice in Nursing: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis

Nursing Philosophy

Slemon, A. and Handlovsky, I. and Schmied, S.

DOI: 10.1111/nup.70045

Digital Artifacts of Self-Representation: A Critical Qualitative Analysis of Nursing Memes

Nursing Inquiry

Hubert, J. and Beaumont, M. and Bungay, V. and Slemon, A.

DOI: 10.1111/nin.70021

From Subversion to Hard-Wiring Equity A Discourse Analysis of Nurses Equity-Promoting Practices in Emergency Departments

Advances in Nursing Science

Slemon, A. and Bungay, V. and Varcoe, C. and Garneau, A.B.

DOI: 10.1097/ANS.0000000000000517

Reconceptualizing Advocacy: A Novel Model for Nursing Theory and Practice

Nursing Inquiry

Pitcher, C. and Slemon, A. and Danda, M.

DOI: 10.1111/nin.70036

Capturing Intersections of Discrimination Quantitative Analysis of Nursing Students Experiences

Advances in Nursing Science

Slemon, A. and Handlovsky, I. and Dhari, S.

DOI: 10.1097/ANS.0000000000000541

The stakes of stimulant use, psychosis, and antipsychotic treatment among youth who use drugs: A longitudinal qualitative study

Social Science and Medicine

Goodyear, T. and Thulien, M. and Anghel, A. and Slemon, A. and Jensen, M. and Ignaszewski, M.J. and Sassi, R. and Mathias, S. and Jenkins, E. and Knight, R. and Fast, D.

DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118701

Envisioning a safety paradigm in inpatient mental health settings: Moving beyond zero-risk approaches

SSM - Mental Health

Slemon, A. and Dhari, S.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmmh.2024.100315

Selecting Approaches for Discourse Analysis: Thoughts on Nursing Research

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

Ong, S.H. and Beaumont, M. and Caine, V. and Slemon, A.

DOI: 10.1177/16094069241299658

Social justice in Canadian nursing professional documents: A Foucauldian discourse analysis

Nursing Inquiry

Slemon, A. and Wonsiak, T. and Delli Colli, A.-R. and Blanchet Garneau, A. and Varcoe, C. and Bungay, V.

DOI: 10.1111/nin.12653

Redressing discrimination in Canadian nursing programs: Student perspectives

Nurse Education in Practice

Handlovsky, I. and Slemon, A. and Dhari, S.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nepr.2024.104134

There is no justice in nursing school: A qualitative analysis of nursing students' experiences of discrimination shared on Reddit

Journal of Advanced Nursing

Slemon, A. and Dhari, S. and Christie, T. and Aubrey, G.

DOI: 10.1111/jan.16066

The Subaltern: Illuminating matters of representation and agency in mental health nursing through a postcolonial feminist lens

Nursing Inquiry

Dhari, S. and Slemon, A. and Jenkins, E.

DOI: 10.1111/nin.12661

CASE AND COMMENTARY: PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE When Should Inpatient Psychiatric Care Include Access to the Outdoors, Despite Elopement or Other Risks?

AMA Journal of Ethics

Slemon, A. and Dhari, S.

DOI: 10.1001/amajethics.2024.212

Mental distress and virtual mental health resource use amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a cross-sectional study in Canada

Digital Health

Goodyear, T. and Richardson, C. and Aziz, B. and Slemon, A. and Gadermann, A. and Daly, Z. and McAuliffe, C. and Pumarino, J. and Thomson, K.C. and Jenkins, E.K.

DOI: 10.1177/20552076231173528

Gaps in health research related to sex work: an analysis of Canadian health research funding

Critical Public Health

Bungay, V. and Guta, A. and Varcoe, C. and Slemon, A. and Manning, E. and Comber, S. and Perri, M.

DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2021.1987385

Analysis of the social consequences and value implications of the Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS): implications for measurement of discrimination in health research

Health Sociology Review

Slemon, A. and Susan Dahinten, V. and Stones, C. and Bungay, V. and Varcoe, C.

DOI: 10.1080/14461242.2021.1969980

The Ethics of Financial Incentivization for Health Research Participation Among Sex Workers in a Canadian Context

Qualitative Health Research

Bungay, V. and Guta, A. and Slemon, A. and Varcoe, C. and Comber, S.

DOI: 10.1177/10497323221089877

Emotional response patterns, mental health, and structural vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: a latent class analysis

BMC Public Health

Richardson, C. and Goodyear, T. and Slemon, A. and Gadermann, A. and Thomson, K.C. and Daly, Z. and McAuliffe, C. and Pumarino, J. and Jenkins, E.K.

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-14798-y

In Touch With my Creative Side: Supporting Self-Care Among Nursing Students Through Arts-Based Pedagogy

Quality Advancement in Nursing Education

O{'}flynn-Magee, K. and Slemon, A. and Mahy, J. and Jenkins, E.K.

DOI: 10.17483/2368-6669.1300

Widening mental health and substance use inequities among sexual and gender minority populations: Findings from a repeated cross-sectional monitoring survey during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

Psychiatry Research

Slemon, A. and Richardson, C. and Goodyear, T. and Salway, T. and Gadermann, A. and Oliffe, J.L. and Knight, R. and Dhari, S. and Jenkins, E.K.

DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114327

Connectedness in the time of COVID-19: Reddit as a source of support for coping with suicidal thinking

SSM - Qualitative Research in Health

McAuliffe, C. and Slemon, A. and Goodyear, T. and McGuinness, L. and Shaffer, E. and Jenkins, E.K.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100062

Exploring the conceptualization, operationalization, implementation, and measurement of outreach in community settings with hard-to-reach and hidden populations: A scoping review

Social Science and Medicine

Jiao, S. and Slemon, A. and Guta, A. and Bungay, V.

DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115232

Mental Health Inequities Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings From Three Rounds of a Cross-Sectional Monitoring Survey of Canadian Adults

International Journal of Public Health

Jenkins, E.K. and Slemon, A. and Richardson, C. and Pumarino, J. and McAuliffe, C. and Thomson, K.C. and Goodyear, T. and Daly, Z. and McGuinness, L. and Gadermann, A.

DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604685

Reddit Users Experiences of Suicidal Thoughts During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis of r/Covid19_support Posts (Preprint)

Allie Slemon and Corey McAuliffe and Trevor Goodyear and Liza McGuinness and Elizabeth Shaffer and Emily Jenkins

DOI: 10.2196/preprints.28891

03 / 2021

Reddit Users' Experiences of Suicidal Thoughts During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis of r/Covid19_support Posts

Frontiers in Public Health

Slemon, A. and McAuliffe, C. and Goodyear, T. and McGuinness, L. and Shaffer, E. and Jenkins, E.K.

DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.693153

Media framing of emergency departments: a call to action for nurses and other health care providers

BMC Nursing

Thomas, K. and Browne, A.J. and Jiao, S. and Dooner, C. and Wright, P. and Slemon, A. and Diederich, J. and Wathen, C.N. and Bungay, V. and Wilson, E. and Varcoe, C.

DOI: 10.1186/s12912-021-00606-2

Examining the associations between food worry and mental health during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

Canadian Journal of Public Health

McAuliffe, C. and Daly, Z. and Black, J. and Pumarino, J. and Gadermann, A. and Slemon, A. and Thomson, K.C. and Richardson, C. and Jenkins, E.K.

DOI: 10.17269/s41997-021-00557-w

Exploring the operationalisation and implementation of outreach in community settings with hard-to-reach and hidden populations: Protocol for a scoping review

BMJ Open

Krabbe, J. and Jiao, S. and Guta, A. and Slemon, A. and Cameron, A.A. and Bungay, V.

DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039451

Correlates of suicidal ideation related to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Repeated cross-sectional nationally representative Canadian data

SSM - Population Health

McAuliffe, C. and Pumarino, J. and Thomson, K.C. and Richardson, C. and Slemon, A. and Salway, T. and Jenkins, E.K.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100988

Associations between periods of COVID-19 quarantine and mental health in Canada

Psychiatry Research

Daly, Z. and Slemon, A. and Richardson, C.G. and Salway, T. and McAuliffe, C. and Gadermann, A.M. and Thomson, K.C. and Hirani, S. and Jenkins, E.K.

DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113631

Increases in alcohol and cannabis use associated with deteriorating mental health among lgbtq2+ adults in the context of covid-19: A repeated cross-sectional study in canada, 2020"2021

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Goodyear, T. and Slemon, A. and Richardson, C. and Gadermann, A. and Salway, T. and Dhari, S. and Knight, R. and Jenkins, E.

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182212155

Enhancing conceptual clarity of self-care for nursing students: A scoping review

Nurse Education in Practice

Slemon, A. and Jenkins, E.K. and Bailey, E.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103178

Bereaved mothers engagement in drug policy reform: A multisite qualitative analysis

International Journal of Drug Policy

Jenkins, E. and Slemon, A. and Morris, H. and Hyshka, E. and Schulz, P. and Haines-Saah, R.J.

DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.103011

Use of Asynchronous Virtual Mental Health Resources for COVID-19 Pandemic"Related Stress Among the General Population in Canada: Cross-Sectional Survey Study (Preprint)

Chris G Richardson and Allie Slemon and Anne Gadermann and Corey McAuliffe and Kimberly Thomson and Zachary Daly and Travis Salway and Leanne M Currie and Anita David and Emily Jenkins

DOI: 10.2196/preprints.24868

10 / 2020

Use of asynchronous virtual mental health resources for COVID-19 pandemic"related stress among the general population in Canada: Cross-sectional survey study

Journal of Medical Internet Research

Richardson, C.G. and Slemon, A. and Gadermann, A. and McAuliffe, C. and Thomson, K. and Daly, Z. and Salway, T. and Currie, L.M. and David, A. and Jenkins, E.

DOI: 10.2196/24868

Undergraduate students' perspectives on pursuing a career in mental health nursing following practicum experience

Journal of Clinical Nursing

Slemon, A. and Jenkins, E. and Bungay, V. and Brown, H.

DOI: 10.1111/jocn.15074

Parents are the best prevention? Troubling assumptions in cannabis policy and prevention discourses in the context of legalization in Canada

International Journal of Drug Policy

Haines-Saah, R.J. and Mitchell, S. and Slemon, A. and Jenkins, E.K.

DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.06.008

You cant chain a dog to a porch: a multisite qualitative analysis of youth narratives of parental approaches to substance use

Harm Reduction Journal

Slemon, A. and Jenkins, E.K. and Haines-Saah, R.J. and Daly, Z. and Jiao, S.

DOI: 10.1186/s12954-019-0297-3

Exploring the implications of a self-care assignment to foster undergraduate nursing student mental health: Findings from a survey research study

Nurse Education Today

Jenkins, E.K. and Slemon, A. and O{'}Flynn-Magee, K. and Mahy, J.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2019.06.009

A Guide to Multisite Qualitative Analysis

Qualitative Health Research

Jenkins, E.K. and Slemon, A. and Haines-Saah, R.J. and Oliffe, J.

DOI: 10.1177/1049732318786703

Embracing the wild profusion: A Foucauldian analysis of the impact of healthcare standardization on nursing knowledge and practice

Nursing Philosophy

Slemon, A.

DOI: 10.1111/nup.12215

Power and resistance: Nursing students' experiences in mental health practicums

Advances in Nursing Science

Slemon, A. and Bungay, V. and Jenkins, E. and Brown, H.

DOI: 10.1097/ANS.0000000000000221

Safety in psychiatric inpatient care: The impact of risk management culture on mental health nursing practice

Nursing Inquiry

Slemon, A. and Jenkins, E. and Bungay, V.

DOI: 10.1111/nin.12199

Developing harm reduction in the context of youth substance use: Insights from a multi-site qualitative analysis of young people's harm minimization strategies

Harm Reduction Journal

Jenkins, E.K. and Slemon, A. and Haines-Saah, R.J.

DOI: 10.1186/s12954-017-0180-z

Preventing Seclusion within Youth Mental Health Inpatient Settings

This project is conducted in partnership with the Island Health Mental Health Program and Mental Health Recovery Partners - South Island, a community-based peer-led organization supporting people experiencing mental health challenges and hospitalization. In the context of a novel Young Adult Mental Health Unit within Island Health, this research aims to develop strategies and policy guidance toward the aim of preventing seclusion use among young adults. This community-engaged research builds on the insights of young adults who have experienced seclusion, as well as healthcare providers who hold immense expertise in managing seclusion safely and equitably. Ultimately, this project will bring youth and healthcare provider perspectives together in a Collaborative Development Session towards driving changes in policy, best practices, and healthcare provider education related to seclusion use.

Bridging the “Missing Middle”: A Qualitative Study to Improve Mental Health Care for Transition-Aged Youth

This project examines the phenomenon of the “Missing Middle”: systems-level gap in service delivery, where services are provided to support those at either extreme of service needs, jeopardizing access for those who fall in-between. This Missing Middle gap disproportionately impacts youth who experience mental health challenges, who are often positioned in the mental healthcare system as too well for hospital and specialist services, yet too unwell for primary care alone. To respond to gaps in care experienced by transition-aged youth in the missing middle, PHSA has developed and implemented a Missing Middle Program, including a novel Transition and Linking to Care (TLC) Team. To examine perspectives on the Missing Middle among youth, and explore the impacts of the Missing Middle Program, this project engages young people, family members, and mental healthcare providers in qualitative interviews and focus groups. In particular, the youth arm of the study focuses on two specific streams, representing priority equity-owed groups: racialized youth, and youth who use substances. Insights from this study will guide the further development of the Missing Middle program, and drive systems-level change to more meaningfully and effectively address youth who experience the Missing Middle in their journey of accessing mental healthcare in BC.

Grants

Primary Investigator. Embedding research knowledge to prevent seclusion in a young adult inpatient mental health setting in British Columbia. Funding Source: Michael Smith Health Research BC REACH Grant

Team Lead. Toward seclusion prevention in young adult inpatient mental health: Learning from youths’ lived experiences to enhance equity. Funding Source: Island Health Equity Grant

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