DiFrancesco, Dr. Darryn
PhD (UBC / University of Ottawa); MA (University of Ottawa); BA (Simon Fraser University)
Biography
I am a medical sociologist with an interdisciplinary background. I completed a BA in Communication from Simon Fraser University, an MA in International Development and Globalization from the University of Ottawa, and a PhD in Sociology through the University of British Columbia and University of Ottawa. My MA research examined community-driven economic development in a Northern BC Indigenous community, while my PhD research was a digital ethnography exploring the experiences of mothers using Facebook for information about health and parenting. Following my graduate studies, I worked as Qualitative Research Lead at the University of Calgary's Health Technology Assessment Unit in the O'Brien Institute for Public Health, where I studied clinician experiences and perspectives relating to health technologies/interventions as well as preferences around payment models among rural and remote physicians.
Research and expertise
My research explores how health and environmental knowledge is produced, communicated, and experienced in everyday life, particularly as shaped by gender, culture, and context. Grounded in a critical feminist approach, I examine the social and structural forces that influence how people engage with health and science, from visual media and online communities to environmental justice and health education.
Current projects include a community-based study with Dr. Elyse Caron-Beaudoin (University of Toronto) that examines the health, environmental, and cultural impacts of fracking on Indigenous peoples in the Peace River region. This work centres Indigenous health sovereignty and environmental justice.
As a 2025–2027 BCcampus Research Fellow, I am leading a pilot study on the use of graphic novels and memoirs in death education for nursing students. With over 12 years of experience as a post-secondary educator, I am curious about the potential of creative and arts-based pedagogy to support equity and to enhance social, emotional, and health learning.
- Anthropology
- Climate Change
- Community
- Culture
- Education
- Environment
- Gender and Women's Studies
- Health
- Health and Well-being
- Indigenous Health
- Northern Issues
- Pedagogy
- Rural Health Services
- English