Dr. Yani Hamdani is a scientist at the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre at CAMH. She is also an assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI) at the University of Toronto with full membership in the School of Graduate Studies. She completed a PhD in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto in 2016 and was a PhD Fellow in the CIHR Strategic Training Program in Public Health Policy. She is a qualitative researcher and registered Occupational Therapist with a particular interest in developmental disability over the life course. She received the Dr. John Whittaker Memorial Award from Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in 2018, and the Dr. Patty Rigby Award for Early Career Excellence in Supervision and Mentorship from RSI in 2023.
Areas of Research
Dr. Hamdani’s research program aims:
- to improve the health and wellbeing of young people labeled disabled and their family caregivers, and
- improve their access to health and social services.
She is particularly interested in the challenges experienced by young people labeled with developmental disabilities in accessing mental health care and social services as they transition from child to adult services.
Three main themes guide her current research program:
- the gendered experiences of health and health care of Autistic girls and women
- mental health and wellness promotion for disabled youth and caregivers, and
- inclusion of adults with developmental disabilities in research about mental health.
Dr. Hamdani takes an interdisciplinary approach to research, with the overarching aim of examining taken for granted assumptions (e.g., about disability, mental health, gender) embedded in policies and practices, and their beneficial and harmful effects for the people they aim to help.
Publications
View Dr. Hamdani’s publications on PubMed or on Google Scholar