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Elizabeth Straus
Assistant Professor
EducationPhD, RN
OfficeDCC-542, Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex
Phone416-979-5000, ext. 557972
Areas of ExpertiseAutism, neurodivergence, and disability; 2SLGBTQIA+ well-being; Equity and social justice; Access and belonging; Critical qualitative research; Intersectionality; Violence; Interdisciplinarity; Complex care in the community.
Dr. Elizabeth Straus (they/she) completed their PhD in Nursing at the University of British Columbia in 2022. Their dissertation was a critical narrative inquiry of the experiences of young adults living with home mechanical ventilation, with an emphasis on the effects of and resistance to discourses that contribute to dominant understandings of living well. From 2022-2024, they completed a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship with Re•Vision: The Centre for Art and Social Justice at the University of Guelph, where they focused on critical arts-based research at the intersections of gender, sexuality, and autism.
A queer, autistic, and disabled nurse scholar and educator, Dr. Straus' current program of research focuses on critical, intersectional, participatory, and community-engaged scholarship in neurodivergent, disabled, and 2SLGBTQIA+ well-being, mental health, and equity. At the heart of this work is an aim to promote access and belonging and advance affirming practices and cultures within research, health care, education, and communities. They are particularly committed to co-developing opportunities with individuals with lived experience to be involved in research teams.
Teaching responsibilities:
- PPN 303: Promoting Mental Health
- MN 8902: Qualitative Research Methods
Teaching interests:
- Qualitative research methods
- Community health
- Disability studies
- Mental health
- Equity and social justice
- Professional writing
Research interests
- Neurodivergent communities
- 2SLGBTQIA+ communities
- Access and belonging
- Critical mental health
- Disability in nursing education and practice
- Critical qualitative research
- Arts-based methods
Research projects
- 2023-2025: Straus, E. (PI); Rice, C., & Douglas, P. (Co-Is). Beyond the Normative Knot: Life and Praxis at the Gender-Sexuality-Autism Nexus. Funding Source: SSHRC Insight Development Grant. ($69,612)
- 2025-2028: Douglas, P. (PI); Bobbette, N., Ineese-Nash, N., Straus, E. (Co-Is); Algoma Family Services, Autism Ontario, Autism Alliance of Canada, Finding Our Power Together, Re•Storying Autism Collective (Collabs). Telling Our Stories: A Photovoice Project with Diverse Autistic Youth in Northern Ontario. Funding Source: SSHRC Partnership Development Grant. ($199,619)
- 2025-2030: Jones, C. (PI); Chandler, E., Collins, K., Douglas, P., Rice, C., Zbitnew, A. (Co-Is); Ellis, K., Fowlie, H., Haller, A., Heatherington, R., Montelone, I., Mundel, I., Straus, E. (Collabs). Pitching RelaxComm: Reshaping access in disability media access studies. Funding source: SSHRC Insight Grant. ($320,000)
- 2020-2021: Straus, E. (PI), Brown, H. (supervisor). The Experiences of Young People Living with Home Mechanical Ventilation: A Critical Narrative Inquiry. Funding Source: UBC Nursing Internal Research Grant. ($2,993)
- Straus, E. (2023). Un-puzzling autism (external link) [Short film].
- Straus, E. (2023). no one leaves the inquiry unchanged (external link) [Short film].
Chapters
- Straus, E., & Ramsay, S. (in press). Family child health nursing. In M. Robinson & P. Smith (Eds.), Family health care nursing: Theory, practice, and research (8th ed.). F. A. Davis
- Padgett Coehlo, D., & Straus, E. (2022). Family child health nursing. In M. Robinson, D. Padgett Coehlo, & P. S. Smith (Eds.), Family health care nursing: Theory, practice and research (7th ed., pp. 451-487). F.A. Davis.
- Straus, E., & Robinson, M. (2022). Families and aging. In M. Robinson, D. Padgett Coehlo, & P. S. Smith (Eds.), Family health care nursing: Theory, practice and research (7th ed., pp. 513-545). F.A. Davis.
Journal articles
- Straus, E., Singer, K., Johnson, C., & Worthington, P. (in press). Autistic reckonings with eating orders and experiences through art and storytelling. International Mad Studies Journal.
- Straus, E. J., Brown, H., Howard, A. F., & Teachman, G. (2025). Composing adult lives with a ventilator at the intersection of developmental and neoliberal discourses of time (external link) . Health, 29(1), 62-82.
- Straus, E. J., Brown, H., Teachman, G., & Howard, A. F. (2023). Transforming normative, ableist, and biomedical orientations to living well and quality of life in nursing: Reimagining what a ventilated body can do (external link) . Nursing Inquiry, 30(3), e12554.
- O’Flynn-Magee, K., Straus, E. J., Dhaliwal, A., Chande, S. R., Alreffi, B., Randhawa, P., Cheung, Y., & Khader, S. (2021). Creativity in a COVID-19 virtual learning space (external link) . Quality Advancement in Nursing Education, 7(1), 2.
- Straus, E. J., & Brown, H. J. (2021). The potential contribution of critical theories in healthcare transition research and practice (external link) . Disability & Rehabilitation, 43(17), 2521-2529.
- Varcoe, C., Brown, H., Timler, K., Taylor, M., & Straus, E. (2020). "Healing on both sides": Strengthening prison-Indigenous community partnerships through reciprocity and investment (external link) . International Indigenous Policy Journal, 11(3).
- Straus, E. J. (2019). Challenges in measuring healthcare transition readiness: Taking stock and looking forward (external link) . Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 46, 109-117.
- Straus, E., & Baird, J. (2018). Clinical practice guideline for support of families of children with chronic conditions (external link) . Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 43, 136.
- Joly, E. (2017). Access to services for young adults with medical complexity (external link) . Nursing Ethics, 24(3), 329-336.
- Joly, E. (2016). Integrating Transition Theory and Bioecological Theory: A theoretical perspective for nurses supporting the transition to adulthood for young people with medical complexity (external link) . Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(6), 1251-1262.
- Joly, E. (2015). Transition to adulthood for young people with medical complexity: An integrative literature review (external link) . Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 30(5), e91-e103.
- SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, Re•Vision: The Centre for Art and Social Justice, University of Guelph, 2022-2024.
- Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, University of British Columbia, 2021.
- SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, University of British Columbia, 2020-2021.
- Canadian Nurses Foundation Dorothy Kergin Fellowship Doctoral Award, 2020-2021.
- Four Year Fellowships PhD Award, University of British Columbia, 2020-2021.
- UBC Faculty Women’s Club 100 Year Legacy Graduate Scholarship, 2019.
- Syd Vernon Fund for the Disabled Graduate Award, University of British Columbia, 2018-2019.