Cramm | School of Rehabilitation Therapy

Dr. Heidi Cramm

Position(s)

Professor

Contact Information

heidi.cramm@queensu.ca

Affiliation link

https://linktr.ee/fmrg?utm_source=qr_code

About

Heidi Cramm is a Professor in the School of Rehabilitation. dedicated to better understanding and addressing the mental health and wellbeing challenges faced by Garnet Families—military, veteran, first responder, and public safety families—through research.

Dr. Cramm consolidated her research program under the interdisciplinary and international Families Matter Research Group (FMRG) in 2022 (https://garnetfamilies.com/fmrg/). ‘Garnet families’ has evolved as a unifying construct that anchors the research, network, and partnership activities of the group. Garnet families experience a unique stacking of lifestyle dimensions—risks, identities, logistics, and mobility—all at once, in dynamic fashion, across the life course. The majority of the FMRG team is personally connected to a Garnet family, seeing the research as a form of service to the Garnet community. These connections deepen the commitment to the work and provide invaluable insights that enrich the research.

Dr. Cramm is Project Director for the SSHRC-funded Garnet Families Partnership (2024-2031). The partnership is an international convergence of effort with Garnet families and those who study, serve, and support them. Through a collective impact approach, Garnet Families Partnership will strengthen the partnership network, advance knowledge, and build capacity.

Education

Post Doctoral Fellowship, Ivey International Centre for Health Innovation (Western University)
PhD, Rehabilitation Science (Queen’s University)
MSc OT, Occupational Therapy (Post-Professional) (Dalhousie University)
BScOT, Occupational Therapy (Queen’s University)
MA (Queen’s University), English Literature
BA (Hons), English Literature, (Memorial University of Newfoundland)

Research

Garnet families lifestyle dimensions (risk, identities, logistics, mobility)
Families, leaders, and organizations in first responder, public safety, military, and Veteran sectors
Community development, knowledge mobilization, and implementation science
Qualitative methods, syntheses

Current Research Projects

There is a critical societal and economic imperative to maintain a healthy workforce in occupations required to ensure the safety and security of our communities, here and abroad. Because these occupations introduce a powerful confluence of dynamic occupational risks and requirements for Garnet families and we know that the bidirectional impacts are strong. It is urgent that we recognize and respond to the needs of Garnet families serving alongside to better ensure operational readiness for our collective safety and security. The Families Matter Research Group is committed to advancing knowledge to support Garnet families across their life course, informing policy and program development. Selected projects are listed below:

What about the families? Building a research ecosystem for defence and public safety families. 2024-2031. SSHRC Partnership Grant. Heidi Cramm, Project Director, Alyson Mahar, Project Co-Director. Team: Erin Porter, Lisa Delaney, Marilyn Cox, Margaret Campbell, Deborah Norris, Linna Tam-Seto, Nicola Fear, Nathalie Reid, Heather Hadjistavropolous, Rose Ricciardelli, Joy MacDermid, Christine Genest, Rachel Dekel, Bita Amani, Erna Snelgrove-Clarke, Kim Ritchie, Meghan Goodchild, Sharon Lawn, Nick Carleton, Renee MacPhee, Christina Godfrey, Margaret McKinnon, Tim Black, Steve Czarnuch, Stefanie von Hlatky

Emergency Medical Service Transition to Retirement: A Case Study in Innovation to Inform Decision Making and Knowledge Mobilization. 2025-26. SSHRC. Heidi Cramm, Principal Investigator. Collaborators Marilyn Cox, Margaret Campbell.

Women Veterans experience of military to civilian transition. 2025-2026. Joint Federal Research Funding Program Veterans Affairs Canada. Heidi Cramm, Maya Eichler, Co-Principal Investigators. Co-Investigators Deborah Norris, Linna Tam-Seto, Shannon Hill, Ashley Williams, Marilyn Cox, Alyson Mahar, Nicola Fear.

Housing and military to civilian transition. 2025-2027. Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families. Heidi Cramm, Principal Investigator. Co-Investigators Maya Eichler, Deborah Norris, Linna Tam-Seto, Shannon Hill, Ashley Williams, Marilyn Cox, Alyson Mahar, Nicola Fear

The experience of public safety personnel (PSP) families after a suicide and PSP organizations response to a suicide: A qualitative study and creation of a family-centred response guide to PSP suicides. 2025-2027. CIHR. Simon Hatcher, Heidi Cramm, Co-Principal Investigators. Co-Investigators Margaret Campbell, Sara MacLean, Rose Ricciardelli, Christine Genest, Lisbeth Wieler.

Supervision

Dr. Cramm supervises students in the programs listed below. To learn more about her students and alumni, visit the Our Community pages below.

Dr. Cramm is accepting a limited number of graduate students.

Find out more about the FMRG trainees at https://garnetfamilies.com/fmrg/

Peer Reviewed Publications

For a list of Dr. Cramm’s publications, please refer to her Google Scholar Profile. Cramm Google Scholar

Team