Barbara Gibson

BMR(PT), MSc, PhD

Barbara Gibson, Professor, is a physical therapist with a PhD in bioethics. She is a Senior Scientist at the Bloorview Research Institute at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital where she directs the Critical Disability and Rehabilitation Studies unit (CDARS). Barbara holds the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Foundation Chair in Childhood Disability Studies.  Her research investigates how social, cultural, and institutional practices intersect in producing health, inclusion/exclusion, and identity with disabled children and youth.

Research & Scholarly Activities

Barbara’s research draws from critical and posthuman theories to examine the social and ethical dimensions of disability, rehabilitation and community care. Her work investigates the intersections of social, cultural, and institutional practices in producing health, inclusion/exclusion, and identity with disabled young people. The aim is to improve the wellbeing of disabled young people through a critical interrogation of key concepts (e.g. disability/normalcy, in/dependence, quality of life) underpinning children’s rehabilitation and societal understandings of disability. The work is interdisciplinary and intersectional; drawing upon sociological studies of health, bioethics, postmodern scholarships, and critical disability studies. 

Teaching

  • Social, Political, Ethical and Cultural (SPEC) Dimensions of Health and Healthcare  - Cross Curricular Theme. Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Dept of Physical Therapy

Appointments

  • Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Foundation Chair in Childhood Disability Studies, Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
  • Professor - Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto
  • Full Member – Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto
  • Senior Scientist - Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
  • Adjunct Fellow, Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research, University of Toronto
  • Associate Member – University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics
  • Research Associate, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research
  • Associate Professor, Person Centred Research Centre, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand