Polly Ford-Jones

Dr. Polly Ford-Jones (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Public Health Program in the Faculty of Health Sciences. She is a social scientist and interdisciplinary health services researcher, and her program of research focuses on emergency mental health and social care-related needs in the community and emergency care settings. Her work is rooted in critical, qualitative methodologies, and engages with issues of health equity and the social determinants of health. Her prior experience includes working as a primary care paramedic in southern Ontario, training and educating paramedics, paramedic students, and other allied health and health policy students. She is an adjunct professor and a part of the Paramedicine Collaborative at DFCM in partnership with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Education:

• PhD (Health Policy and Equity), York University
• Diploma of Paramedicine, Humber Polytechnic (formerly: Humber Institute for Technology & Advanced Learning)
• MA (Health Policy and Equity), York University
• BA (International Studies/Psychology), Glendon College, York University

Research Focus: 

Dr. Ford-Jones’ research has examined policy and practice in several areas of public health with a focus on crisis care and preventive social care. Her research has taken place with interdisciplinary team members and in collaboration with community partners with a particular interest in critically examining existing approaches to crisis care that have negatively impacted underserved and marginalized communities. She is particularly interested in exploring alternative approaches that better meet the needs of all community members, that include non-biomedically focused, service user-informed, consent-based approaches to care and those that address the social determinants of health. Her research has also explored mental health and social needs related care provided by paramedics in the out of hospital setting, and approaches to training and education for this work.

Resources created by Dr. Ford-Jones’ research team include a publicly available report An Integrated Crisis Care Framework: A Community-Informed Approach, a free, publicly available online reflective training module for health care providers and other community-facing workers on crisis care, and two digital stories highlighting perspectives of those with lived experience of crisis. For more information about these resources, check out: www.mentalhealthcrisiscare.ca 

Teaching Experience:

Dr. Ford-Jones has taught in post-secondary education since 2013 across subject areas including health policy, ethics, mental health and substance use related needs, communication, interpersonal skills and trauma-informed care in health care and community settings as well as teaching related to social context, diversity, equity, and inclusion for health professions students and considerations for healthcare practitioner wellness.

Dr. Ford-Jones has taught courses such as:

• Advanced Public Health Policy and Ethics
• Health Policy Evaluation
• Equity and Social Justice Issues in Prehospital Mental Health and Addictions Management
• Legal and Professional Issues in Para

Dr. Ford-Jones is open to supervising graduate students who are interested in critical approaches to understanding mental health and care, crisis and emergency care, paramedicine, health inequities, and health policy.

Current and Recent Grants:

Co-Investigator (June 2024 – 2028)

Autonomy and vulnerability: A feminist political economy analysis of medical assistance in dying in a post-Bill C-7 Canada.

• Principal Investigator: Dr. Julia Brassolotto; Co-Investigator: Duff Waring (York University)
• Collaborator: Dionne Walsh (AHS)
• Funding source: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant
• ($307,372)

Co-Investigator (Dec. 2025-June 2026)

Comparing Immersive to Standard Simulation in Paramedic Education

• Principal Investigator: Jennifer Breuer; Co-Investigators: Dr. Sarah Wilkinson, Rachel Bembridge, Meghan LePage (Humber Polytechnic)
• Funding source: Humber Polytechnic, Builders of Brilliance Teaching and Learning Innovation Fund
• ($10,000)

Principal Investigator (Sep 2021 - May 2025)

Developing a best practice model for mental health crisis care: A community-engaged approach

• Co-Investigators: Sheryl Thompson (Humber Polytechnic), Danielle Pomeroy (Humber Polytechnic)
• Collaborators: Dr. Simon Adam (York University), Dr. Patrina Duhaney (University of Calgary)
• Community Partners: TAIBU Community Health Centre, Middlesex-London Paramedic Service
• Funding source: College and Community Social Innovation Fund (NSERC/CIHR)
• ($360,000)

Principal Investigator (Feb. 2024-June 2024)

De-escalation and crisis training for paramedic students

• Co-Investigators: Craig MacCalman, Jennifer Breuer (Humber Polytechnic)
• Community Partner: Gerstein Crisis Centre
• Funding source: Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, Office of Research & Innovation, Cultivate Research and Innovation Fund
• ($15,000)

Recent Publications:

• Ford-Jones, P., Iheanacho, C., Adam, S., Thompson, S., Pomeroy, D., Gebremikael, L., Carter, D., Duhaney, P., & Meijer, P. (2026). Understanding crisis to inform crisis response: Community perspectives from a qualitative ethnographic case study. Community Health Equity Research & Policy, 0(0), 1-19.
• Ford-Jones, P., Iheanacho, C., Rahman, M., & Adam, S. (2026). From medicalization to structural response: Reimagining nursing practice through community-driven models of care. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 47(5), 430-438.
• Bolster, J., Ford-Jones, P., Donnelly, E., & Batt, A. (2025). Connecting the dots: Applying network theories to enhance integrated paramedic care for people who use drugs. Systems, 13(7), 605.
• Meijer, P., Ford-Jones, P., Carter, D., Duhaney, P., Adam, S., Pomeroy, D. & Thompson, S. (2024). Examining an alternate care pathway for mental health and addiction prehospital emergencies in Ontario, Canada: A critical analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(2), 146.
• Donnelly, E., Ford-Jones, P., & Oehme, K. (2024). “Treat them like a person”: An exploration of behavioral health emergencies and stigma in the emergency medical services. Stigma and Health, 10(4), 708-717.
• Ford-Jones, P. (2024). Enhancing safety and mitigating violence on prehospital mental health calls: For the care providers and care recipients. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 42(2), 17-31.
• Boechler, L., Ford-Jones, P., Smith, C., Suthers, P. & Cameron, C. (2022). Challenges and changes with COVID-19: Canadian paramedics’ experiences. International Journal of Paramedic Practice, 12(3).

Public Reports & Community Publications

• Ford-Jones, P., Thompson, S., Pomeroy, D., Duhaney, P., Adam, S.,Gebremikael, L., Carter, D., Iheanacho, C., Meijer, P. (2024). An integrated crisis care framework: A community-informed approach. Ontario, Canada. Humber Polytechnic. https://a9419c4f-3c2f-4056-b53f-8e105517808e.filesusr.com/ugd/c913de_85f6135502ad4d59af7ccd96d0e206ce.pdf
• Pfeil, R., Ford-Jones, P. & Bolster, J. Catalysts of change: Paramedics leading the shift in mental health, substance use, and addictions support in our communities. Canadian Paramedicine, 47(3), 22-25.
• Lunn, T., Thompson, S., & Ford-Jones, P. (2023). Beyond tokenism: Recruitment, representation, and retention in Paramedicine - an intersectional lens. Canadian Paramedicine, 46(3), 20-23.
• Thompson, S. & Ford-Jones, P. (2022). Cultural competency, humility, and safety in paramedicine. Canadian Paramedicine, 45(3), 8-10.

Recent Grants

• McNally Project for Paramedicine Research Most Significant Contribution Award (2025)
  • McNally Project for Paramedicine Research; National award for sustained scholarly work and significant contributions to advancing research in the paramedic care of mental health crises.
• President’s Research Excellence Award (2025)
  • Humber Polytechnic & University of Guelph Humber; For significant contributions to the Humber Polytechnic research program.
• Equity & Inclusion Champion Award (2025)
  • Faculty of Health Sciences & Wellness, Humber Polytechnic; To recognize someone who actively works to make learning and working environments more equitable, inclusive, and accessible.
• Dr. Ron Stewart EMS Research Award for The Most Significant Research in EMS Conducted by a Paramedic (2024)
  • EMS Research Day, Division of EMS; Department of Emergency Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia--Paramedicine Across Canada Expo (PACE) 2024.