The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the mental health and wellbeing of post-secondary students. Resilience has been found to serve as a protective factor against mental distress among students during the pandemic. Despite the plethora of research that exists on post-secondary students during this crisis, most studies exploring students health and resilience are quantitative and lack diversity. To date, the lived experiences of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and resilience among graduate students representing diversity in age, gender, ethnicity, parental status, university, degree, and faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unknown. As a part of a larger study, the purpose of this qualitative paper was to understand the lived experiences of resilience and HRQOL among a diverse sample of graduate students approximately 18 months into the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada. A total of 14 students participated in semi-structured interviews exploring HRQOL domains, factors that supported/undermined participants resilience, challenges/barriers to being resilient, and participants inner strength. Thematic analysis revealed 5 themes: (1) cultural influences on resilience; (2) the role of privilege/power in shaping resilience; (3) how life stage and past experiences support resilience; (4) how the COVID-19 pandemic has undermined the resilience of equity-deserving groups; and (5) the role of disability/chronic pain. This work presents a unique dichotomy between how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of some graduate students, while simultaneously creating opportunities for others to thrive. Findings from this work underscore the importance of creating inclusive and accessible educational spaces to support graduate students resilience and HRQOL currently, and in times of crisis.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) includes multiple forms of harm inflicted on an intimate partner. Experiences of IPV impact mental and physical health, social relationships, and parenting and resilience may play an important role in how women overcome these detrimental effects. There is little research on how resilience relates to mothers experience of IPV. We explored the role of resilience in the context of mothers who have experienced IPV in rural settings via semi-structured interviews with six women and 12 service providers. The relationship between resilience and motherhood was a common theme across all narratives. From this theme emerged three subthemes: 1) breaking the cycle of abuse; 2) giving children the best life; and 3) to stay or to leave: deciding for the kids. Findings underscore the importance of supporting rural women who experience violence in cultivating their resilience and consideration of policy changes which support trauma- and violence-informed care.