Women's Health: Practice & Policy Series   

Gendering the National Framework
Webcast Invitation
Monday March 29, 2010
10:00-11:15 PST

In 2009 a national, virtual Community of Practice (vCoP) provided the opportunity for a “virtual discussion” of issues, research, and programming related to girls’ and women’s substance use in Canada. The vCoP involved planners, decision-makers, direct service providers, educators, NGO leaders, policy analysts and researchers working to implement the National Framework for Action to Reduce the Harms Associated with Alcohol and other Drugs and Substances in Canada.

This webcast will:

• Discuss the benefits of applying sex/gender/diversity based analysis in the substance use field
• Share highlights of the virtual discussions on topics, such as girls’ substance use, trauma-informed approaches to addiction treatment, and women-centred approaches to harm reduction
• Introduce 4 resources that were developed out of the collaborative learning process

To register, please email: spederson@cw.bc.ca

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Government of Canada Announces Project That Will Help Pregnant Women Quit Smoking

Dr Jan Christilaw, President, BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre, Nina Grewal, Member of Parliament for Fleetwood - Port Kells, Nancy Poole, Director, BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Heatlh and Ann Pederson, Director, BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health.

News Release

January 20, 2010

Vancouver - Nina Grewal, Member of Parliament for Fleetwood - Port Kells, today announced on behalf of the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, just over $245,000 in funding to the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women's Health for a project that will help encourage tobacco cessation among pregnant women.

"The Government of Canada remains committed to protecting all Canadians from the proven health hazards associated with tobacco use," said Minister Aglukkaq. "Today's funding will give health professionals the tools to help pregnant women stop smoking."

Funding from today's announcement will go towards a project entitled "Knowledge translation on Smoking Reduction and Cessation Interventions for Pregnant and Postpartum Girls and Women." The goal of this project is to provide evidence of effective approaches and develop practical tools for health professionals to help pregnant women and new mothers to quit smoking. 

"This funding demonstrates the federal government's commitment to working with stakeholders on evidence-based cessation and smoking prevention activities," said MP Nina Grewal. "Supporting this initiative helps ensure that Canada remains a world leader in all aspects of tobacco control."

This year, National Non-Smoking Week is taking place from January 17-23. It is a week devoted to preventing people from beginning to smoke and helping smokers quit. The theme this year "Quitting is contagious; pass it on!" recognizes that it is easier to quit smoking with the support of others.

"Researchers in Canada and around the globe are making significant contributions to our understanding of smoking reduction, cessation and relapse in pregnancy and the postpartum period," said Nancy Poole, Director, BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health. "This project will put the latest research in the hands of health care practitioners, women who smoke, and health system planners."

Tobacco use is the single biggest cause of preventable disease, disability and premature death in Canada. It has negative effects on nearly every organ of the body. Every year, at least 37,000 Canadians die from the effects of smoking, while many others are diagnosed with related illnesses such as heart disease, lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.

For more information on Health Canada's tobacco control efforts, please visit: www.gosmokefree.gc.ca.

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Women’s Health: Practice & Policy Series

Series jointly sponsored by BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre and the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health

Our next presentation will be April 20th, noon to 1pm.  Please check back to find out what our next topic is.

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HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE  

In person

BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre, Shaughnessy D308

Video-conference  

Book with your Telehealth Coordinator at your health authority by Friday, February 5, 2010.

If you are not part of a health authority or need assistance, contact Melanie Koo, PHSA Telehealth Coordinator at 604-875-2000 / toll free 1-888-300-3088 ext 5336, or mkoo2@cw.bc.ca

Phone             

Dial: (1)-604-707-4540   Passcode: 423505#  

Note that you/your agency are responsible for long distance charges.

The presenter’s slides will be available at the time the presentation on this page.

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PAST PRESENTATIONS

• Providing Women-Centred Care in the  Context of Sexual Assault

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Presentation Slides

Presenter

Lianne Ritch, BScN

Nursing Coordinator, Sexual Assault Service

BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre

What is women-centred care? How do we embed it in our policies and provide it to our patients? This session will focus on the care offered to sexual assault survivors and how the Sexual Assault Service team translates its core values of women-centred care into everyday practice.

• Abortion in British Columbia: Trends / Services / Gaps / Opportunities

  Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Presenters:

Dr. Wendy V. Norman, MD, FCFP, DTM&H, MHSc

Clinical Professor, Dept of Family Practice, University of British Columbia

Division Head, Women's Services Clinic, Kelowna General Hospital

Dr. Brian Fitzsimmons, MD, FRCSC, FACOG,

Medical Director, BCWH CARE Program

Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of British Columbia

This session is intended to provide information on the demographics and epidemiology of abortion globally, nationally and in British Columbia.  Special focus will illustrate the current state of abortion care, service gaps and challenges faced by women, healthcare providers and communities across BC.  Discussion will also review strategies and initiatives aimed at reducing disparities, with a highlight on education and training opportunities.

• Improving Health Inequities through Sex- And Gender-Based Analysis

Tuesday, Dec 15th, 2009

Presenters:

Ann Pederson, Director, British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health

Steve Chasey, Data & Surveillance Specialist, British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health

Efforts to reduce health inequities require an understanding of the social and physical conditions which produce and sustain them. Sex (biology) and gender (social relations) are crucial pieces of this context as they can exacerbate, sustain, or even create health inequities. Sex- and gender-based analysis (SGBA) can help us understand how socioeconomic status and geographical location intersect with gender and how the interactions between them have powerful implications for health policy and planning. This presentation will introduce SGBA and illustrate its use through several examples, highlighting recent analyses we have conducted regarding health inequities in BC and their potential implications for women and women’s health.

• H1N1 Update: Getting Your Questions Answered

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Presenters:

Dr. Bonnie Henry, Director, Public Health Emergency Management, BC Centre for Disease Control

Dr. Roanne Preston, Senior Medical Director, Acute Perinatal, BC Women's Hospital

Dr. Brian Lupton, Medical Director, Newborn Intensive Care Unit, BC Women's Hospital

Dr. Brenda Wagner, Medical Director, BC Perinatal Health Program, Regional Physician Planning Leader, VCH/PHSA

Ms. Catherine Fast, Director, Employee Wellness and Safety, Provincial Health Services Authority

• Aboriginal Adolescent Girls & Smoking

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Power Point Presentation

Prsenters:

Sandrina de Finney, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria

Pauline Janyst, MA, Consultant

A qualitative study on smoking and Aboriginal adolescent girls (ages 13 to 19) was conducted in 2007-08 in partnership with six Aboriginal communities in British Columbia and researchers affiliated with the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health and the University of British Columbia. The need for the study emerged from our experiences with tobacco prevention and several research projects undertaken since 2002, which identified the need for culturally based and gender-sensitive evidence and frameworks to inform tobacco-control programming among Aboriginal girls. The study’s findings will be presented followed by a discussion on how age, gender, culture, and context intersect to shape Aboriginal girls’ experiences of smoking.

• H1N1 in Pregnancy

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Noon-1:00 pm

Presenter:
Deborah M. Money, MD, FRCSC,
Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, UBC
Executive Director, Women's Health Research Institute, PHSA

Power Point Slides of the presentation (570KB).

About the series:
This interactive series will provide an opportunity for dialogue on current women’s health topics from a social determinants perspective. The presentations will focus alternatively on practice and policy and will be of interest to clinicians, educators, researchers, planners, policy makers, students, advocates from health care, academic, and community settings.  

For more information about the series, email: jfinch@cw.bc.ca or mdussault@cw.bc.ca

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Open House

On November 19, 2009, the BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health hosted an Open House. All were invited to come and meet the team and to learn about the different research projects and Knowledge exchange activities going on at the Centre.

The event was a succes and thank you for all who attended!

Shary Graydon, Chair of the BCCEWH Board of  Directors (left)

Nancy Poole and Ann Pederson, Directors

Showcasing our work