Women's Health: Practice & Policy Series   

Research to Practice

on Women and Substance Use Issues

A Lunchtime Event with the BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Noon to 1:00 pm  PDT

Two short presentations will be followed by discussions.

Linking trauma, mental health and addictions treatment practice

Dr. Vivian Brown will briefly discuss the findings of the Women and Co-occurring Disorders and Violence Study (WCDVS) and her work with Prototypes in California in order to highlight our need to bring evidence to practice as a way of linking and integrating the treatment of mental health, trauma and addictions concerns experienced by women.

Linking addictions and child welfare practice

Dr. Laurie Drabble returns to share results of recently completed research on the role of collaborative and harm reduction oriented values, for bridging the work of child welfare and addiction treatment providers as they support mothers with substance use problems.

Presenters

Vivian B. Brown, Ph.D. is the founder and recently retired Chief Executive Officer of PROTOTYPES, Centers for Innovation in Health, Mental Health, and Social Services.  She has more than 40 years of experience developing innovative, community-based services, including: substance abuse treatment services; HIV/AIDS outreach, prevention, and interventions for women; specialized services for women, their children, and their families; mental health treatment  and specialized co-occurring disorders interventions; trauma and domestic violence prevention and intervention services. 

Laurie Drabble, Ph.D., MSW, MPH is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at San José State University. Dr. Drabble recently completed a study examining collaboration between addiction treatment and child welfare fields in British Columbia as a visiting scholar with the BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health. In addition to conducting similar research in California, Dr. Drabble has been involved in other research projects related to cross-systems collaboration and alcohol and drug-related problems among marginalized populations of women.  Dr. Drabble also has over 20 years of experience in the alcohol and drug field as a specialist in women’s issues and, earlier in her career, served as Executive Director of the California Women’s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Dependencies.

 

How you can participate In person:   BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, E311-4800 Oak Street, Vancouver. Seating is limited, please register early. Webcast: You can participate virtually via webcast. Instruction for this option will be sent upon registration.

Registration is required for this event. If you wish to attend, in person or via webcast, please send an email to bccewh@cw.bc.ca  by July 30, 2010.

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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

The 2010-2011 Series will start in September.

The first presentation will be posted at a later date.

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PAST PRESENTATIONS

• BC Women's Hospital Cesarean Taks Force

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Presentation slides

Presenter

Lee Saxell, RM, MA

Program Leader, Cesarean Task Force

BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre

• Preventing Heavy Alcohol Use in Girls

Tuesday, April 20, 2010                                                            Presentation Slides

Presenter

Nancy Poole, MA, PhD(C)
Director, Research & Knowledge Exchange
BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health

Increasing attention is being focused on the use of alcohol by girls and young women, and the health consequences of their patterns of heavy and binge drinking. Young women are particularly vulnerable to acute and chronic harms associated with heavy alcohol use. This presentation will describe these health and social consequences, and key trends and issues related to use of alcohol by girls and young women.

• 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, BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health

Steve Chasey, Data & Surveillance Specialist, BC 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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Tobacco Marketing to Girls

and Women in a Global World

World no Tobacco Day

May 31, 2010

The webcast recording is now available. The presentation slides are included in the webcast recording and are also available for download. Presentations: Amanda Amos and Vanesa Fagyas

On World No Tobacco Day 2010, the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health presented a webcast on the impact of tobacco marketing on women and girls. This topic addresses the World Health Organization’s theme for the 2010 World No Tobacco Day which is gender and tobacco with an emphasis on marketing to women.

Speakers:

Amanda Amos, Professor of Health Promotion, The University of Edinburgh,

Edinburgh, Scotland

Vanesa Fagyas, Research Assistant, BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, Vancouver, Canada

This event was a partnership with the International Network of Women Against Tobacco (INWAT), the BC Lung Association and the Heart & Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon, which make up the Clean Air Coalition of BC.

      

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Café Scientifique

How Do We Make Health Promotion Good for Women?

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Juliet's Cafe, 1905 Cornwall Avenue

Health promotion activities have traditionally focussed on individual lifestyle choices.However, this approach often fails to take into account the social conditions within which women live their day to day lives and that affect their ability to participate in health promoting activities.  

Join us to discuss how addressing social determinants like gender, poverty, and housing can improve women’s opportunities for healthy living.

Panel

Moderator

Irving Rootman

Adjunct Professor

Human and Social Development

University of Victoria

This event is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

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Gendering the National Framework
Webcast
Monday March 29, 2010

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

• 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

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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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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