Centre of Excellence for Women's Health

The Centre of Excellence for Women's Health is in its 3rd decade of pursuing social change and health improvement for women by closing the loop between research, policy, and care. Our Director Nancy Poole and Senior Investigator Lorraine Greaves recently sat down to talk about the Centre's evolution over the years, and the approaches that guide and ground our work. Learn more about our history, current team, and topics of research here: https://cewh.ca/about-us/ #WomensHealth #SexAndGender #GenderEquity #change #research #health

Catch us next week at the Provincial Perinatal Substance Use Conference in BC! We're hosting a workshop at 1pm PT on Monday, Oct. 28 on collaborative practice, offering tools to support those working in perinatal substance use. #PPSUP2024

We are excited to attend BC Society of Transition Houses Annual Training Forum this week, and to host a workshop on women's chronic pain. For those attending, we'd love to welcome you to our session at 2:30pmPT on Oct. 23! The resources we will discuss can be found here: https://buff.ly/3YiRqzp #BCSTH2024ATF

As substance use treatment is further developed in Canada, it is important that it be sex and gender informed. We recently completed a project focused on identifying promising practices in women's substance use treatment and recovery services. We looked at international research evidence, reviewed what gender-specific treatment programs for women in Canada are available, and facilitated a series of meetings with Canadian researchers and service providers interested in women's substance use treatment and recovery. Four key elements of women's treatment and recovery were identified: 1. Addresses physical health & recovery needs 2. Is responsive to trauma, violence, & mental health concerns 3. Supports mothers, children, & the mother-child unit 4. Supports connections among women, & individual & collective agency This project was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research | Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada through a Planning and Dissemination Grant. Read our report to learn more about our findings and the research agenda that emerged from this project: https://buff.ly/3NAVztz

We are thrilled to be starting a project focused on developing a framework and a network for integrating gender equity into emergency and disaster response systems in Canada. Through funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research | Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada Chief Public Health Officer Report 2023 Catalyst Grant and led by our Senior Investigator, Dr. Lorraine Greaves, we will work with our project partners Jean Slick, Ph.D., Bettina Williams, MA (DEM), and Gender and Disaster Australia to explore the evidence on gender and emergency responses to natural disasters, climate change events and public health emergencies to advance awareness and action.

Last week we had the opportunity to connect with international researchers at the European FASD Alliance Conference in Madrid. Read our latest blog post to learn about some of the interesting work on FASD prevention that we heard about from various countries: https://buff.ly/3BnneeL #FASD #FASDPrevention #WomensHealth

National Day for Truth & Reconciliation offers an opportunity to reflect on the Calls to Action, as well as the Calls to Justice emerging from the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This year, we want to highlight Sheway's Indigenous Cultural Support Program. Sheway offers services to women who are pregnant and/or parenting young children who use substances in Vancouver. Through this program, they have integrated Indigenous cultural activities, peer support, ceremony, Elder and Knowledge Keeper wisdom into their existing services. The program exemplifies how services can act on the Calls to Action and Calls to Justice. We honour Sheway for leading this work and are grateful for their trust in us to be involved in the program's evaluation. At the CEWH, we recognize that we still have work to do in our commitment to respond to the Calls to Action and Calls to Justice. We remain dedicated to standing in solidarity. #NDTR

It's Gender Equality Week in Canada. Our work in women's health is always focused on gender equality! 🔬 We are very busy contributing to sex and gender science to redress gaps in understanding about women's health--and there are many. 📊 We use sex and gender-based analysis+ (SGBA+) to figure out the impacts of gendered norms, identities and stereotypes on health and well-being. 💡 We always incorporate gender transformative solutions that improve gender equality along with improving health for women. Learn more about us here: https://buff.ly/4deVmqE #GenderEqualityWeek

Have you seen the International FASD Prevention Seminar Series? The series showcases work being done across the globe on the prevention of FASD. It features research from Canada, Australia, South Africa, the USA, and New Zealand – we had the joy of reconnecting with some of the researchers behind this work last week! The series moves beyond a focus on the prevalence of alcohol use in pregnancy to highlight interventions and supports that reach and engage women, partners and communities. Watch it here: https://buff.ly/3XaiikO We are now adding to the series – please reach out if you think your work might be relevant to one our topics! Thanks to the Canada FASD Research Network for supporting this work and facilitating international collaboration on FASD prevention! #FASDMonth #FASDMonth2024 #EveryonePlaysAPart

This week, Dr. Nancy Poole, Lindsay Wolfson, and Ella Huber are attending the 7th European FASD Alliance Conference in Madrid, Spain. Dr. Nancy Poole presented this morning on the Co-Creating Evidence Digital Handbook, which was created in response to the structural, informational, stress, social determinant, and preconception health related factors that influence alcohol use during pregnancy. The Handbook supports the development, ongoing operation, and sustainability of wraparound programs for pregnant and/or early parenting women with substance use and other concerns. Join her tomorrow to hear an update on the FASD prevention, diagnosis, and interventions happening in Canada. #FASDMonth #FASDMonth2024