Printer-friendly version

In this issue:

1. WEBINAR: Maternal Health Internationally - What's Really Needed?
2. Three New Online Primers on Women's Health from the CWHN!
3. Kisk yitamawin Miyo-Mamitonecikan - Urban Aboriginal Women and Mental Health
4. CIHR Grants in Maternal Health: From Pre-conception to the Empty Nest
5. Call for Abstracts: Institute of Gender & Health Conference 2010 - Innovations in Gender, Sex, and Health Research
6. Groundbreaking Canadian Research Reveals Financial and Workplace Impact of a Breast Cancer Diagnosis
7. Women Participants Needed for Sexual Health Research Project
8. University of Ottawa Heart Institute: iheartmom
9. Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts
10. Why Pretending There are No Gender Differences Makes for Bad Policy and Bad Budgets
11. Café Scientifique - Mind the Gap: Does Gender Make a Difference for Health Policy and Practice?

1. WEBINAR: Maternal Health Internationally - What's Really Needed?

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 from 12-1 p.m. Eastern (9-10 a.m. Pacific)

The Canadian Women's Health Network welcomes Katherine McDonald, Executive Director of Action Canada for Population and Development, to discuss what the evidence shows about maternal health internationally and how this relates to gender equality and human rights. McDonald will discuss sexual and reproductive health in the developing world and offer historical context to the current political discussion. She will talk about women's health and reproductive rights in international law and discuss the disparities between the Global South and North. Please email info@cwhn.ca for registration information.

2. Three New Online Primers on Women's Health from the CWHN!

In three new primers, the Canadian Women's Health Network examines the issues around women and prescription drugs, women and chronic disease, and women and the evaluation of health care. Get essential background information on each issue, find a database of key readings to get you started on the topic, and consider the important questions they raise about women and health care. Read the primers here:
Prescription drugs for women: How safe? How effective? How necessary?
Chronic disease: What do sex and gender have to do with it?
How well are we caring for women? Thinking about gender in evaluating health care

3. Kisk yitamawin Miyo-Mamitonecikan - Urban Aboriginal Women and Mental Health

Prairie Women's Health Centre of Excellence (PWHCE) will soon release Roberta Stout's report on "Kisk yitamawin Miyo-Mamitonecikan - Urban Aboriginal Women and Mental Health". Many of the Aboriginal women who participated in the study stated that they are uncertain how to access help and have asked: - Where is the closest help? - Who's the main contact person to call? - What should I say to them? - Which bus route do I take to get there, and is childcare available? In response, PWHCE is creating an annotated resource guide listing mental health services in Winnipeg and Saskatoon, which will serve as a road map for Aboriginal women to get help with mental health issues. For more information, visit PWHCE.

4. CIHR Grants in Maternal Health: From Pre-conception to the Empty Nest

The Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) has announced new Knowledge to Action grants for the program titled Maternal Health: From Pre-conception to the Empty Nest. CIHR funds a great deal of research in both reproductive and child health, but far less attention has been given to maternal health. To address the gap in research, four priority research areas relevant to maternal health have been identified, and three different funding tools have been incorporated into this initiative. For more information about the grants and the priority research areas, please see:
Emerging Team Grant
Operating Grant (Knowledge to Action)
Catalyst Grant

5. Call for Abstracts: Institute of Gender & Health Conference 2010 - Innovations in Gender, Sex, and Health Research

Abstract submission deadline: Thursday, June 17, 2010 Innovations in Gender, Sex, and Health Research: Every Cell is Sexed, Every Person is Gendered will take place November 22-23, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario. This conference will showcase excellence and innovations across all domains of gender, sex, and health research, including but not limited to biomedical, clinical, health services and policy, population and public health, and social science research. The conference will highlight how accounting for gender and sex leads to improvements in health interventions, policies, and outcomes. It will explore advances and challenges related to ethics and knowledge translation in gender, sex, and health research. For more information, please see:
Conference website
Call for abstracts (PDF)
Abstract submission form.

6. Groundbreaking Canadian Research Reveals Financial and Workplace Impact of a Breast Cancer Diagnosis

The Canadian Breast Cancer Network has just released a groundbreaking new report which firmly positions breast cancer as an economic as well as a health issue. Breast Cancer: Economic Impact and Labour Force Re-Entry clearly shows that Canadian women diagnosed with breast cancer experience significant financial burdens during treatment and continue to experience unexpected hurdles when re-entering the workforce. Read the report.

7. Women Participants Needed for Sexual Health Research Project

Women (age 18-44) are invited to participate in a research project on genital pain if they meet any of the following criteria: - Have always had difficulty with vaginal penetration, OR - Have ALWAYS had pain during at least half of all intercourse occasions, OR - Do NOT experience pain with sexual intercourse Participation involves completing an online questionnaire that can be accessed here. This research is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and approved by the University of Ottawa Research Ethics Board. You will have the opportunity to receive information on treatment options. Please call ex. 2220 or email sexualhealth@uottawa.ca for more information.

8. University of Ottawa Heart Institute: iheartmom

Olympic skating star Joannie Rochette is teaming with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute for iheartmom - a dynamic new initiative to fight heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women. See the videos www.iheartmom.ca of Joannie and others who explain why women of all ages need to know about the dangers of heart disease. Read more on CWHN.

9. Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts

A report released recently by York University health researchers offers Canadians the opportunity to learn how their living conditions will determine whether they stay healthy or become ill. Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts shows why these factors are so important for health and documents the state of these living conditions in Canada in an accessible manner for the Canadian public. The report is free to the public on this website.

10. Why Pretending There are No Gender Differences Makes for Bad Policy and Bad Budgets

Friday, June 11, 2010, 12:30 to 2 p.m., Wilmot United Church, Fredericton NB

The New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women presents this talk on June 11 by Charlotte Thibault, a Montreal consultant on issues relating to the status of women, specializing in gender-based analysis (GBA). She has also provided coaching on GBA to government officials around the world and works as a consultant on GBA deployment for the Québec government. Light lunch is provided and the event is FREE but you must pre-register. Email your name, phone, group/work affiliation to: acswcccf@gnb.ca. Wear NO SCENTS

11. Café Scientifique - Mind the Gap: Does Gender Make a Difference for Health Policy and Practice?

Wednesday, June 2, 2010, 7-9 p.m., McNally Robinson, Grant Park, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg

Women in Manitoba go to the doctor more often than men, but does that mean they're healthier? Research tells us men have higher rates of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, while women are more likely to develop hypertension, arthritis, and hip fracture. Why do these differences exist? How do gender (society's ideas about men and women) and sex (the biology of our bodies) affect our health? And how can we better design health care and health policy to meet the unique needs of Manitoba's women and men? Come and learn about how local researchers are gaining knowledge about gender and sex to improve the health of Manitobans. Please RSVP: ea-igh@exchange.ubc.ca or 204-474-7300 For more information, please visit CWHN.

About Brigit's Notes

Brigit's Notes e-bulletin is published monthly by the Canadian Women's Health Network (www.cwhn.ca) as a free service to individuals and organizations interested in women's health.

This month's issue of Brigit's Notes is going out to 3,723 subscribers.
Who is Brigit?
http://www.cwhn.ca/brigit/index.en.html

Prepared by:
Alex Merrill
Canadian Women's Health Network