Resources

The Healthy Aboriginal Network (HAN) has launched a new maternal child health comic book.

It Takes a Village is about Lara, a young mom-to-be that is visited by Danis, also a young mom. Danis teaches Lara (visually) the importance of eating healthy foods, avoiding alcohol, breastfeeding, keeping dad involved and bonding with her baby. The story was focus group tested online with health professionals and in-person with young, Aboriginal moms.

HAN gratefully acknowledges the support of Health Canada on this project.

You can find a preview of the book, as well as pricing, on their website. Please send an email to sean@thehealthyaboriginal.net if you'd like to order this, or any other of their health and social comic books. Custom rear resource covers are available for high volume, provincial and national distribution.

The Spring edition of The Net, a newsletter produced by The International Network of Women Against Tobacco (INWAT), and sponsored by the BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health, came out in time for the 15th World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Singapor.

To download your copy, please click here.

New, from the Public Health Agency of Canada:

Population-specific HIV/AIDS status report: Women is the third in a series of eight reports being prepared by the Public Health Agency of Canada on populations particularly affected by HIV/AIDS in Canada. 

This is the first time that HIV/AIDS-related information specific to women in Canada has been presented in such a comprehensive manner. The status report includes women-focused demographic information and epidemiological data about HIV and AIDS in Canada; information on the determinants of health as they impact the vulnerability and resilience of women to HIV/AIDS; a description of current Canadian research; and a discussion of the current Canadian response to HIV/AIDS among women. 

View the report.

The report is also available by contacting the Agency’s Centre for Communicable Disease and Infection Control (cdic-clmti@phac-aspc.gc.ca) or from the CATIE Ordering Centre. 

The Health Council of Canada has just released their report, Seniors in need, caregivers in distress: What are the home care priorities for seniors in Canada?

In every region examined, the majority of home care clients are women.

Some other important points about gender and home care to note in this report:

-       Caregivers are most often women.

-       Approximately half of the men studied in this report are married, compared to fewer than one-quarter of the women. Married seniors may have an advantage as the primary caregiver is most commonly a spouse (and most often a woman).

-       The proportion of elderly women with no surviving children is expected to increase considerably in the next 30 years.

The CWHN with the Centres of Excellence in Women’s Health have done extensive work bringing to light the gender issues in home care in Canada. For a strong perspective on women and home care in Canada, read some of these resources we have produced:

Women and home care: why does home care matter to women?

One hundred years of caregiving

Why having a national home care program is a women's issue

Network/Le Réseau Spring/Summer 2002 - Special issue: Women and Home Care.

You can also search our database to find many other resources on women and home care.

This easy to read Guide by the Positive Women’s Network aims to provide newly diagnosed women with simple, basic information about HIV and the changes it could bring to their lives.

The Pocket Guide provides simple, basic and easy-to-read information about HIV for newly diagnosed women:

• Where to Start: HIV basics, how HIV affects women, finding a doctor
• Living with HIV: information on treatments, alternative therapies, pregnancy, injection drugs, hepatitis C, nutrition
• HIV & Relationships: disclosure, safer sex, motherhood, children with HIV

Ordering info: For 20 or fewer Pocket Guides, you can email them to send them to you.

Otherwise, you can order them in bulk through the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange or download a PDF version.

The Pocket Guide is also available for download in French.

A milestone in the Canadian women’s health movement!

The many publications that make up the archives of the Montreal Health Press have been scanned by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and are now online. 

The first publication of the MHP was the Birth Control Handbook, published 1968 at a time when it was still illegal to give out information about contraception in Canada. This and subsequent guides to the successful use of birth control methods have influenced and helped generations of women and men for over 40 years.

Find the Montreal Health Press collection in the museum’s archives.

Health Canada has updated their article on Responsible Drinking, with new information about Canada’s new low-risk drinking guidelines, for both women and men.

The It's Your Health article on Responsible Drinking is now available on Health Canada’s website

On March 8, 2012, YWCA Muskoka premiered Fairly Foul, a documentary about the links between chemicals found in everyday cosmetics and beauty items, and women’s health and the environment.

The film highlights some of the hidden hazards in our health and beauty products, and includes interviews with groups working to educate and empower Canadian consumers. Contributing groups include Environmental Defense, Femme Toxic, Love the Label, and Breast Cancer Action Montreal.

You can watch Fairly Foul on YouTube (24 minutes).

The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport (CAAWS) has published Actively Engaging Women and Girls: Addressing the Psycho-Social Factors, a new resource designed to increase opportunities for women and girls as both participants and leaders in the Canadian sport and physical activity system. The publication is a supplement to the Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) foundation document, and complements other Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) resources.

Information in Actively Engaging Women and Girls: Addressing the Psycho-Social Factors will support national, provincial/territorial and community sport and physical activity organizations in enhancing their CS4L/LTAD implementation strategies. It will guide sport and physical activity leaders, coaches, educators and health promoters in developing and implementing quality programs and providing equitable support for women and girls as a priority. Parents and family members will find this resource helpful when making decisions about how to encourage and support the full and active participation of their daughters and female family members.

For more information or to download a copy, visit CAAWS’ website. 

To mark International Women’s Day (IWD) (March 8, 2012), Women for Positive Action has launched a practical and educational tool to empower women living with HIV to deal with the challenges of stigma and discrimination.

Women for Positive Action is a coalition of healthcare professionals, community representatives and women living with HIV from across Europe, Canada and Latin America. This stigma and discrimination resource has been designed for use in both the community and clinical settings and is available now for download on their website.