If Your Not Counted You Don't Count

If Your Not Counted You Don't Count

Notisha MassaquoiExecutive Director

Women’s Health in Women’s Hands CHC

If We don’t do our own counting...

Underutilization

Public education is enough

Clients don’t speak English

Cultural preferences

Critical issues are often lost

• The negative side of immigration is frequently not addressed

• How do we move past the “Healthy Immigrant Effect”

• Immigration discussions often do not focus on women when looking at migration and economic development.

• Very little information on individuals without status

Research used to create Unrepresentative Narratives

• “Needy and dependent”

• Very little is known about immigrant women’s strengths and their successful strategies

• Most programs have focused on pathologies and lack of access to health care.

• “Canada is a better place”is the preferred focus of funded research

Reframing Research as an Intervention Strategy

• Gaining Strength from collective action to confront and eliminate oppression

• Developing knowledge and skills

• Developing awareness of systemic causes of social problems

• Developing equitable relationships between service users, service providers and researchers

• Establishing new forms of supports and networks

Research at WHIWH - CHC

• Began in 1999 due to lack of published literature on health issues impacting racialized women

• Difficult to develop effective programs without appropriate research

• We needed to generate scientific knowledge to fill existing gaps

• Increased requests by health researchers to partner on projectsWe required a research strategy

• Dissemination of knowledge needed to be prioritized• Women and their communities

Objectives of our Research Program

• To build scientific knowledge on the health of Racialized Women

• Foster autonomy , self determination and leadership skills of Racialized Women

• To generate knowledge and evidence to inform and support WHIWH’s strategic plan, programs and services• Translation of knowledge into action• Share knowledge and evidence as widely as possible• Facilitate mutual respect and equal partnerships with Academic -

community partnerships

Research Capacity building and Priority Setting

1. Conduct Staff Research Needs Assessment

1. Client Survey/Interviews /Focus groups on Research Priorities

1. Developed and administered survey to potential academic and community partners

Outcome – Poetry Book

Every Women Matters KTE Forum: Access to Primary Healthcare for Black Women

and Women of Colour

Every Women Matters KTE Forum: Access to Primary Healthcare for Black Women

and Women of Colour

Panelists

KTE Forums (1):

Pat Campbell, ECHO

Arlene Bierman, POWER study

LLana James, Responder

100 participants – Researchers, service providers, policy makers, women and their communities

100 participants – Researchers, service providers, policy makers, women and their communities

Priorities!

• Our sector must direct the building of foundational research for the communities we serve

• We must develop our own unique analysis frameworks ( Anti-oppression, Diaspora, Transnational)

• We must ensure that our research not only empowers communities but influences service delivery and policy

• We must share research resources, skills, expertise

Academic and Community Based Research Issues to consider

• Being held accountable to a community

• Understanding intent vs. goals and objectives

• Subject as expert as opposed to the Researcher

• Community member / Researcher

• Taking from the community requires giving back• Tangible benefits for the subjects/agencies

• We are the key to the most valuable asset in the research relationship

Thank YouThank You

For more information

www.whiwh.com