NCCDH participates in Ottawa conferences

April 29, 2016

Population health researchers from around the world gathered in Ottawa this week at the invitation of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Population and Public Health. Sparking Population Health Solutions: Research for a Healthier Future, April 25 – 28, brought together researchers, trainees, policy makers, and knowledge translators, including those from StFX’s National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health (NCCDH). NCCDH knowledge translation specialist Dianne Oickle and scientific director Connie Clement each presented posters at the event.

One poster highlighted a case study, undertaken with Dr. Charmaine MacPherson (StFX Faculty of Nursing), of Ontario’s experiment to assign public health nurses as specialists to address social determinants of health. The second was about a new NCCDH resource discussing economic arguments in support of rethinking how we distribute healthcare dollars.

The conference aimed to trigger researchers’ role to spark solutions, not just study problems. It ended with participants influencing selection of catalytic questions to inform the Institute’s next priorities.

Prior to Sparking Population Health Solutions, Ms. Clement represented the NCCDH at an invitational meeting of Canada’s 14 applied public health research chairs. Hosted in Ottawa, April 21-22, the meeting facilitated discussion surrounding consideration of current science, policy and public agendas related to population and public health intervention research.

Funded jointly by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Public Health Agency of Canada, the research focus of the chairs varies. Studies, for example, aim to generate knowledge about involving Indigenous peoples in planning and implementation of initiatives to redress deficiencies in health data related to Indigenous Canadians; to improve understanding of patterns and influences related to unintended pregnancy to encourage governments to fund high quality contraceptive; to influence development of a population health record to complement individually-focused e-health records; and to analyze the inequitable increase in cavities that occurs when public water systems are not fluoridated.

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