1st Annual Global Health Research Learning Forum
October 25, 2009 in Ottawa, Canada

8:00 - 8:30 am

Registration & Breakfast Buffet

8:30 - 9:00 am

Opening Remarks:

1. Learning Forum Co-Chairs, Michael Hawkes and Shanthi Johnson
2. Cultural Performance (to be confirmed)

9:00 - 10:00 am

Plenary Session:

• Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and former senior science advisor to the government of Japan, Japan
• John Lavis, Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Transfer and Exchange and Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics at McMaster University, Canada

Supporting efforts to link research to action in health systems

10:00 - 10:10 am

Introduction to the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research

10:10 - 10:30 am

Health Break

Morning Thematic Workshop Session

10:30 - 12:30 pm

Twice vulnerable: Human rights and access to care
Challenges in global mental health research

This workshop aims to highlight challenges for researchers within the field of global mental health as they relate to human rights and access to mental health care for individuals with mental illness in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Literature addressing issues of access to mental health care will be briefly summarized and reviewed and provide a context for the workshop. Mental health research currently being done by colleagues in LMIC’s related to access to care will be highlighted and used as a specific case example to clarify relevant research problems and issues. Opportunities will be provided for discussion, knowledge development and further exploration of issues along with guests who have expertise in service delivery in global mental health as well as human rights as they pertain to access to care.

• Ritsuko Kakuma, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto
• Sheila Harms, Professor, McMaster University
• Priya Watson, Child Psychiatrist, University of Toronto
• Lisa Forman, Associate Director, Collaborative Doctoral Program in Global Health, University of Toronto

Global Child Health Research
Spotlight on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria

Despite the effort to address Millennium Development Goals 4 and 6, millions of children continue to die each year from infectious diseases. This workshop will explore global child health through the lens of the world’s three greatest infectious disease threats: malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB. The current research, case studies and key issues around global child health will be explored.

• Michael Hawkes, Pediatrician, University of Toronto
• Jason Brophy, HIV/AIDS expert, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario
• Hani Kim, Post-doctoral fellow in malaria research, Mount Sinai Hospital
• Robert Bortolussi, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Clinician, Dalhousie University
• Claude Masumbuko, HEAL Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo (to be confirmed)

Integrating an Indigenous Lens into Global Health Research

Indigenous peoples often live in extreme poverty and endure widespread disparity in health and life outcomes when compared to national norms in almost every country where they reside. This workshop will explore key concerns in global Indigenous health and research. The Ethical Guidelines for Health Research Involving Aboriginal People issued by the Canadian Institutes of Health research will be highlighted.

• Jeff Reading, Co-Director of the University of Victoria Centre for Aboriginal Health Research
• Chris Lalonde, Director of the Network Environments for Aboriginal Health Research & Co-Director of the University of Victoria Centre for Aboriginal Health Research
• Francis Phiri, Bwalo Youth Initiative, Zambia

Health, Climate Change, and the G8

There is growing evidence that our climate is changing and that these changes constitute a significant and emerging threat to the health of citizens around the world. Canada will be hosting the 2010 G8 summit, a chance for leaders of the G8 countries to meet face-to-face and develop approaches to major global challenges. The preliminary plans by Canada's summit organizers indicate that while "environment" is on the proposed agenda, health is not. Linking health and climate change is a strategically important consideration and should be included in the G8 agenda. Using case studies and summarizing the current research, key issues in climate change and health will be identified and delegates will have the opportunity to participate in discussions and explore venues for advocating that health, including global health research considerations, be included on the G8 agenda.

• John Kirton, Director of the G8 Research Group, University of Toronto
• Margot Parkes, Assistant Project Director of ‘Sustainably Managing Environmental Health Risks in Ecuador’ Project and Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, University of British Columbia
• Sherilee Harper, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar, University of Guelph
• Dominique Charron, Program Leader, Ecosystem Approaches to Human Health Program at Canada’s International Development Research Centre

The Global Health Workforce Crisis
What evidence is available? What’s needed? And what is Canada’s role?

Competent and motivated health workers—in adequate numbers, with the right skill mix and in the right places--are the core of any effective health system. Progress IS being made on addressing the “global health workforce crisis”, though in many low-income countries, the rate of change is much too slow. Canada is contributing to this global challenge though development assistance, capacity building and research. This workshop will focus on current research in several countries, and will explore opportunities for an expanded Canadian contribution.

• Gail Tomblin-Murphy, Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Health Workforce Planning and Research, Dalhousie University
• Corinne Packer, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa
• Annette Ryan, IWK Health Centre, Nove Scotia
• Margaret Maimbolwa, Assistant Dean of the School of Medicine, University of Zambia

12:30 - 1:30 pm

Lunch & Roundtable discussions with Global Health Leaders (Leaders and Topics to be confirmed)

Afternoon Competency Workshop Session 1:

1:30 - 3:00 pm

Building Effective and Sustainable Partnerships for Health Research: Making Equity a Priority

Partnerships are important for generating high-quality health research, for developing capacity and for fostering relationships between researchers and institutions in different contexts. Despite best intentions however, partnerships are often not equitable and may even cause harm, particularly for researchers in low- and middle-income countries. Using case studies and results from three regional consultations with partners in the South, this workshop will explore the benefits of partnership, past practices (both positive and negative) and will present an innovative equity-based tool for assessing health research partnerships. 

• Kaosar Afsana, BRAC Health Programme, Bangladesh
• Jennifer Hatfield, Director of Development and International Projects, Institute for Gender Research, University of Calgary
• Jill Murphy, Project Officer with the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research
• Harvey Skinner, Dean of the Faculty of Health at York University

Knowledge Translation: Bridging the “Know-Do” Gap
The Policy Brief Process

There is a growing awareness globally about the “know-do” gap – that is, about the challenge of ensuring that available knowledge is actually used to inform decision-making and programming. The global health research community has recently turned towards the policy brief as a prominent means for bridging the “know-do” gap, typically done by researchers as an end-of-grant product designed for dissemination. However, some leading-edge thinking and experience has seen the policy brief become an invaluable integrated Knowledge Translation (iKT) process opening up new worlds of deliberation that is at once policy- and research-informed. This workshop will allow participants to become more familiar with the issues and strategies of linking research to action and creating policy briefs through examination of several case studies.

• Sandy Campbell, Independent Consultant, USA
• John Lavis, McMaster University, Canada
• Harriet Nabudere, Regional East Africa Community Health Policy Project, Makerere University, Uganda

Ethical Issues in Global Health Research: The Role of the Research Community

Through discussion of case studies, participants will explore issues of power and vulnerability and the multiple dimensions and implications of doing global health research. This workshop will be conducted in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Ethics Office.

• Genevieve Dubois-Flynn, Acting Director of the Ethics Office, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada
• Lydia Kapiriri, McMaster University, Canada

Health Equity and the Right to Health: Research Challenges

This workshop will explore the issues around integrating an “equity lens” into global health research. Equinet (www.equinetafrica.org) defines equity in health as “… addressing differences in health status that are unnecessary, avoidable and unfair … these typically relate to disparities across racial groups, rural/urban status, socio-economic status, gender, age and geographical region.”

• Colleen Davison, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa
• Mulumba Moses, The Network on Equity in Health in Southern Africa, Uganda
• Wendy Muckle, Executive Director, Ottawa Inner City Health
• Guest Commentator: Ron Labonté, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa

Writing for Change: Strategies for Effective Writing in Science and for Advocacy

In global health research, writing can be used as a tool to generate change. Using the fahamu-IDRC “Writing for Change” document, this workshop will enable participants to develop confidence in writing effectively to bring about change, whether through formal scientific writing, writing for policy and advocacy, or writing for the public. The workshop will involve lively interactions and group work enabling participants to discover for themselves their own (hidden) strengths as well as to learn some of the tricks of the trade. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and ask questions about writing effective scientific articles, policy briefs, op-ed pieces, media releases, and more. Participants will be required to prepare a short summary of a health story prior to attending the workshop so that the facilitators will be able to provide individualized feedback.

• Firoze Manji, Editor, Pambazuka News, Kenya
• Anthony Zwi, Professor, University of New South Wales, Australia

* This workshop will sell out quickly. Please ensure to sign up for this workshop when you register if you would like to attend.
* Because of the extensive nature of this subject, this workshop will run the full length of the afternoon.

3:00 - 3:30 pm

Health Break

Afternoon Competency Workshop Session 2:

3:30 - 5:00 pm

Building Effective and Sustainable Partnerships for Health Research: Making Equity a Priority

Partnerships are important for generating high-quality health research, for developing capacity and for fostering relationships between researchers and institutions in different contexts. Despite best intentions however, partnerships are often not equitable and may even cause harm, particularly for researchers in low- and middle-income countries. Using case studies and results from three regional consultations with partners in the South, this workshop will explore the benefits of partnership, past practices (both positive and negative) and will present an innovative equity-based tool for assessing health research partnerships.

• Kaosar Afsana, BRAC Health Programme, Bangladesh
• Jennifer Hatfield, Director of Development and International Projects, Institute for Gender Research, University of Calgary
• Jill Murphy, Project Officer with the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research
• Harvey Skinner, Dean of the Faculty of Health at York University

Knowledge Translation: Bridging the “Know-Do” Gap
The Policy Brief Process

There is a growing awareness globally about the “know-do” gap – that is, about the challenge of ensuring that available knowledge is actually used to inform decision-making and programming. The global health research community has recently turned towards the policy brief as a prominent means for bridging the “know-do” gap, typically done by researchers as an end-of-grant product designed for dissemination. However, some leading-edge thinking and experience has seen the policy brief become an invaluable integrated Knowledge Translation (iKT) process opening up new worlds of deliberation that is at once policy- and research-informed. This workshop will allow participants to become more familiar with the issues and strategies of linking research to action and creating policy briefs through examination of several case studies.

• Sandy Campbell, Independent Consultant, USA
• John Lavis, McMaster University, Canada
• Harriet Nabudere, Regional East Africa Community Health Policy Project, Makerere University, Uganda

Ethical Issues in Global Health Research: The Role of the Research Community

Through discussion of case studies, participants will explore issues of power and vulnerability and the multiple dimensions and implications of doing global health research. This workshop will be conducted in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Ethics Office.

• Genevieve Dubois-Flynn, Acting Director of the Ethics Office, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada
• Lydia Kapiriri, McMaster University, Canada

Health Equity and the Right to Health: Research Challenges

This workshop will explore the issues around integrating an “equity lens” into global health research. Equinet (www.equinetafrica.org) defines equity in health as “…addressing differences in health status that are unnecessary, avoidable and unfair… these typically relate to disparities across racial groups, rural/urban status, socio-economic status, gender, age and geographical region.”

• Colleen Davison, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa
• Mulumba Moses, The Network on Equity in Health in Southern Africa, Uganda
• Wendy Muckle, Executive Director, Ottawa Inner City Health
• Guest Commentator: Ron Labonté, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa

CONTINUED: Writing for Change: Strategies for Effective Writing in Science and Advocacy

In global health research, writing can be used as a tool to generate change. Using the fahamu-IDRC “Writing for Change” document, this workshop will enable participants to develop confidence in writing effectively to bring about change, whether through formal scientific writing, writing for policy and advocacy, or writing for the public. The workshop will involve lively interactions and group work enabling participants to discover for themselves their own (hidden) strengths as well as to learn some of the tricks of the trade. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and ask questions about writing effective scientific articles, policy briefs, op-ed pieces, media releases, and more. Participants will be required to prepare a short summary of a health story prior to attending the workshop so that the facilitators will be able to provide individualized feedback.

• Firoze Manji, Editor, Pambazuka News, Kenya
• Anthony Zwi, Professor, University of New South Wales, Australia

* This workshop will sell out quickly. Please ensure to sign up for this workshop when you register if you would like to attend.
* Because of the extensive nature of this subject, this workshop will run the full length of the afternoon.

5:00 - 5:30 pm

Closing Plenary Session:

• Margaret Maimbolwa, Assistant Dean of the School of Medicine, University of Zambia

Closing Activities:

• Learning Forum Co-Chairs, Michael Hawkes and Shanthi Johnson