By: Keisha Jefferies, PhD candidate, Dalhousie School of Nursing

The first time I attended the Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH) was during the first year of my Masters in Nursing in 2015. The CCGH 2015 was held in Montreal, for which I received a travel bursary through the Dalhousie Global Health Office. This experience essentially kicked-off my passion for and work in global health research.

At CCGH 2018, held in Toronto, I was able to reconnect with practitioners, researchers and graduate students who are doing phenomenal work around the world on areas related to Maternal and Newborn health, gender, health systems strengthening, human resources for health planning and experiences of marginalized groups. I enjoyed the opportunity to share a space with like-minded, passionate and inspirational individuals. Events such as the CCGH push the limits of my knowledge and understanding of complex issues that continue to impact the global community.

As part of the CCGH 2018, I also attended the Global Health Students and Young Professionals Summit, where I was able to connect with graduate students and faculty from across Canada who are doing exciting projects with a global health focus. Additionally, I presented a poster on my proposed PhD research regarding the leadership experiences of African Nova Scotian nurses in health care practice. I was able to discuss emerging evidence related to this topic as well.

Another highlight from the CCGH 2018 is related to my own presentation. The poster that I developed in collaboration with the Canada Africa Research Exchange Grant (CAREG) team, on postpartum care in Tanzania, was selected as the winner for the Student Poster Presentation Award. It was such an honor to have the research done by Tanzanian and Canadian (nurse) researchers recognized and acknowledged.

Some of the major take away messages that really resonated with me include the need to have research funding put into high priority areas as opposed to having funding drive what we consider to be health research priorities. Another significant message conveyed is for women to have a place at the table and have their voices heard in relation to decision making. I would like to thank the Dalhousie Global Health Office, the School of Nursing New Ventures Fund and the CAREG team for making my attendance at this conference possible and enjoyable.

Other blog posts in this series:

Clare Howe: Strengthening knowledge and passion for global health at CCGH 2018

Rachel Ollivier: Highlights and Learnings from the 2018 Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH) and the Global Health Students & Young Professionals Summit (GHSYPS)

Vivian Tan: Canadian Conference of Global Health: Student Reflection