Happy Holidays from Dal Global Health
Thank you for your support and involvement in global health in 2019.
We wish you a safe and peaceful holiday and we look forward to working with you in the new year.
The Dalhousie Global Health Office enjoys celebrations and December is a great opportunity to celebrate! Whether it’s a video, a holiday reading list, or festive decorations…
…we enjoy sharing our joy.
For 2019 we present “12 Days of Giving”
The holidays can be a time for thanks and a chance to give back to our communities to support families and individuals who struggle at this time of year. We have created a fun list of giving ideas and will be collecting items in our office (C-241, CRC, 5849 University Ave.) until December 24.
If our office isn’t convenient we also encourage everyone to give however they can. Perhaps you pass by an organization on your way to and from work, or your office would like to manage their own collection, maybe your family is doing something at home. However it happens the important thing is that it does. So let’s get out there and give.
Please enjoy a safe and peaceful holiday and all the best in the coming New Year!
After four months of education leave, I am celebrating my return to the Global Health Office with a renewed focus and commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. In September 2018, I began a new journey to compliment my work and deepen my impact through a PhD in Health Geography.
Emily Shantz (dal alumni), Andrea Rishworth, Carise Thompson, Shawna O’Hearn
I am honoured to work with Dr. Susan Elliott as part of her research lab: Geographies of Health in Place (GoHelP) at the University of Waterloo (https://uwaterloo.ca/geographies-of-health-in-place/). The University of Waterloo is part of the U15 and is the Canadian site for the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). The SDSN works closely with United Nations agencies, multilateral financing institutions, the private sector, and civil society to share knowledge, engage research and help solve the interconnected economic, social, and environmental challenges confronting the world.
You might be asking, why geography? Health geography emerged in the 1990s through a debate about the expansion of ‘medical geography’ to reflect the changes in research, practice and health care settings. This change expanded the work beyond the “concerns with disease and the interests of the medical world” to focus on “well-being and broader social models of health and health care” (Kearns and Moon, 2002).
This change in understanding health care and making connections with geography were highlighted through the work of Dr. Trevor Dummer and his research published in the CMAJ. He explains that “geography and health are intrinsically linked. Where we are born, live, study and work directly influences our health experiences: the air we breathe, the food we eat, the viruses we are exposed to and the health services we can access. The social, built and natural environments affect our health and well-being in ways that are directly relevant to health policy.”
There are three main themes in the geography of health: disease ecology, health care delivery, and environment and health. Disease ecology involves the study of infectious diseases (e.g., malaria, HIV/AIDS, infant diarrhea). The study of health care delivery includes spatial patterns of health care provision and issues like inequalities in health. Environment and health make the connections between environmental hazards research with health geography. Health geography contributes to how local geographies shape disease diffusion, health risk perceptions, social determinants of health and health inequalities (Rosenberg, 2017).
Where we live matters, but not just for the reasons we might think. While we might associate the weather or terrain with a particular region or location, it’s also important to consider the social forces that help explain how where we live shapes our health and even our life expectancy.
Geographers play an important role in collaborating with epidemiologists, public health professionals and researchers, professionals in sectors such as transportation, or with those who focus on water and food security. Geographers add spatial understanding to public health challenges. Context and environment are fundamentally important, particularly how they impact health.
Stay tuned for more updates on my research and the importance of geography on our local and global health issues.
Happy New Year!
Shawna
Each year, the Dalhousie Global Health Office celebrates the holidays with the 12 Days of Global Health. This year’s “12 Days” are 12 informative and engaging readings and videos related to global health. As we wish you a happy holiday season, we hope you will take a bit of time each day to work your way through the list, and enrich your learning in global health. All the best in the coming New Year!
1. Sustainable Development Goals: Transforming Our World—the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will conclude at the end of 2015, and the United Nations has presented the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as their successor. These 17 goals will help set priorities in global health research over the next 15 years.
2. Hans Rosling’s 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes – The Joy of Stats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo
This video tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years, examining primarily the relationship between life expectancy and income. He engagingly presents over 120,000 numbers in 4 minutes!
3. Trailer for Poverty Inc.: http://www.povertyinc.org/about/
Poverty Inc. examines the business of fighting poverty, a multi- billion dollar industry. This film challenges viewers to examine whether they are part of the problem, and to reflect on how we may find a better solution to poverty. We will be co-hosting a film screening with the Health Association of African Canadians Student Organization in 2016.
4. A Walk to Beautiful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVx1NfKV0BM
This movie tells the story of five Ethiopian Women reclaiming their dignity and identity after suffering from Obstetric Fistula, being rejected by their husbands and ostracized by their communities. One of the mandates of our partners in Tanzania (CCBRT) is to decrease cases of obstetric fistula.
5. Dalhousie University Global Health Office Blog : https://blogs.dal.ca/globalhealth/
On our office blog we cover topics such as research partnerships, events and opportunities in global health here at Dalhousie University. We also highlight and explain current issues in global health for your reading pleasure! We hope you take the time to read some of our posts, and become more in tune with what’s happening in the field of global health.
6. Professor Pemba’s story – Leading the Tanzanian Training Centre for International Health (TTCIH): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVO4IvRNY54
Dalhousie University has a long standing partnership with the TTCIH, and together they have recently launched the ASDIT project. Learn a bit more about one of our partners from the perspective of Professor Senga Pemba, the director of the TTCIH.
7. World Health Statistics 2015: http:// apps.who.int/iris/bit- stream/10665/170250/1/9789240694439_eng.p df?ua=1&ua=1
Want a picture of what health looked like in 2015 in the 194 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO)? Check out this extensive report for information on everything from cause-specific mortality rates to health expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).
8. #WelcomeRefugees: How it will work: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/welcome/overview.asp
Interested in the Syrian refugee crisis and wondering how Canada plans to resettle 25,000 refugees by the end of February 2016? This website outlines the phases of welcoming refugees that will be taking place across Canada over the next few months. There are also opportunities to join the social media conversation, and find out what you can do to help.
9. Discussing a Definition of Global Health: http://graduateinstitute.ch/files/live/sites/iheid/files/sites/globalhealth/shared/1894/Publications/Publications%202013/ Definition_Global_Health_v3.pdf
The definition of Global Health varies greatly around the globe which may cause confusion about the scope and purpose of relevant practice and research. Therefore, it is important to set out what we mean by Global Health and how it is distinct in its present context.
10. WHO Climate Change and Health Fact Sheet: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs266/en/
Did you know that climate change can impact the social and environmental determinants of health? This fact sheet provides an overview of climate change’s health and well-being effects worldwide.
11. Maryn McKenna: What Do We Do When Antibiotics Don’t Work Anymore?: https://www.ted.com/talks/ maryn_mckenna_what_do_we_do_when_antibiotics_don_t_work_any_more
This sobering TED Talk by Maryn McKenna examines how antibiotics have changed everything in the world of healthcare; and how if we don’t act soon to address antibiotic resistance, we may be entering a post-antibiotic world.
12. 10 Global Health Issues to Watch in 2015: http://www.humanosphere.org/global-health/2015/01/guest-post-10-global-health-issues-to-watch-in-2015/
As we look back on global health in 2015, it is a useful exercise to reflect on some of this year’s global health priorities. In January 2015, Humanosphere published a list of 10 issues they thought would shape global health in 2015—do you agree? What do you think will impact global health in 2016?
Check back later this week for yet ANOTHER holiday blog post! As always, if you want more information on what we do at the Global Health Office, check out our Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or send us an e-mail at gho@dal.ca.
Here is our countdown for you.
Remembering the past year, the Global Health Office said to me,
We led 12 sessions in the Global Health Certificate,
We offered 11 partnerships for international electives,
We received 10 submissions for the global health photo contest,
We distributed over 9 bursaries to medical students doing an international elective,
We sent 8 students to represent Dalhousie at the Global Health Conference in Ottawa,
We visited 7 high schools to promote leadership in health for African Nova Scotians (PLANS),
We recruited 6 IMU students,
We graduated 5 Global Health Advocates,
We placed 4 medical students in the Local Global Health Elective,
We presented 3 global health awards,
We hosted 2 Canada World Youth interns,
and we hosted the first Global Health Rounds at Dalhousie!
Thank you for a successful year of exciting new initiatives and planning for the future. As we look back on our achievements, we would like to thank all of our friends for contributing to this success. We are excited about a bright 2015!
The Global Health Office at Dalhousie University.
Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season. Looking forward to 2013!
