Press Release
**For Immediate Release**
March 8, 2006
From the Centres of Excellence for Women’s Health (CEWH) the Canadian
Women’s Health Network (CWHN) and the three National Working Groups on
Women’s Health
EQUALITY FOR HEALTH INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Canada’s leading women’s health researchers and community advocates call
for improved living conditions and greater attention to women's equality in
health research in order to improve the health of women living in Canada,
and reaffirm their commitment to achieving this goal.
Across the country, the four Centres of Excellence for Women’s Health
(CEWH), the Canadian Women’s Health Network (CWHN) and three National
Working Groups continue their comprehensive effort to bring women’s health
issues to the centre stage.
“On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the strength and endurance of
women, yet at the same time recognize that many women still live in
extremely difficult circumstances, and that social inequalities severely
damage the health of women everywhere.” says Barbara Clow of the Atlantic
Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health (ACEWH).
In health, equality and true equity for women hinges on the availability of
research that sheds light on how various treatments and health conditions,
such as mental health or HIV/AIDS, affect women in particular. Examples of
such research range from the ACEWH’s Gender and HIV/AIDS programme to the
Women and Health Protection Group’s (WHP) ongoing work on the alarming rise
of the use of SSRIs, a category of anti-depressants that is
disproportionately prescribed to women. At the BCCEWH in Vancouver tobacco
programs and policies are being examined for their effects on vulnerable
populations and pregnant women, and efforts arebeing made to increase
counselling on alcohol use among pregnant womenning in BC. "More evidence
is being produced that suggests clear sex and gender differences in how
drugs, alcohol and tobacco affect women and girls, and points to the need
for tailored treatments and policies", says Lorraine Greaves, Executive
Director of the BCCEWH. This research aims to reduce inequities and effect
change that is beneficial to women.
Equality in health care also means consulting with women on how best to
support them in living healthy lives, and how to provide them with
effective, gender-sensitive preventive and curative services. It requires a
strong understanding of women’s diverse cultural backgrounds and
circumstances. To this end, CWHN has been conducting an online survey to
identify what Canadians think of Health Canada’s Women’s Health Strategy,
which is currently under review. The results of the survey will be made
public and reported to the federal government to help them with their
review process in the coming months. Meanwhile, CEWH studies continue to
give voice to women’s diversity, identifying changes that could improve the
well-being of all women women living in rural, northern or urban areas,
women living with a health condition or disability, Aboriginal women,
lesbian, trans-gendered or two-spirited people, women of colour, and women
living in poverty.
“Our research indicates that economic inequality and living in poverty are
harmful to women’s health in many ways, and that many more women than men
are poor. Inadequate incomes mean poor housing conditions, lack of
nutritious food and illness related to the stress of coping with the
struggle to find money. Poverty also affects women’s ability to get the
health services they need.” says Margaret Haworth-Brockman of Prairie
Women’s Health Centre of Excellence (PWHCE).
For Aboriginal women there is a vast difference in health status across
ages and groups. In addition to socio-economic factors such as an
unacceptable poverty rate, housing and food security issues, there is a
need for equality in the sense of creating culturally appropriate health
services and recognizing the needs between services and support available
to rural, remote and urban First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
“This must be approached in the context of historical, institutionalized
racism, while sustaining and celebrating our culture and maintaining our
unique identities as Aboriginal people in Canada,” stated Linda Day, the
Executive Director for the Aboriginal Women’s Health and Healing Research
Group (AWHHRG).
International Women’s Day is also an opportunity to recognize that women
play a major role in health care provision, as providers in the system, as
well as caring for the health of their families and communities, in unpaid
work. The National Coordinating Group on Health Care Reform and Women
(NCGHRW) in partnership with the National Network on Environments and
Women’s Health’s (NNEWH) recently released “Critical to Care,” a report
onwomen and ancillary work in health care. This cross-program
collaboration is only one example of many current initiatives illustrating
the female backbone of health care provision.
Given the many and varied ways in which women experience health, access and
provide health care, the impact of health care reforms on women warrants
serious examination. NCGHRW has done extensive work to this end, including
its release last fall of a “Guide to Primary Health Care Reform and Women”,
and the more recent “Women’s Guide for Understanding Evidence about Health
and Health Care.”
As women in Canada and around the world carry on the drive to achieve
equality on all fronts, the CEWH, CWHN and the three National Working
Groups will continue to spearhead and collaborate on these and other
projects to make health care in Canada more equitable and responsive to
women’s needs.
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For more details or interviews contact:
Laila Malik: Tel: 204-942-5500 ext. 20; Cell: (514)515-1134; Email:
[log in to unmask]
Health Canada’s Women’s Health Contribution Program (WHCP) funds the
organizations and groups below to conduct policy-focused research and
communications on women's health. Please refer to the attached list for
WHCP events around the country throughout the month of March and in
conjunction with International Women’s Day.
Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women's Health (ACEWH):
http://www.acewh.dal.ca/
British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women's Health (BCCEWH):
http://www.bccewh.bc.ca/
National Network on Environments and Women's Health (NNEWH):
http://www.yorku.ca/nnewh/
Prairie Women's Health Centre of Excellence (PWHCE):
http://www.pwhce.ca/
Aboriginal Women’s Health and Healing Research Group (AWHHRG):
www.awhhrg.ca
National Coordinating Group on Health Care Reform and Women (NCGHCRW):
http://www.cewh-cesf.ca/healthreform/index.html
Rural and Remote Women's Health (RRWH):
http://www.cewh-cesf.ca/en/resources/rural_remote/index.shtml
Women and Health Protection (WHP):
http://www.whp-apsf.ca/en/index.html
Canadian Women’s Health Network (CWHN):
http://www.cwhn.ca
Mona Dupré-Ollinik, BSW, BA
Coordonatrice de liaison/Outreach Coordinator
Canadian Women's Health Network/Réseau canadien pour la santé des femmes
419, avenue Graham, Suite 203
Winnipeg (MB) R3C 0M3
SUPPORT CWHN. BECOME A MEMBER. http://www.cwhn.ca/infoform-bi.html
APPUYEZ LE RCSF. DEVENEZ MEMBRE. http://www.cwhn.ca/infoform-bi.html#francais
Tel: (204) 942-5500 ext,/poste 13
Fax/Télécopieur: (204) 989-2355
Toll free/Numéro sans frais: 1-888-818-9172
www.cwhn.ca
e-mail/courriel: [log in to unmask]
TTY 204-942-2806
TTY toll free number 1-866-694-6367
Mona Dupré-Ollinik, BSW, BA
Coordonatrice de liaison/Outreach Coordinator
Canadian Women's Health Network/Réseau canadien pour la santé des femmes
419, avenue Graham, Suite 203
Winnipeg (MB) R3C 0M3
SUPPORT CWHN. BECOME A MEMBER. http://www.cwhn.ca/infoform-bi.html
APPUYEZ LE RCSF. DEVENEZ MEMBRE. http://www.cwhn.ca/infoform-bi.html#francais
Tel: (204) 942-5500 ext,/poste 13
Fax/Télécopieur: (204) 989-2355
Toll free/Numéro sans frais: 1-888-818-9172
www.cwhn.ca
e-mail/courriel: [log in to unmask]
TTY 204-942-2806
TTY toll free number 1-866-694-6367
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