For Immediate Release
September 10, 2003
 >From the National Steering Committee on Rural and Remote Women's Health
and the Canadian Women's Health Network

New Study to focus on health needs of women in rural and remote
communities in Canada

Researchers with the National Steering Committee on Rural and Remote
Women's Health (NSCRRWH)
are interested in better understanding the health and health care
experiences of woman
living in a rural or remote community. Funded by the Status of Women
Canada, the study
will focus on the effects of health care reform and restructuring on
women's access to health
services and the quality of those services in rural and remote
communities.

Researchers with the NSCRRWH hope to be able to identify the changes
that need to be made to
improve upon the situation facing many women in rural and remote
communities across Canada.

Principal Investigator, Dr. Ivy Lynn Bourgeault of the McMaster
University Health Studies Programme
has stated that, "as policy makers and planners grapple with the effects
of restructuring and
providing equitable access to care to people in rural and remote
communities, the consideration
of gender and women's health is necessary to complete the picture of
health needs, service
provision and utilization."
The key questions to be addressed by researchers include:
. What has been the impact of restructuring on the broader social
determinants of health
and health care services of women and girls living in rural,
remote and northern communities?
. What kinds of health services and policy would improve the
quality of life of women and girls
living in rural, remote and northern communities?

The research team have developed a website for rural and remote women to
anonymously share their
thoughts and feelings about health issues and health care reform:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=60253264696


For those women in rural and remote communities who would prefer to
speak to someone directly,
researchers have also set up a 24 hour, toll free number through the
Canadian Women's Health Network
for women to leave their name and contact information for follow up:
1-888-818-9172 ext. 18. All
information left on the line and provided to the research team will be
kept strictly confidential.

The NSCRRWH will be collecting information from participants up until
December 2003, and a final
report will be made available by the end of March, 2004.

For interviews, contact:

Ivy Lynn Bourgeault
Assistant Professor
Health Studies Programme & Department of Sociology
McMaster University
Phone: (905) 525-9140 ext. 23832
Fax (905) 525-4198
Email [log in to unmask]
Rebecca Sutherns

Canadian Health Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow
Health Studies Programme & Department of Sociology
McMaster University
Phone: (905) 525-9140 ext. 22741
Fax (905) 525-4198
Email [log in to unmask]

Kathleen O'Grady
Director of Communications
The Canadian Women's Health Network
Telephone: (514) 886-2526
Email: [log in to unmask]
Website: 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

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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