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**apologies for cross-posting

 

THE CENTRE FOR URBAN HEALTH INITIATIVES

 

Spotlight on Urban Health Seminar Series

 

**all seminars run from 1:15- 2:45

Free, all are welcome, please RSVP to [log in to unmask]

 

Wednesday March 19, 2008

"The Toronto Teen Survey: 

Improving Sexual Health Services for Diverse Toronto Youth"

 

Crystal Layne (Toronto Teen Survey Project)

Susan Flynn (Planned Parenthood)

Dr. June Larkin (Women and Gender Studies Institute, U of T) & 

Kristin McIlroy (Student, Health Studies & Human Biology, U of T)

CUHI 2007 CBR Award of Merit Winners

 

Location: Bahen Centre, University of Toronto: Room 2130 (40 St. George
Street, immediately south of Russell Street)

 

In this presentation we discuss the development and results of the Toronto
Teen Survey (TTS) that was distributed to 1200 youth across Toronto. The aim
of the TTS Project was to gather information from youth on assets, gaps and
barriers that currently exist in sexual health education and services and to
use the information to develop a city-wide strategy to increase positive
sexual health outcomes for diverse Toronto youth.  We will describe the
community-based research design that involved teens in all stages of the
project and we will show a video that documents the process.  We will also
share feedback from youth service providers to whom we have presented the
data.

 

The TTS Project is a university-community partnership supp

 

Upcoming Seminars/ Workshops:

 


Thursday April 17, 2008


"Focus Groups in Support of Public Health Interventions among Toronto LBGT
Smokers and Former Smokers"

 

Gala Arh & Nadia Minian, Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health

CUHI 2006 Seed Grant Recipients

 

Location: Bahen Centre, University of Toronto: Room B024 (40 St. George
Street, immediately south of Russell Street)

 

Project Summary

While little is know about tobacco use among lesbian, bisexual, gay,
transgender (LBGT) populations, studies in the United States have found high
rates of smoking among LBGT individuals. Our pilot study sought to ascertain
attributes of the Toronto Church and Wellesley neighbourhood that facilitate
tobacco use among LBGT individuals. 

As a method of data collection, focus groups have yet to be recognized for
their nascent health promotion capacity. Using our example of focus groups
conducted with LBGT smokers and former smokers we illustrate how focus
groups can be used to translate and disseminate research findings, while
building stronger communities, and generating therapeutic support.

 

Bios

Gala Arh, M.Ed.

Having completed her M.Ed. at OISE/UT, Gala Arh joined the Ontario Tobacco
Research Unit as a Research Officer. She is developing, implementing and
evaluating the Performance Indicator Monitoring System as well as conducting
community-based research with the Evaluation Team

 

Nadia Minian is a Scientist with the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit. She has
considerable experience in conducting and directing research and evaluation
at the local and community levels on a variety of public health issues,
including infectious disease (HIV/AIDS), sexual risk behaviours and cancer
screening. At OTRU Nadia leads the evaluation of cessation programming and
policy. She is personally committed to social justice and conducting
evaluations to promote health.

 

PAST SEMINARS

 

Designed for Play: 

How 'Green' School Ground Design Contributes to Children's Physical Activity

Anne Bell, (PhD)

Project Manager of Research, Learning Grounds, Evergreen

 

Summary: The school ground represents an important built environment that
provides children with regular opportunities for active play during the
school day. What research methods are best suited to monitoring and
measuring the relationship between school ground design and children's
physical activity? This presentation reports on the findings of a
methodological study, funded by CUHI, which explored a variety of
quantitative and qualitative methods, including periodic scans of all
children playing on the school ground, direct observations of individual
children, accelerometry, mapping, guided walks and student interviews.
Beyond purely methodological considerations, a selection of the data
generated by the various methods will also be discussed, particularly as
they relate to 'green' design elements.

 

"Community-Based Participatory Research using Arts: Homeless Women, Housing
and Social Support"

Dr. Izumi Sakamoto

Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto

CUHI Community-Based Research Award of Merit Honourable Mention

Date: November 8th (1:15pm - 2:45pm)

Location: Bahen Centre, University of Toronto: Room B024 (40 St. George
Street, immediately south of Russell Street)

 

Summary: 'Coming Together: Homeless Women, Housing and Social Support ', is
a community-based research project by the University of Toronto, Regent Park
Community Health Centre, and Sistering - A Woman's Place, which explored how
women and transwomen build support networks with each other when housing is
the issue . With the help of the advisory board consisting of
women/transwomen who experienced homelessness, women/transwomen at four
drop-in centres created scenes depicting their own visions of inclusion,
friendship and safe space through painting, theatre and photography ("staged
photography").  Various methods have been used to disseminate the study
findings and the evaluation of the project is under way.  The challenges and
rewards of conducting university-community collaborative research will be
discussed. 

 

Bio: Izumi Sakamoto is assistant professor of social work at the University
of Toronto. A former Fulbright Scholar, she received MSW, MS (Psychology)
and Ph.D. (Social Work & Psychology) from University of Michigan and BA and
MA from Sophia University, Japan. Dr. Sakamoto's current program of research
focuses on the intersecting oppressions, self-advocacy, and empowerment of
marginalized communities such as immigrants, homeless women/transwomen, and
people of colour in local, international and transnational contexts. She has
experiences in community-based research, arts-based research, qualitative
research and mixed-method research.  She has held research grants from the
Social Science & Humanities Research Council, Wellesley Institute, and
Centre for Excellence in Research on Immigration and Settlement -Toronto
(CERIS), among others. 

 

"Sudanese Settlement and Sociocultural Aspects of Mental Health: Thinking
Globally, Acting Locally"

 

Dr. Laura Simich

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

CUHI Community-Based Research Award of Merit Honourable Mention

 

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Location: University College, University of Toronto, Room 177 (15 King's
College Circle)

 

Summary:  The community-based Study of Sudanese Settlement in Ontario was
conducted for Citizenship and Immigration Canada to ascertain Sudanese
settlement needs in seven Ontario cities. The study indicated that family
adaptation, economic integration and social cohesion are the major
settlement challenges for Sudanese, and that these have a deleterious impact
on individual and community mental health. In this presentation, Dr. Simich
looks back on success factors and outcomes of the initial study. She also
presents recent findings from an in-depth follow-up study conducted in
Toronto, Ontario; Calgary, Alberta; and in the rural community of Brooks,
Alberta, to identify underlying issues and proposed solutions for community
mental health. The presentation reflects on local and global contexts. 

  

Bio: Laura Simich, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Departments of
Psychiatry and Anthropology, University of Toronto, and a Scientist in
Social Equity and Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health,
Toronto.  Dr. Simich specializes in qualitative, community-based research
among immigrants and refugees.  Her ongoing interests are social support,
resilience, family wellbeing and mental health among Sudanese, Sri Lankan
Tamil refugees and non-status immigrants in Toronto. She helped to develop
the popular self-help guide for mental health promotion in diverse
communities, Alone in Canada: 21 Ways to Make it Better, a Guide for Single
Newcomers to Canada, available in 18 languages.

 

"Use of 911 Ambulance Dispatch Data for the Syndromic Surveillance of
Heat-Related Illness in Toronto: Summer 2007"

 

Kate Bassil and Dr. Donald Cole Public Health Sciences, University of
Toronto

Thursday January 17, 2008

Location: University College, University of Toronto, Room 177 (15 King's
College Circle)

 

Summary: The adverse effect of heat on health in urban communities is of
major concern, and will likely become even more important with climate
change. In Toronto, although a heat alert system based upon predicted excess
mortality exists, there is currently no method for monitoring heat-related
illness (HRI) in the community. As a result, there is a lack of information
regarding the impact of HRI on members of the community and the urban areas
that are most severely affected. Over the summer of 2007 our research group
monitored the temporal and spatial distribution of heat-related illness in
Toronto using 911 ambulance dispatch data. The findings of this work will be
presented as well as a discussion of the challenges in developing and using
this syndromic surveillance system in the public health environment.

 

Bio(s):

 

Kate Bassil is a PhD candidate in the Epidemiology program in the Department
of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto.  Prior to this Kate
completed a MSc in Epidemiology, also at the University of Toronto, and a
BSc Biological Sciences at Oxford University in 1998. The focus of her
doctoral research is the use of ambulance dispatch data to better understand
the temporal and geospatial distribution of heat-related illness in Toronto.

 

Donald Cole is a physician who practiced primary care, public health,
occupational health and environmental health in a variety of settings
globally. In a community medicine residency at McMaster University he
completed a Masters in Design, Measurement and Evaluation of Health Services
(1991), and went on to qualify as a Royal College fellow in Occupational
Medicine (1990) and Community Medicine (1992).  A Tri-Council Eco-Research
fellowship in environmental epidemiology and the role of Interim Director of
Research followed by Senior Scientist at the Institute for Work & Health
fostered his focus on research. His ongoing interest in agriculture and
human health questions led to his leading development of the Agriculture and
Human Health Division with the International Potato Center. As a tenured
Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto,
he currently teaches, mentors, does research, and contributes research
evidence to public health practice both in Canada and internationally. 

 

"Which of the Following is NOT an Essential Service - Roads - Schools - Food
Access? Exploring Food Security with Young Aboriginal Moms"

 

Cyndy Baskin, School of Social Work, Ryerson University 

CUHI 2006 Seed Grant Recipient

Tuesday February 12, 2008

 

Summary: This seminar will present findings from a research project
conducted with young Aboriginal mothers in Toronto using Aboriginal research
methodologies. The project explored issues affecting food security for these
mothers and their children with a focus on community involvement and policy
connections.

 

Bio: Dr. Cyndy Baskin, of the Mi'kmaq Nation, is an Associate Professor in
the School of Social Work and the Centre for Studies in Food Security at
Ryerson University. She worked at several Aboriginal social services
agencies within Toronto before coming to Ryerson in 2001. Cyndy's teaching,
research and writing focus on Aboriginal world views, research
methodologies, decolonization, and the strength, resilience and resistance
of Indigenous peoples globally.

 

 

 

Alexis Kane Speer

Centre Coordinator

Centre for Urban Health Initiatives (CUHI)

University College, Room 259

University of Toronto

15 King's College Circle

Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H7

416-978-7223

FAX: 416-946-0669

 


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