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About CEWHCentres of Excellence for Women’s Health and the Women’s Health Contribution Program
Champions of research innovationHow can our health system be more responsive to women’s needs? Can we make health care more efficient by adopting women–centred approaches and treatments? These are some of the questions that Canada’s Centres of Excellence for Women’s Health are helping to answer. New Questions, New KnowledgeSince 1996, the Centres have set a health research agenda that addresses the myriad social and economic factors affecting the health conditions and needs of Canadian women. By asking new questions and exploring the realities of women’s lives, the Centres are breaking new ground in health research. New partnershipsProcess is key. The Centres work hand–in–hand with community partners to define the research issues and questions that matter to women. Over the years, the Centres have given voice to the concerns and priorities of Canadian women, focusing new attention on such diverse issues as birthing, adolescence, biotechnology, bone health, aging, access to midwifery services, seniors’ health, eating disorders, and the impact of health reform on women. Putting knowledge to workResearch is only the first step. An essential part of the Centres’ work is getting this new knowledge out into the real world. That means communicating research findings creatively. It also means going beyond traditional research forums to work "on the front lines" with health care providers, academics, researchers, women’s organizations and policy makers to support improvements in health policy and delivery. Shedding light on genderWithout gender-based evidence, Canada’s health system is operating in the dark. That’s why the Centres of Excellence for Women’s Health are working to increase understanding about sex and gender differences and how these differences can be incorporated into planning for more effective and efficient health care. Failure to do so makes health research partial at best, and dangerously incomplete at worst. For example, it has become increasingly clear that some forms of medical intervention in the natural events of women’s lives, such as pregnancy, childbirth and menopause, are costly and unnecessary. Other significant issues, such as the extent and impact of violence and stress on women’s health, have been overlooked or ignored. Women are often under–represented in clinical trials of new medical treatments and drugs. This can be true even when the product or therapy under review is intended to treat ailments like heart disease —the number one killer of Canadian women. New therapies are often approved without a clear understanding of how they will affect women and men differently. Why women’s health research?There are good reasons for putting women’s health issues high on the research agenda. WOMEN HAVE DIFFERENT HEALTH NEEDS THAN MEN NOT ALL WOMEN HAVE THE SAME HEALTH NEEDS WOMEN’S UNIQUE PLACE IN THE HEALTH SYSTEM Determinants of women’s healthHealth is more than a matter of medical care. A complex set of interactive factors play a vital role in determining a person’s health status. This perspective on disease prevention recognizes that women’s life circumstances are different than men’s. On average, women earn less income and are more likely to be poor, especially during their senior years or if they are single parents. Communities and families tend to place different social expectations on women. They are more likely to experience violence. How do these and other factors, like cultural background, genetics and education, interact with gender and sex to affect health? The Centres of Excellence for Women’s Health explore these questions, creating new knowledge to improve women’s health. The Centres’ achievementsSince their establishment, the Centres of Excellence for Women’s Health have conducted and sponsored more than 250 research projects. The federal government’s original modest investment has returned significant new knowledge and established Canada as a world leader in women’s health research. The clear result: a growing awareness that health research incorporating sex and gender differences makes good science and good sense. Following are just a few examples of the Centres’ leadership on challenging women’s health issues:
There is a growing audience for the Centres’ inquiry, fueled by the community partners who help frame the questions about women’s health issues. Currently, there are more than 15,000 women’s health researchers and organizations in the Centres’ shared databases, allowing new information to be directed to those who need it and to those who can use it to inform health research, policy and service delivery. The Centres’ work is gaining recognition around the world and several international partnerships have been formed. For example, the Maritime Centre is working with the Commonwealth Secretariat to produce training and education materials on how public policy and programs affect men and women differently. The Centres at workPioneering ResearchThe centres’ research efforts have contributed to a better understanding of many of Canada’s chronic health issues.
Working for changeThe centres actively respond to the health needs of Canadian women, empowering communities to change the status quo.
Planning and preventionA healthy investmentILLNESS, DISABILITY AND premature death are expensive. In 1993, they cost Canadians $156.9 billion per year, or 22% of GDP (The Economic Burden of Illness in Canada, Health Canada 1993). Women account for 56% of the direct costs of health services in Canada. Lack of knowledge results in ineffective treatments and policies, and wasted resources (Economic Burden, Health Canada, 1997). In the knowA vital web: consumers, providers, scientists and advocatesCanada has an extensive national network of participants helping to shape Canada’s health research agenda for women. The Canadian Women’s Health Network is a far–reaching web of researchers, healthcare providers, community groups, family members, activists and, most importantly, women themselves. It includes experts, activists and ordinary women working in community clinics, on hospital floors, at the university, in provincial and federal health ministries, and in women’s organizations. The CWHN is a dynamic leader in a partnership that focuses on timely and innovative ways of gathering and sharing research. Its mandate is to improve the health of girls and women by collecting, producing and distributing information, and by sharing data, ideas, directions and inspiration. The Network works closely with the five Centres of Excellence to support broad dissemination of their research findings and recommendations. The CWHN serves as a watchdog for emerging issues and trends that affect women’s health and acts as a central clearing house and resource centre for individuals and organizations interested in women’s health. More than 5,000 organizations and health education resources are included in the Network’s databases. It provides information and referrals to a range of audiences —from researchers needing out-of-province data, to a middle–aged woman looking for hormone treatment options, to a family member requesting information on support groups to help a new mother cope with post–partem stress. The CWHN serves as a vital information link between women and Canada’s health system.
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