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Centres of Excellence for Women's Health Program (CEWHP)
Update Spring 1999 Request a print copy of this report.

Turning the Corner
Key Facts
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The Centres:

West:
BCCEWH

Prairie: PWHCE

Environments: NNEWH

East/Central:
CESAF

Maritime: MCEWH Centres-Wide:
Health Reform

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Discussion paper

Policy Advice Framework Report

Archive:
Up-date 1997

Centres of Excellence for Women's Health

Turning the Corner

In 1996, the federal government set up five Centres of Excellence to promote much-needed research on women's health in Canada and to direct more attention to the vital health concerns of women.

1998 was a watershed year for the Centres of Excellence and the Canadian Women's Health Network. Centres are now established with well launched programs of research and partnerships among women's health interests at local, regional and national levels. Attention is now turned to refining and consolidating research programs, promoting health policies responsive to women's needs, and sustaining the development of networks and partnerships.

Centres are demonstrating the vitality (and challenges!) of partnered approaches to policy research (many are described in more detail on the following pages). Their work on such critical national issues as health reform, health protection, and homecare for example, is providing the basis for health policy advice unique for its attention to gender.

Expertise available through the Centres is well recognized and increasingly drawn upon by different segments of the health system.

For example:

Provincial governments of British Columbia and Manitoba have commissioned the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women and Health and the Prairie Women's Health Centre of Excellence to provide research and advice;
Centres individually made submissions to Health Canada's Fall 1998 consultations on Health Protection Branch transition, and their members have subsequently been invited to participate in various related committees and working groups;
The Centre d'excellence pour la santé des femmes-Consortium Université de Montréal is working on the restructuring of health service delivery in the greater Montreal area; and
A working group comprising researchers from all five Centres is improving our understanding of the implications for women of health reform at national and regional levels.

The environment for the Centres' work continues to be heavily influenced by the twin forces of economic restructuring and health reform. Centres are clearly up to the challenge of identifying the implications of these forces for women, and providing advice on policy and program arrangements for best responding to women's health needs.

The prevailing message from the Privy Council Office and in recent Throne Speeches is the imperative to respond to citizens' desire for a direct, substantive and influential role in shaping policies and decisions that affect them. The approaches that the Centres and the Canadian Women's Health Network take to involving women across diverse life circumstances in defining and studying the health issues that matter most to them exemplify citizen engagement and evidence- based decision-making. These are key tenets of the current federal agenda, which is squarely topped by issues related to health and health care delivery.

Please read on for more information about the exciting research programs and activities of each Centre and the remarkable networking achievements of the Canadian Women's Health Network....

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