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 		Centres of Excellence for Women's Health Program (CEWHP)
Update Spring 1999 Request a print copy of this report.
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Key Facts
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The Centres:
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    BCCEWH
  • Prairie: PWHCE
  • Environments: NNEWH
  • East/Central:
    CESAF
  • Maritime: MCEWH Centres-Wide:
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    Key Facts About the Centres of Excellence for Women's Health Program (CEWHP)

    Who supports the program?

    The CEWHP is funded by Health Canada and administered by the Women's Health Bureau. The work of the program is a major component of Health Canada's Women's Health Strategy.

    What does the CEWHP hope to accomplish?

    The program's ultimate goal is to improve women's health by generating knowledge, information and policy advice that can be applied to make the health system more responsive to women's distinctive health needs.

    Where are the Centres located and how much funding do they receive?

    The five Centres of Excellence for Women's Health selected for federal funding by Health Canada are located in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Each will have received approximately $2 million over the six-year life of the program, which concludes in 2001/02.

    What is unique about the way the Centres operate?

    Each Centre is a dynamic partnership of academics, researchers, health care providers and community-based women's and women's health organizations. Each has a broad mandate that includes generating knowledge, providing policy advice and disseminating information on women's health.

    The Centres do not conduct biomedical or clinical research. Rather, they engage in multi- disciplinary and cross-sectoral work using a "determinants of health approach." This approach recognizes that health is much more than a matter of medical care and that a wide range of social, cultural, political and economic factors interact to affect people's well-being. It also recognizes that these determinants play out differently in women's and men's lives.

    What exactly do the Centres do?

    Individually and collectively, the Centres:
    • identify key women's health issues and research them
    • produce health data that is sensitive to gender differences
    • communicate the knowledge they generate
    • build local, national networks that bring together researchers, community and policy partners working to improve the health of women
    • provide analysis, advice and information to governments, agencies and individuals involved in health and policy
    • help define a women's health research agenda for Canada.

    What are some of the specific issues the Centres are looking at?

    The Centres are examining current health system issues such as the impact of health reform on women and women's health; patterns of health service provision to women; women's experience with the health system; influences on health; and the health needs of women across different life circumstances. (Please see the section on each Centre for details.)

    How do the Centres network with each other and with other interested groups and individuals?

    The Canadian Women's Health Network (CWHN) is funded by Health Canada to provide national coordination of the networking and communications components of the Centres' program. The CWHN works with the Centres and other interested organizations and individuals at the national, regional and community level to build links and support the flow of women's health information across all strata and sectors. (Please see page 9 to find out more about the Canadian Women's Health Network.)

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