Final deadline for submissions: October 31st, 2010.

The Canadian Modern Language Review (CMLR) invites manuscripts to be considered for a special issue on “Language barriers in access to healthcare services”, to appear in September 2011. Language barriers can potentially compromise healthcare delivery when professionals cannot speak the patient’s language or speak it poorly. Full and equitable healthcare is especially at risk in those areas where correct language usage—and the cultural values and norms such usage may reflect—plays a critical role in health communication.

To view the Call for Papers, please download this PDF.

The registration forms for MMFC's National Research Day are now available on line (French and English).

Please visit the MMFC website to learn more about the conference and to submit your registration form. Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, UNB Fredericton

Early Bird registration deadline: July 30

Conference Co-Chairs Scott Livingstone, CEO Sask Cancer Agency and Darlene Gray, President, OCATS, in partnership with CNT Management Group, invite survivors, support people and the medical community to the first ever Gynecologic Cancer Conference, Strategies for Survival on September 24, 2010 at the Regina Inn. 

This important event will feature some of the province’s most knowledgeable specialists in female reproductive cancers.  Experts will address clinical study trials for new drug therapies, managing cancer recurrence, the emotional aspects of cancer diagnoses, identifying families with hereditary risks, alternative and complimentary therapies available and the roles of our nurses, general practitioners, and pharmacists in cancer care delivery.

A conference highlight will be a presentation by Canada’s leading ovarian cancer “patient” advocate, Sandi Pniauskas. 

See conference information and on-line registration here. 

Join the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights in putting state representatives at the United Nations Headquarters on notice that we are alarmed as the final preparations for the UN High Level Summit on the Millennium Development Goals proceed because:

-Members of civil society, including grassroots social movement alliances, SRHR, women's, youth and human rights advocates and groups representing systematically marginalised communities, continue to find our participation unacceptably limited at MDG negotiations, as well as in related implementation and monitoring processes;

-Language in the outcome document being negotiated does not match up to commitments made under the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action, Beijing Platform for Action, CEDAW, ICESCR and other binding UN human rights frameworks;

-The advisory committee for MDG 5 (maternal health, including universal reproductive health indicators) includes no women and is not representative of the Global South.

Read more here about the issues and how to add your voice. 

Early bird registration deadline: July 30, 2010.

Reproductive Health is the leading clinical conference for translating emerging research into practice and is hosted annually by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America National Medical Committee, and the Society of Family Planning. This year's meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta from September 22-25.

For more information and to register, visit the website.

Resilience: Stories of Single Black Mothers is an intimate, richly detailed documentary that confronts long-held sterotypes by stepping inside the lives of three real women in the real world. 

For more information about the film and launch dates, please visit its official website. 

For regular updates about the film, please become a fan of the film's Facebook fan page.

Position Type: Contract - Part Time
Job Region: ON - Metro Toronto Area
Location: Downsview (York University)

Application Deadline: August 11, 2010

The National Network on Environments and Women’s Health (NNEWH) is one of four federally funded centres of excellence in women’s health mandated to enhance the health system’s understanding of and responsiveness to women’s health. NNEWH is focused primarily on policy-oriented research relating to the impact of different environments on the health of women.  It incorporates two working groups, Women and Health Protection, and Women and Health Care Reform, focused on pharmaceutical and health reform issues respectively.

NNEWH has a part-time contract position available for a Program Evaluator/Consultant or team of same. The person in this position will be primarily involved in conducting a funder-mandated evaluation aimed at enhancing links between evidence, theory and practice, which will additionally help to guide NNEWH projects and future project proposals.

September 25-26, 2010

InterContinental Hotel Toronto Yorkville
The Many Faces of Medical Women
Medical Women, through their lifespan undertake many leadership roles including that of entrepreneur, researcher, patient advocate, educator, medical politician, communicator and mentor. The conference will provide strategies and tools for female physicians to negotiate and to succeed in their many roles.

Featuring:
Dr. Mamta Gautam ~ Woman as Career Developer
Dr. Marla Shapiro ~ Woman as Teacher
Dr. Vivien Brown~ Woman as  Health Promoter
Janice Stein (PhD) ~ Woman as Leader
And more - Woman as Researcher, Politician, Mentor, Networker, Author and Sexual Being!

Conference fee includes:
2 breakfasts, 3 breaks
2 lunches (1 Awards Lunch)
2 (NEW!) Networking Receptions:
Friday –hosted by the OMA
Saturday -hosted by the FMWC Toronto Branch
Plus, Saturday Soirée at one of Toronto’s trendiest restaurants: ONE ($100)

For more information, visit this site.

Download the AGM brochure here.

REGISTER here.

Do you know of a clinic that wants to sign on for the National Pap Test Campaign awareness week campaign? We would encourage you to direct them to our Web pages:

To learn more about the National Pap Test Campaign, please visit this website.

Complete the registration form here.

Access the List of participating clinics here.

Are you a childless woman between the ages of 20 and 50 who may consider bearing a child sometime in the future? Do you presume you are fertile?

If so, please take 10 minutes to complete our confidential, anonymous online survey and enter to win one of two, $100 Amazon.ca gift certificates drawn every month!

The survey can be complete in either French or English and is focused on women’s fertility intentions and their beliefs and knowledge about childbearing after the age of 30 and about assisted human reproduction.

The study is being conducted by UBC researchers Dr. Judith Daniluk and Dr. Anthony Cheung, and is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Assisted Human Reproduction Canada. For more information about the study contact Judith at info@laterchildbearing.com.

Findings from the study will be used to develop educational materials and programs to support women’s childbearing decisions.

South Riverdale Community Health Centre, Mount Sinai Hospital’s Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre, Toronto Public Health and members of the Advisory Committee are pleased to announce the release of…Engaging Seldom or Never Screened Women in Cancer Screening: A Compendium of Pan-Canadian Best and Promising Practices

Funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada, this is a unique Canadian publication on improving access to equitable healthcare and screening participation across the country for all women.

To download the compendium, please click here.

Please share this link with your contacts.

For more information, please email us at srchc@srchc.com or call 416-461-1925, ext 348.

VIENNA, AUSTRIA (July 20, 2010) — Researchers have achieved an important scientific breakthrough in the fight against HIV and genital herpes with a vaginal gel that significantly reduces a woman’s risk of being infected with these viruses.  The results of the ground-breaking safety and effectiveness study of an antiretroviral microbicide gel study were reported today by the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria.

The microbicide containing 1% tenofovir—an antiretroviral drug widely used in the treatment of HIV—was found to be 39% effective in reducing a woman’s risk of becoming infected with HIV during sex and 51% effective in preventing genital herpes infections in the women participating in the trial. Should other studies of tenofovir gel confirm these results, widespread use of the gel, at this level of protection, could prevent over half a million new HIV infections in South Africa alone over the next decade.

“Tenofovir gel could fill an important HIV prevention gap by empowering women who are unable to successfully negotiate mutual faithfulness or condom use with their male partners,” said study co- principal investigator, Dr. Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Associate Director of CAPRISA and Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University. “This new technology has the potential to alter the course of the HIV epidemic, especially in southern Africa where young women bear the brunt of this devastating disease.”

All volunteers to the study who tested HIV positive were provided care including ARV treatment at the CAPRISA clinics and women who became infected during the study were enrolled into CAPRISA studies and/or the CAPRISA AIDS treatment program at their respective sites for ongoing care and support.

The trial was conducted by CAPRISA in partnership with the U.S.-based organizations FHI and CONRAD with funding from USAID. Gilead Sciences donated the active ingredient for the manufacture of the tenofovir gel. This study was jointly funded by the Governments of South Africa and the United States, through the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), respectively.

For the full press release and additional materials, see:

www.caprisa.org

www.fhi.org

www.conrad.org

IWHC shapes international policy and builds local capacity for women’s health and human rights in Africa, Asia and Latin America.  We leverage our work in these two very different, but critically linked worlds – to change thinking, redirect funding and motivate action by people and institutions that can secure rights and health for women. 

For more information, please visit the website.

The POWER Study (Project for an Ontario Women's Health Evidence-based Report) Musculoskeletal Conditions chapter is now available for download. The POWER Study (Project for an Ontario Women's Health Evidence-based Report) is producing a Women's Health Report to serve as an evidence-based tool for policy makers, providers, and consumers in their efforts to improve health and reduce health inequities among Ontario women.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) Conditions limit physical function, impose significant pain and suffering and are the number one cause of disability in Ontario. As a result, the associated costs to our health care system and to society are staggering. This chapter examines condition-specific prevalence, indicators of health and functional status, access and utilization of services and clinical care indicators for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. We examine performance on these indicators for women and men and assess differences by income, education, age and geography.

To download a copy of the full chapter or the highlights document (which outlines the chapter's key findings and messages), please visit the POWER Study website.

The Canadian Breast Cancer Network is thrilled to announce that we will be hosting a 2nd conference for young women living with breast cancer, Body, Mind, Spirit 2010, in downtown Toronto on October 29 – 31, 2010.

This year’s conference will bring together young women living with breast cancer, researchers, medical professionals, support organizations and decision makers from across Canada.

The first CBCN National Conference for Young Women Living with Breast Cancer was held in Toronto in November 2007 under the theme “Getting together to inform, support and inspire.” It was attended by 326 young survivors and provided young women living with breast cancer the opportunity to learn and share with other breast cancer survivors.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with other survivors, share your story, learn about new research and information, gain practical advice to apply to your life and experience a weekend of empowerment and hope.

Registration for this conference will be opening soon via the CBCN website. If you would like to be added to the mailing list to receive updates on the conference and notification as soon as registration opens, please email jmcneil@cbcn.ca.

A Lunchtime Event with the BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Noon to 1:00 pm  PDT

Two short presentations will be followed by discussions.

-Linking trauma, mental health and addictions treatment practice
Dr. Vivian Brown will briefly discuss the findings of the Women and Co-occurring Disorders and Violence Study (WCDVS) and her work with Prototypes in California in order to highlight our need to bring evidence to practice as a way of linking and integrating the treatment of mental health, trauma and addictions concerns experienced by women.
Vivian B. Brown, Ph.D. is the founder and recently retired Chief Executive Officer of PROTOTYPES, Centers for Innovation in Health, Mental Health, and Social Services.

-Linking addictions and child welfare practice
Dr. Laurie Drabble returns to share results of recently completed research on the role of collaborative and harm reduction oriented values, for bridging the work of child welfare and addiction treatment providers as they support mothers with substance use problems.
Laurie Drabble, Ph.D., MSW, MPH is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at San José State University.

How you can participate
In person:   BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health, E311-4800 Oak Street, Vancouver. Seating is limited, please register early.
Webcast:  You can participate virtually via webcast. Instructions for this option will be sent upon registration.

Registration is required for this event. If you wish to attend, in person or via webcast, please send an email to bccewh@cw.bc.ca  by July 30, 2010. For more information and to download the flyer, please go to BCCEWH's website.

Mounting research shows a significant amount of Canadian prevention initiatives do not adequately meet

and address the needs of our diverse population. To help address this issue, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), in collaboration with key partners and researchers from across Canada, has developed the Sex, Gender and Diversity-based Analysis (SGDBA) Checklist. (PDF)

To learn more about both the Checklist and the foundational document mentioned above, please visit our website and click on ‘National Framework’ under the ‘Priorities’ tab.

New Deadline - July 31, 2010

Please be advised that the National Research Day 2010 call for presenters deadline has been extended to July 31, 2010.  The National Research Day 2010 – Engaging our Communities: Working Together to End Intimate Partner Violence will be held on November 3, 4, & 5, 2010 at the UNBF Wu conference Centre.  Details about the Research Day are posted on the MMFC website.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information.   

 Carmen Gill, Ph.D., Director
Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre
for Family Violence Research
678 Windsor Street
PO Box 4400
Fredericton, NB
E3B 5A3
Tel: 506-452-6367
Fax: 506-453-4788

These two archived webinars hosted by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals describe current knowledge of emergency contraception, including myths, safety and efficacy, and counseling. 

African-American women’s beliefs about depression and depression care are consistently and systematically influenced by racism, according to a new study conducted at Oregon Health & Science University. The results are published online in the American Journal of Public Health.

Read the whole story here.

July 2, 2010 letter from UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi on the establishment this month of UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women:

Dear Say NO friends and partners,

Today is a historic day. This afternoon, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously decided to establish UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of a strong UN organization that will be a champion to promote and advance the rights of women and girls worldwide has been a goal we have been advocating for many years, and I know that you will join me in celebrating and embracing this momentous achievement.

Read the complete letter here.

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

Deadline for articles: February 28th, 2011

Special Issues: Health Equity and Qualitative Methods
Guest Editors:  Miriam Stewart and Wendy Austin

Qualitative methodologies provide a unique way to link methodological approaches with issues of health equity and social justice.  The aim of this Special Issues edition of IJQM is to: elucidate methodological insights and issues related to investigation of health equity; highlight the relationship between qualitative methodologies and equity; generate dialogue; and promote greater theoretical and practical integration of issues of health equity in qualitative research. We invite authors to explore health and social justice from diverse perspectives. This can involve the investigation of the complex factors that influence health equity, the testing of interventions designed to reduce inequities experienced by vulnerable populations, and the examination of implications for programs, practice, and policies in health and health-related sectors.  We invite articles by scholars, practitioners, and service providers from diverse disciplines, as well as from community members and encourage submissions from an international perspective.

See the call for submissions here.

July 29, 2010, 11am-12pm PDT
Building Health Care Leadership: A Systems Advocacy Approach to Addressing Domestic Violence in the Health Care System

Learn the basic elements of working collaboratively with health care systems to establish an institutionalized response to domestic violence. This webinar will assist domestic violence advocates and health care providers in gaining administrative buy-in, building leadership to sustain a response, understanding the health care system's infrastructures and how they can contribute to strengthening the response to patient's experiencing domestic violence, setting realistic goals and objectives and evaluating progress. The webinar will also identify available materials and tools that can assist in developing a successful health care response to domestic violence.

For more information, visit the website.
Register for the webinar here. 

Women of Diverse Origins and the International Coordinating body invites you to register now for the Montreal International Women's Conference taking place August 13-16 2010.

Women from around the world will gather under the theme: For a Global Militant Women's Movement in the 21st Century!  They will review the last 100 years of the women's movement, honour its pioneers and draw up an action plan to advance the movement, with the forming of an International Women's Alliance.

For more information and to register now, please visit our site.

In this recent article from the New York Times, author Gretchen Reynolds reports on a study that shows that women’s and men’s bodies react differently to exercise. She notes that scientists “often rely on male subjects exclusively, particularly in the exercise-science realm, where, numerically, fewer female athletes exist to be studied. But when sports scientists recreate classic men-only experiments with distaff subjects, the women often react quite differently.”

Read the whole article here.