This document discusses the importance of communities conducting their own research to accurately represent themselves and address issues that affect them. It outlines how Women's Health in Women's Hands CHC started their research program in 1999 due to a lack of literature on women's health issues. Their objectives are to build knowledge about racialized women's health, foster leadership, inform programs/services, and ensure knowledge is shared widely. They conduct needs assessments and surveys to identify research priorities and have partnered with academics. The research aims to empower communities and influence policy. Accurate representation in research is critical so communities are not defined by weaknesses but by their strengths.

1. If Your Not Counted You Don't
Count
Notisha Massaquoi
Executive Director
Women’s Health in Women’s Hands CHC

2. If We don’t do our own counting...
Underutilization
Public education is
enough
Clients don’t speak
English
Cultural preferences

3. Critical issues are often lost
• The negative side of immigration is frequently not
addressed
• How do we move past the “Healthy Immigrant
Effect”
• Immigration discussions often do not focus on women
when looking at migration and economic development.
• Very little information on individuals without status

4. Research used to create Unrepresentative
Narratives
• “Needy and dependent”
• Very little is known about immigrant women’s
strengths and their successful strategies
• Most programs have focused on pathologies and
lack of access to health care.
• “Canada is a better place”is the preferred focus of
funded research

5. Reframing Research as an
Intervention Strategy
• Gaining Strength from collective action to confront and
eliminate oppression
• Developing knowledge and skills
• Developing awareness of systemic causes of social problems
• Developing equitable relationships between service users,
service providers and researchers
• Establishing new forms of supports and networks

6. Research at WHIWH - CHC
• Began in 1999 due to lack of published literature on health issues
impacting racialized women
• Difficult to develop effective programs without appropriate
research
• We needed to generate scientific knowledge to fill existing gaps
• Increased requests by health researchers to partner on projects
We required a research strategy
• Dissemination of knowledge needed to be prioritized
• Women and their communities

7. Objectives of our Research
Program
• To build scientific knowledge on the health of
Racialized Women
• Foster autonomy , self determination and leadership
skills of Racialized Women
• To generate knowledge and evidence to inform and
support WHIWH’s strategic plan, programs and
services
• Translation of knowledge into action
• Share knowledge and evidence as widely as possible
• Facilitate mutual respect and equal partnerships with Academic -
community partnerships

8. Research Capacity building
and Priority Setting
1. Conduct Staff Research Needs Assessment
1. Client Survey/Interviews /Focus groups on
Research Priorities
1. Developed and administered survey to
potential academic and community
partners

9. Outcome – Poetry Book

12. KTE Forums (1):
Every Women Matters KTE Forum: Access
to Primary Healthcare for Black Women
and Women of Colour
100 participants –
Researchers, service
providers, policy makers,
women and their communities
Panelists
Pat Campbell, ECHO
Arlene Bierman,
POWER study
LLana James,
Responder
100 participants –
Researchers, service
providers, policy makers,
women and their communities

13. Priorities!
• Our sector must direct the building of foundational
research for the communities we serve
• We must develop our own unique analysis frameworks
( Anti-oppression, Diaspora, Transnational)
• We must ensure that our research not only empowers
communities but influences service delivery and policy
• We must share research resources, skills, expertise

14. Academic and Community Based Research
Issues to consider
• Being held accountable to a community
• Understanding intent vs. goals and objectives
• Subject as expert as opposed to the Researcher
• Community member / Researcher
• Taking from the community requires giving back
• Tangible benefits for the subjects/agencies
• We are the key to the most valuable asset in the research
relationship

15. Thank You
For more information
www.whiwh.com