Written by Aaron Andrews, Carmen Duimering, and Megan Matlock Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences students at Western University
Working on this CEL project as a team was an incredibly rewarding experience. From the very beginning, we leaned on each other’s strengths and found that our diverse perspectives helped us navigate the complexity of our task: building an accessible training module for sociodemographic (SD) data collection. Whether it was collaborating on the script, troubleshooting design challenges, or refining our language to be more inclusive, we constantly checked in with one another, offered feedback, and kept the end-users—frontline service providers—at the center of our decisions.
A huge part of our learning came through working closely with our community partner, Christine from CRHESI. She brought invaluable insight from her experience on the ground, reminding us to stay rooted in the lived realities of service providers and the communities they serve. Her thoughtful feedback pushed us to think critically about clarity, tone, and accessibility in a way we wouldn’t have been able to achieve on our own. Christine wasn’t just a collaborator—she was a guide, helping us align our academic goals with community needs.
What stood out most was how much we learned by doing. This wasn’t just about completing a project—it was about learning how to communicate clearly, balance accountability with compassion, and make meaningful decisions as a group. We often found ourselves reflecting on how nuanced SD data collection really is—not just from a systems level, but also from a human one. We learned to think more critically about accessibility, representation, and the real-world application of equity-based tools.
In the end, the process shaped us just as much as the final deliverable. We’re proud of what we created, but even more so of how we grew as teammates, listeners, and advocates for equity in health and social systems.
Advancing Equity in Healthcare Education with the Western Libraries OER Mini-Grant
Authorship:
McKeown, A., Kaltabanis, D., Treesh, R.H., Modanloo, S.
Case studies are an integral tool in healthcare education, providing students with realistic patient scenarios that help them develop clinical reasoning, decision-making skills, and the ability to safely care for patients. Using authentic examples in healthcare education allows future healthcare professionals to engage with diverse medical conditions and social contexts in a simulated learning environment prior to encountering real patients. Unfortunately, the case studies used in healthcare education often fail to represent the full diversity of patients, reinforcing stereotypes, tokenizing equity-deserving groups, and perpetuating oppressive practices through curriculum.
Lack of diverse representation in healthcare case studies carries significant consequences. When healthcare professionals are trained using case studies that feature only white men, for instance, they become ill-prepared to understand and address the needs of women and people of colour, not to mention those of Indigenous Peoples or people with varied gender and sexual identities. Leaving out diverse perspectives and lived experiences in educational materials contributes to gaps in care, cultural misunderstandings, and inequities in health outcomes.
Our project addresses this issue by developing case studies that accurately represent people and groups in all their diversities, helping future healthcare providers learn to offer respectful and culturally safe care. This work is informed by the principles of our Decolonization, Anti-Racism, and Anti-Oppression (DARAO) Committee within the Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, where our efforts to challenge structural inequities in education directly influence the development of our inclusive and culturally responsive case studies. Culturally safe care means that patients feel respected, valued, and free from discrimination in their healthcare experience. This shift is critical in fostering more inclusive and equitable healthcare teaching, learning, and practice spaces. Learning from cases that represent diversity will also give students opportunities to practice cultural humility, which in many ways underpins equity-promoting approaches in healthcare.
We are honoured to have received a Western Libraries Open Education Resource Mini-Grant for this work. This grant will be instrumental in the development of a resource aimed at assisting healthcare educators in creating inclusive case studies. The primary focus of this initiative is to ensure the accurate representation of individuals’ lived experiences in Canadian healthcare so that case studies authentically reflect real-world conditions. To do this, we will collaborate with individuals with lived experience, scholars, and community advocates to co-create content that accurately reflects the realities of equity-deserving and underrepresented communities in Canada. To ensure its success, we will seek support from community organizations, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders who share our commitment to equity and inclusion. Their involvement in reviewing our materials, offering feedback, and promoting the resource will be instrumental in ensuring that the project achieves its full potential.
The resource will use various formats, including text-based, video, and arts-based storytelling, to promote diverse forms of knowledge and honour diverse perspectives. The second phase will focus on providing healthcare educators with a practical guide for creating inclusive case studies that avoid stereotypes and oversimplifications while reflecting a range of real-world patient experiences.
We are excited to be at the forefront of a groundbreaking initiative. By collaborating with individuals with lived experience, we are creating a resource for healthcare educators that integrates these diverse lived perspectives into case studies. This collaboration brings much-needed authenticity and depth to healthcare education and challenges traditional frameworks to ensure that all voices are heard and represented. We are excited to introduce this innovative approach to the development of clinical case studies, offering educators a resource that reflects the true diversity of patient experience in Canadian healthcare spaces.
We are confident that this project will help to create a more inclusive curriculum that addresses health equity when training future healthcare professionals. This initiative aligns with Western Libraries’ Knowledge Justice Curriculum, as we are developing resources that ensure inclusivity and representation in healthcare education. It also supports the mission of Western’s Decolonization, Anti-Racism, and Anti-Oppression (DARAO) Committee by reinforcing our shared commitment to fostering equity and justice in healthcare education. We thank the Western Libraries for this grant, as it enables us to take a significant step toward transforming healthcare education into a more inclusive, representative, and equitable space.
CRHESI at Engage Western 2025: Showcasing Equity, Health, and Community Impact
The Centre for Research on Health Equity and Social Inclusion (CRHESI) was proud to participate in Engage Western 2025, Western University’s annual celebration of community-university partnerships. Held at London’s RBC Convention Centre, Engage Western brought together more than 50 community organizations, Western leaders and researchers, and students to showcase projects that strengthen communities, drive innovation, and create meaningful social change.
This year’s event emphasized the power of collaboration between universities and community partners. In their opening remarks, London Mayor Josh Morgan highlighted the importance of working alongside academic institutions to address pressing community challenges, including housing, healthcare access, and social inclusion. Western University President Alan Shepard emphasized that universities have a responsibility to engage beyond campus boundaries, using knowledge, research, and innovation to contribute to positive change across the region. The energy in the room reflected a shared commitment to equity, impact, and collective action.
CRHESI hosted an interactive booth at the event, offering visitors a deeper look into several ongoing projects. A key highlight was the launch of CRHESI’s new online learning module, “What Gets Counted, Counts: Safely Collecting Sociodemographic Data to Drive Equitable Change.” Developed in collaboration with interdisciplinary medical sciences students, this module equips organizations with tools to safely and ethically collect sociodemographic data. It aims to foster equity-informed decision-making by helping service providers understand the importance of asking identity-related questions in ways that respect dignity, build trust, and improve services. The module was officially launched at Engage Western and is now publicly accessible through CRHESI’s website.
In addition to the module launch, CRHESI showcased its leadership in three other critical areas of work. First, through its Health & Homelessness Research and Evaluation Initiative, CRHESI contributes to understanding the needs of unhoused populations in London and evaluating community responses. By developing frameworks that bridge academic research with frontline knowledge, CRHESI supports data-driven improvements to health and housing services, helping to guide the evaluation of the London’s Whole of Community Response to Health and Homelessness.
We also presented our contributions to the City of London’s Stop TolerHating campaign, a city-wide initiative to address and prevent hate and its impacts. CRHESI’s work in this space includes creating educational tools, supporting public awareness campaigns, and hosting critical conversations that challenge racism and promote inclusive communities, especially as related to health care experiences. By partnering with the City, CRHESI is helping drive systemic change toward a safer, more welcoming London.
CRHESI’s Newcomer Clinic Evaluation, which partners with London InterCommunity Health Centre and the Cross Cultural Learners Centre, highlights efforts to examine access to health care for government-assisted refugees in London. Through storytelling, interviews, and journey mapping, the evaluation captures newcomers’ experiences accessing culturally safe and trauma- and violence-informed health and settlement supports. This work is helping build and sustain more responsive, integrated care models for newcomers in the city.
Speaking about CRHESI’s presence at Engage Western, CRHESI Academic Co-Director Nadine Wathen said “CRHESI is already well-known in the community; in many ways, an event like this allows us to show our campus colleagues how Western’s research and knowledge mobilization efforts can benefit all of London.” Similarly, Heather Lokko, CRHESI Community Co-Director emphasized the importance of connecting community-engaged research, regardless of topic, to practical action for equity and inclusion.
Through initiatives like these, CRHESI continues to bridge the gap between research and community needs. Its presence at Engage Western 2025 demonstrated the powerful role that academic-community partnerships play in creating a healthier, more inclusive, and more equitable London.
For more information about CRHESI’s work, visit: crhesi.uwo.ca
Upcoming Event in London: Anti-Racism Education Ontario Regional Summit – April 8, 2025
The Anti-Racism Education Ontario Regional Summit will be held on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM at the Pillar Nonprofit Network.
Hosted by the Urban Alliance on Race Relations, this free, one-day summit is part of a province-wide initiative to address racial inequities in Ontario’s K–12 education system. The London summit is one of four regional events, alongside Ottawa, Sudbury, and Toronto.
The summit aims to:
- Highlight ongoing anti-racism efforts in education
- Foster collaboration among educators, students, families, and community members
- Amplify the voices of racialized students and parents
- Explore strategies for policy change and systemic transformation
Attendees can expect keynote speakers, panel discussions, interactive breakout sessions, and plenty of networking opportunities. Complimentary lunch and refreshments will be provided.
🎟️ Admission is free – register through Eventbrite by selecting the Subsidized Admission option:
👉 Register here
This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in education, equity, and community building to join the conversation and help shape more inclusive schools across Ontario.
For more details, please contact tansin@urbanalliance.ca.
ConnectHer 2025: Building Bridges for Working Women Across Canada
From May 1–3, 2025, the ConnectHer Conference will bring together women from across the country at Fanshawe College’s Innovation Village in London, Ontario for Canada’s largest gender equality event.
This national gathering is dedicated to celebrating, connecting, and empowering women in the workforce, with a special focus on those in non-traditional industries. Through workshops, panels, and networking sessions, ConnectHer 2025 aims to foster collaboration, share lived experiences, and build actionable strategies for advancing gender equity in workplaces across Canada.
🔗 Learn more and register: ConnectHer 2025 Website
Whether you are a student, professional, advocate, or ally—this is a unique opportunity to join a powerful movement for change. Don’t miss it!
