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.
The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT) is looking for new members to join its National Advisory Board. This is a great opportunity to contribute to public health decision-making in Canada and support evidence-informed practices.
The NCCMT is one of six National Collaborating Centres for Public Health in Canada, established in 2005 in response to the SARS epidemic. Hosted by McMaster University’s School of Nursing, it provides tools, training, and mentorship to help public health professionals integrate research into practice.
Role of the National Advisory Board
As a member of the National Advisory Board, you will:
Attend semi-annual virtual meetings: Engage in discussions that shape NCCMT initiatives.
Analyze public health needs: Identify opportunities where the NCCMT can offer support.
Champion EIDM: Advocate for evidence-based practices and the NCCMT’s mission.
The commitment involves approximately 6–8 hours annually over a three-year term.
Seeking Diverse Perspectives
To ensure a comprehensive approach to public health challenges, the NCCMT is particularly interested in individuals with expertise in:
First Nations, Inuit, and Métis health
2SLGBTQIA+ communities
Health in communities of colour
Rural public health
Environmental health
Local/regional public health practice
Middle management
Early- and mid-career professionals
How to Apply
To express your interest, please email nccmt@mcmaster.ca with the following:
Full name and contact details
A one-page summary: Detail your professional background, expertise, and interest in joining the National Advisory Board. Highlight any relevant perspectives from the list above.
Relevant affiliations or memberships
This is your chance to contribute to the advancement of public health in Canada by guiding an organization committed to integrating evidence into practice. Join the NCCMT’s National Advisory Board and be a catalyst for positive change.
📢 Exciting News! The first-ever Canada-Africa Academic Collaborations Conference (CAACC) 2025 is set to take place on February 27, 2025. This virtual event will bring together scholars, researchers, and professionals from Canada and Africa to foster meaningful academic partnerships.
With the theme “Academic Collaboration for Posterity,” this virtual conference will create a dynamic platform for discussing research, knowledge-sharing, and cooperative initiatives including education, policy, climate, and health that can drive sustainable development in both regions. The event is co-chaired by Pauline Omolo (University of Nairobi, Kenya) and Seyram Afealete (Western University, Canada) and promises an engaging program featuring keynote addresses, panel discussions, and thematic presentations.
📅 Date: February 27, 2025 ⏰ Time: 8:45 AM – 3:25 PM (EST) 📍 Location: Online (Zoom Webinar) 🔗 More details & registration:The Africa Institute – CAACC 2025
Written by Mina Yu, CRHESI Student Collective, Community Engaged Learning placement, Bachelor of Health Sciences, Western University
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly transformed healthcare. Its applications—from improving diagnostic accuracy and resource allocation to streamlining workflows—promise to revolutionize patient care. AI’s potential to reduce human error, anticipate healthcare needs, and optimize management of chronic diseases paints an optimistic picture of timely, equitable healthcare. However, beneath its transformative capabilities lies a critical challenge: algorithmic bias.
AI, lauded for its potential to minimize human biases and inconsistencies, often inherits the same inequities embedded in healthcare systems. When trained on homogeneous datasets or data that over-represent privileged groups, AI systems perpetuate existing biases, undermining efforts to address systemic disparities. For instance, a review by Celi et al. (2022) revealed that most clinical AI models are built on datasets from middle- and high-income countries, especially the U.S. and China. When the relationships within data sources used to train AI models differ from those in the populations where these models are deployed, the resulting outputs are often inaccurate. This mismatch restricts the effectiveness of AI systems, particularly in underserved and underrepresented communities, including but not limited to those in lower-income countries. Consequently, AI-driven interventions are systematically misaligned with the needs of these individuals and groups, resulting in inappropriate or inaccessible care. Rather than reducing disparities, this failure to provide suitable care exacerbates existing inequities.
One striking example involves an AI algorithm used by insurance companies to predict healthcare needs. A 2021 study (NIHCM Foundation) found that while Black patients were significantly sicker than their white counterparts, both groups were assigned similar risk scores. This bias stemmed from the algorithm’s reliance on past healthcare expenditures—a metric influenced by systemic inequities in access and treatment. Because Black patients, for structural and systemic reasons, typically receive less care despite generally experiencing worse health outcomes, their needs are inaccurately assessed. This perpetuates a harmful cycle of unmet healthcare needs, declining individual health, and widening disparities in health outcomes between populations.
For Canada, algorithmic bias intersects with the digital divide, disproportionately affecting rural, remote, and Indigenous Peoples, who are more likely that non-Indigenous people to live in remote Northern communities. This highlights gaps in socioeconomic and demographic factors, limiting these groups’ ability to benefit from AI advancements. Researchers like Anawati et al. (2024) emphasize that AI and machine learning literature is only beginning to address the absence of diversity in training data, and the real-world impacts on the health and well-being of groups already facing marginalization.
AI offers incredible promise, but its true potential lies in fostering equity, not reinforcing disparity. To bridge these gaps, recalibrating the fundamental assumptions of AI systems is essential. Incorporating diverse datasets from underserved groups and regions can help mitigate bias and extend AI’s benefits to marginalized populations. Ultimately, for AI to truly revolutionize healthcare, its development must be inclusive, addressing not just technical challenges but also the societal inequities that shape healthcare outcomes.
References
Anawati, A., Fleming, H., Mertz, M., Bertrand, J., Dumond, J., Myles, S., et al. (2024). Artificial intelligence and social accountability in the Canadian health care landscape: A rapid literature review. PLOS Digit Health, 3(9): e0000597. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000597
Celi, L.A., Cellini, J., Charpignon, M.L., Dee, E.C., Dernoncourt, F., Eber, R., et al. (2022). Sources of bias in artificial intelligence that perpetuate healthcare disparities—A global review. PLOS Digital Health, 1(3): e0000022. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000022
November 25 marked the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, a global campaign calling for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls. This powerful campaign encourages reflection, education, and dialogue about how we can collectively support those experiencing gender-based violence (GBV). In London, Ontario, several significant events are taking place to raise awareness and foster conversation about this important issue.
Here are a few events happening in our community as part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign:
Prima Facie Movie Screening
On Monday, December 2, at 7:00 p.m., the SilverCity Cineplex Masonville will host a screening of Prima Facie, an award-winning play by Suzie Miller. Starring Jodie Comer, this gripping film follows the story of Tessa, a talented barrister who must confront the intersection of patriarchal power, the burden of proof, and morality after a life-altering event. The screening provides an opportunity to reflect on the complexities of gender-based violence and the legal system’s role in addressing it. Tickets are $10 and can be reserved by contacting gail@lawc.on.ca. This event is hosted by the London Abused Women’s Centre and United Way Elgin Middlesex.
National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women – 35th Anniversary
On Friday, December 6, join the Anova team from 7:30 to 8:15 a.m. at Goodwill Industries (255 Horton Street, 3rd Floor, Town Hall Room) to honor the 14 women murdered at École Polytechnique in Montreal 35 years ago. These women were tragically targeted simply because of their gender. This annual event is an opportunity to reflect on the progress made in addressing gender-based violence and the work still ahead. To RSVP, please email suzieh@anovafuture.org.
Looking Back, Looking Forward: National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women Memorial
Later on December 6, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., Western University’s Amit Chakma Engineering Building will host a memorial event to remember the 14 women murdered at L’École Polytechnique Montréal. This event will feature speakers Dr. Lauren Tribe and Dr. Opiyo Oloya, who will lead reflections on both the historical and current efforts to combat gender-based violence. The event is open to all, and no registration is required. Visitor parking is available at the Springett Lot.
Looking Back, Moving Forward: United to End Femicide
On the evening of December 6, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., join the London community for a candlelight vigil at the Women’s Monument in Victoria Park, in remembrance of the victims of the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre and all those lost to femicide. A reception will follow at Morrissey House, hosted by the London & District Labour Council Women’s Committee. This event is a joint effort organized by Anova, Changing Ways, Fanshawe College, the London Abused Women’s Centre, and the Women’s Rural Resource Centre.
These events are an essential part of collective efforts to raise awareness, stand in solidarity with survivors, and inspire change to end gender-based violence. As part of the global campaign, we encourage you to attend these events, share them on social media with the hashtag #16Days, and continue the conversation about what we can all do to make a difference.
