17
Volume2 Issue1
|
N
ews and
E
vents
MaryMcNally
DalhousieUniversity
RobertJ.Schroth
UniversityofManitoba
RosamundHarrison
UniversityofBritish
Columbia
Rethinkingthewayweapproachthe issueof improvingtheoralhealthofIndigenousCanadians—
thatwas themandateofDrs.MaryMcNally, Robert J. Schroth andRosamundHarrisonwhen
theyhostedthe
Pathway toOralHealthEquity forFirstNations,Métis,andInuitCanadians:Knowledge
ExchangeWorkshop
in2014.
Theeventwas in response to the launch
of oneof theCanadian InstitutesofHealth
Research’s (CIHR) signature initiatives,
Pathways toHealthEquity forAboriginal
Peoples,which identifiesoral healthasa
priorityarea forCanadianFirstNations,Métis
and Inuit communities.
“Two-eyed seeing”
Theworkshopwas framedwithin the “two-
eyed seeing” approach, aprinciplebrought
forwardbyElderAlbertMarshall of the
EskasoniMi’kmaqFirstNation, inCapeBreton,
NovaScotia. It refers to “learning to see from
oneeyewith the strengthsof Indigenous
waysof knowingand from theother eyewith
the strengthsofWesternwaysof knowing,
and learning tousebotheyes together for the
benefitof all.”
Theorganizerswanted the focus tobeon
Indigenouspeopleand the inequities they
face regardingoral health. Representatives
fromFirstNations,Métisand Inuit
communities ledoff theevent. “Inkeeping
with the ‘two-eyed seeing’ approach, itwas
important tohear first and foremost from
thevoicesof Indigenouspeople, tobring
them togetherwithCanadianoral health
researchers,” saysDr.McNally.
Theeventparticipantsalso included
clinicians, healthpromoters, health service
programmanagersanddecision-makers, and
academics.
“Weopted for anon-typical research
meeting,” explainsDr. Schroth. The idea
was to fosteropenconversationsbetween
stakeholders to reachabetter, common
understandingof thecurrentgapsand
challenges inoral healthcaredelivery.
Attendeeswereable toexchangeand
share theirperspectiveson4key themes—
communities,measurement, approaches,
andproviders—during facilitatedpanel
discussions.
“I thinkmanyCanadiandentistsarekeenand
sensitive to the specificoral healthneedsof
Indigenouspeople,” saysDr. Schroth. “And
I thinkmanyarenow realizing thathaving
access to theNon-InsuredHealthBenefits
(NIHB)programdoesn’t always translate into
improvedoral health status.Manyother
factorsareatplay. If you live ina remote
communitywhereprofessionalsaren’t visiting
veryoften,NIHB isn’tnecessarilygoing to
changeyouroutcome.”
Partnerships and capacity
building
Thephrase “nothingaboutuswithoutus”
resonated stronglywith the Indigenous
representativeswhoattended theworkshop.
“The former conceptof a researcher
parachuting intocommunities, gathering
dataand leaving isno longer acceptable,”
Dr. Schrothexplains. Researchhas to lead
toconcretebenefits for thecommunities,
and researchendeavourshave to focuson
buildingcapacitywithincommunities, echoes
Dr.McNally.
AsDr.McNallypointsout, anotherway to
buildcapacity is toget intoan interdisciplinary
networkanddrawonother areasof expertise.
“We share the same social determinants.We
have tobecreativeabouthowwenetwork
