Opening Remarks & Keynote | Centering Equity, Diversity and Inclusion into Child Health Research

Opening Remarks by Francois Bernier, Project Lead, One Child Every Child;
Professor of Pediatrics, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute;
Medial Geneticist, Alberta Children’s Hospital
Centering Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Infusing Intersectional Theoretical Lens into Child Health Research
Description: Inequities exist in child health in Canada, especially among Indigenous, Black, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Centering equity diversity and inclusion and infusing intersectional theoretical lens into child health research can help tackle and address these inequities. Intersectionality is a theoretical perspective that exposes how diverse identities and social locations, including based on race, gender, class, sexuality etc. intersect to contribute to health and social outcomes. Intersectionality goes beyond single issue framing (e.g. focus only on race or gender) to consider the interlinked influences of diverse identities, which are often situated on power axes. This presentation will discuss the results of a scoping review on how intersectionality has been used in child health research. It will apply these results to research with children while also discussing central tenets of intersectionality including social justice, power, relationality, and complexity. We will further draw on interviews with researchers who have worked with Black communities to illustrate how equity, diversity and inclusion can be integrated into child health research. Drawing on research completed by our team will help to further shed light on key considerations in integrating intersectionality into child health research.
Speaker:
Dr. Oluwabukola (Bukola) Salami, Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Black and Racialized Peoples Health, Department of Community Health Sciences,
Scientific Director -- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Co-Facilitator -- One Child Every Child
Professor Bukola Salami currently holds the rank of Full Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. Professor Salami’s research program focuses on policies and practices shaping migrant health as well as Black people’s health. She has been involved in over 90 funded studies totalling over $230 million. She founded and leads the African Child and Youth Migration Network, a network of 42 scholars from four continents. She led the establishment of the Institute for Intersectional Studies at the University of Alberta. In 2020, she founded the Black Youth Mentorship and Leadership Program. Her work on Black youth mental health informed the creation of the first mental health clinic for Black Canadians in Western Canada. She has presented her work to policy makers (including twice to the Prime Minister of Canada and once to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health). Her work has contributed to policy change, including that related to Black people’s well-being. She is an Editor for the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research and Associate Editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). She is an advisory board member of the CIHR Institute for Human Development, Child and Youth Health and Scientific Advisory Committee on Global Health to the Government of Canada.