About Us

The Centre for Aboriginal Health Research is pleased to announce the launch of the revised NEARBC Aboriginal Health Resource Site.

Network Environments for Aboriginal Health Research (NEARBC) is an Aboriginal health research networking program and Aboriginal health resource site of the Centre for Aboriginal Health Research (CAHR) at the University of Victoria, British Columbia.

Widely recognized for its timely information on Aboriginal research issues, access to research databases, and regular e-news bulletins, the popularity and effectiveness of this site continues to grow!

Thanks to the generous support of the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health (NCCAH), at the University of Northern British Columbia, we have been able to maintain the Aboriginal Health Abstract Database. CAHR would like to gratefully acknowledge the NCCAH for their continued funding contribution of this valuable resource.

The site has been updated to reflect current information relating to Aboriginal Health in Canada and around the world. Please visit our new E-Library for up to date information and resources pertaining to Aboriginal Health such as:

• Aboriginal Health Abstracts;
• Ethics in Aboriginal Health Research;
• Health Research Databases;
• Links to Aboriginal Health related and Global Indigenous Websites; and
• University & College Aboriginal Student Services, and much more!

Another function of NEARBC is to provide you with a weekly e-news that includes all the website updates for the week in an e-news format. This information includes latest news headlines in Aboriginal health, funding opportunities, jobs listings, etc. all relating to Aboriginal health research in Canada.

Please feel free to share information with us to post on our e-news. Our current distribution list consists of over 1,600 members ranging from students, community members, Aboriginal health organizations and Policy makers.

Same great resources, easier to navigate!

The History of NEARBC

NEARBC originated as one of eight Health of Population Networks previously funded by the MSFHR from 2005 to 2010. Unfortunately, as of March 31, 2010, the funding by MSFHR ceased for all eight networks. We are extremely grateful to MSFHR for a long and fruitful relationship in the building of a successful Aboriginal health research network!

Working with First Nations Communities
Some of the work undertaken by NEARBC during the period of 2005 to 2010 includes hosting complimentary workshops and conferences, community consultations and open dialogues on key topics such as Aboriginal health research ethics, child health, infectious disease, pathways to health and healing and small water, to name a few.

The network has developed several relationships with Aboriginal communities in BC and has developed several key resources and tools which have assisted those communities with program development, access to data and training in several areas. These relationships have resulted in numerous partnerships and initiatives which we are extremely proud of as they were all built on trust and respect.

Aboriginal Health Research Ethics
NEARBC has been a leader in Aboriginal health ethics in the province of BC. The network pioneered two Aboriginal health research ethics workshops where representatives of the Canadian Institute of Health Research, Institute of Aboriginal Peoples Health discussed the development of the CIHR Guidelines for Health Research Involving Aboriginal People, the first to offer a comprehensive framework for researchers working with Aboriginal communities. Other participants involved members of the Inter Tribal Health Authority and the Research Ethics Council of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations who held workshops and information sessions on their Ethic protocols.

Aboriginal population based health research is multi-disciplinary as envisioned by the CIHR Act (2000) including the four pillars or domains of biomedical, clinical, population health, and health services research. Nested within research domains, health research disciplines employ an astounding array of methods and tools, which can be connected together in multi-disciplinary, cross-disciplinary, and inter-disciplinary investigations of Aboriginal health. Engaging at the interface between the exceedingly complex and sensitive landscape of Aboriginal community world-views and the equally complex scientific discourse of population health researchers will require clear guidance. Hence, ethics will be given careful attention consistent with community and research interests in the pursuit of advanced health knowledge and its dissemination.

Knowledge Translation (KT)
NEARBC produced several KT materials and sections and are all available on the NEARBC website and have an excellent awareness of KT strategies within Aboriginal and First Nations communities. These materials include the immensely popular weekly e-news, databases, e-library, DVD’s, Aboriginal Health Video Gallery, training manuals, etc. The materials produced thus far will remain active and updated on this existing website.

Our Program Partners

Dr. Margo Greenwood
Scientific Director for the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health

Biography:

Dr. Margo Greenwood, Academic Leader of the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, is an Indigenous scholar of Cree ancestry with more than 25 years’ experience in the field of early childhood education. Professionally and personally, children have been the focus of her life. She has worked as a frontline caregiver in early childhood services, designed early childhood curriculum, programs, and evaluations, and taught early childhood education courses at both the college and university levels. As a mother of three, she is personally committed to the continued well-being of children and youth in Canada.

While Margo’s focus has been on all children, she is recognized regionally, provincially, nationally and internationally for her work on Aboriginal children. She has served with 25 national and provincial federations, committees and assemblies, and has undertaken work with UNICEF, the United Nations, and the Canadian Reference Group to the World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants. Margo received the Queen’s Jubilee medal in 2002 in recognition of her years of work to promote awareness and policy action on the rights and well-being of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children, youth and families. She was also recognized in 2010 as the ‘Academic of the Year’ by the Confederation of University Faculty Associations’ of B.C. for her research contributions to the wider community. Most recently she was honoured with National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Education in 2011.

Currently, Margo is an Associate Professor in both the First Nations Studies Education and programs at the University of Northern British Columbia. Her current research interests include historic and contemporary systemic and structural impacts on the development of early childhood programs and services Canada; the social determinants of health with particular emphasis on colonization and children’s rights; and cross-cultural communication and research. Her scholarship and research also includes issues pertaining to Indigenous ways of knowing and being, or Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies. In addition to her teaching and service commitments, Margo has directed a number of research centres and currently leads the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, which supports a renewed and inclusive public health system in Canada and Aboriginal ActNow BC, a Ministry of Health-funded collaborative health promotion initiative.

Dr. Chris Lalonde
Associate Professor, Psychology, and Associate Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Health Research at the University of Victoria

Co-Principal Investigator, LE,NONET Project

Biography:

Dr. Lalonde’s research focuses on cultural influences on identity formation and social-cognitive development. He is currently engaged in research projects that examine the role of culture in the health and well-being of Aboriginal youth. In partnership with the Inter Tribal Health Authority, he is involved in a study of injury rates within First Nations communities on Vancouver Island. In collaboration with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, he is beginning a project in Manitoba that examines culture and healthy youth development. At UVic, he directed the LE,NONET Project that supported the success of Aboriginal undergraduate students. Dr. Lalonde is the Co-Director of the UVic Centre for Aboriginal Health Research.

Dr. Lalonde served for five years as the Vancouver Island Node Leader of NEARBC and lead several projects around Ethics Research Involving Aboriginal Peoples. Dr. Lalonde also played a key role in the development of the Aboriginal Health Abstract Site, a database designed for both community members and researchers in establishing health priorities and defining or refining research priorities.

For more information, please view Dr. Lalonde’s CV.

For more information on the NEARBC program, please visit the NEARBC website (http://cahr.uvic.ca/nearbc) or contact Robynne Edgar, Programs Manager at redgar@uvic.ca.