Be the change: Third-annual Health xChange focuses on using research to improve health equity

27 May 2019

On May 7, 2019, MSFHR and Edge Collective hosted Health xChange, an evening of PechaKucha and networking for academics, health-care providers and community member partners interested in research and knowledge translation. Selling out for the third straight year, Health xChange 2019 focused on the question: How can we foster health equity through research?

MSFHR’s Director, Strategy, Zena Sharman hosted the event and 12 BC university and community-based peer researchers shared their stories and their passion illustrating for attendees how research can be used to improve health equity.

Key themes including: learning through long-term relationships between patients and care providers; meeting people “where they’re at”; and understanding that words can help or hurt emerged as presenters shared what they believe is needed to build health equity and create meaningful change.

Presentations ranged from using “artivism” (art as a form of activism) to foster greater understanding between the community of people living with HIV and the general public to using mobile phones to build meaningful relationships between care providers and patients with HIV.

Participants from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV use artivism to depict the invisibility of HIV and living with the side effects of their medications

Presentations sparked great conversation in the room and on Twitter as participants and attendees commented on the powerful stories and inspiring projects.

Attendees were keen to praise the event; one commented that, “Health xChange reminded me that health equity can happen when researchers, health professionals and community members share and talk to each other as peers.”

Another added their gratitude saying, “Thanks for providing the opportunity for all of us to learn from each other.”

And many more said, “Looking forward to next year.”

Thank you to all the speakers and attendees for an evening full of energy and ideas about how we can use research evidence to improve equity in health policy and practice. A full list of speakers and their presentation topics is available here. We hope you’ll join us for Health xChange 2020.

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