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Past Featured Events

Detention and Disablement: The Politics of Indefinite Detention in Canada

Part of the CGDS Critical Conversations series

This panel engages with disability and disablement in the context of those who lack status in Canada. We will be examining the various dynamics that put undocumented communities at a high risk of acquiring disability. Our panel brings together academic analysis, lived experience and legal expertise to discuss the history and experience of indefinite detention. We will question how disability and dynamics of disablement are human rights issues, as well as what recourses undocumented detainees can access after they become disabled at the hands of the state (either through direct violence and/or neglect). This event will be empowering and educational!

A woman in a wheelchair wearing a pink shirt looks at a pregnancy test with a smile

“My lived experience matters”: Working with people with disabilities to improve equity in pregnancy care

Speaker: Prof. Hilary K. Brown, Assistant Professor, Department of Health & Society and Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Research Accountability and an Aesthetic of Relationality: Considerations from a Performance Research Project about Dementia

Part of the Department of Health and Society Research Seminar Series

“You have to make it cool”: how heterosexual Black men in Toronto, Canada, conceptualize policy and programs to address HIV and promote health

Black Canadian communities are disproportionately impacted by HIV. To help address this challenge, we undertook research that engaged heterosexual Black men in critical dialogue about resilience and vulnerability. They articulated the necessity of making health services ‘cool’. We draw on the analyses of focus groups and in depth interviews with 69 self identified heterosexual Black men and 12 service providers who took part in the Toronto weSpeak study to explore what it means to make health and HIV services ‘cool’ for Black Canadian men. This presentation discusses the emerging themes from the study and make recommendations for improving the health of Black Canadians.

For questions:
dhs associate chair research@utsc.utoronto.ca

Join the event on Zoom here: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/4891901344

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Diabetes Screening and Incidence in Ontario

Part of the Department of Health and Society Research Seminar Series

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Canada has plateaued in recent years but is expected to increase sharply following the COVID 19 pandemic. Dr. Fazli used administrative health care databases to examine monthly changes in diabetes screening during the pandemic March 2020 February 2021) compared to the pre pandemic period March 2020 February 2021) among adults aged 20-85 without prior diabetes, in Ontario.

Based on preliminary results, a sudden decline (25-65%) was observed in diabetes screening, which varied across different age and income groups. This timely research will help us understand whether the pandemic will accelerate diabetes risk and how we can respond more effectively to prevent the adverse impacts of this and future pandemics on metabolic health through policy interventions.

Artist Sky Cubacub stands next to sign reading "rebirth"

No-Sew Fashion and Performance workshop with Sky Cubacub

Hands-on workshop by Sky Cubacub inviting participants to reimagine their wardrobe through a no-sew method and accessibility lens

This workshop, led by #CripRitual artist Sky Cubacub, asks: How do you make/ hack your wardrobe to make it fully celebrate the intersection of all of your identities? Participants will explore the idea of Radical Visibility, a Disabled Queer dress reform movement based on highlighting the parts of us that society typically shuns. Sky will be continuously doing interactive draping demos using a no-sew method of designing, using only the clothing in your closet, which works best to promote creativity and imagination. This is hands on dress up time for all ages!

Goals: Become more radically visible and encourage participants to express themselves through dress, create new zero waste silhouettes that aren't based on mainstream fashion and analyze how clothing dictates how we feel, and move on a daily basis.

A pregnant woman sits in her wheelchair, with her hand on her belly, smiling

UTSC OVPRI Celebration of Research Excellence Lecture Series #4 - Improving Accessibility of Reproductive Health Care for Women with Disabilities with Professor Hilary Brown

Despite calls from the World Health Organization and United Nations for more inclusive health care strategies, women with disabilities report being under-served in reproductive health care settings. In this talk, Dr. Brown will discuss pregnancy-related outcomes and health care experiences of women with disabilities in Ontario, with implications for creation of accessible reproductive health care services.