Global Health

The Global Health Division (GHD) is comprised of a passionate group of physical therapists who have worked in or are interested in working in resource-poor settings globally. We advocate for sustainable collaboration that elevates the profession of physiotherapy worldwide.

We are currently accepting applications to our Executive Committee! Check out the role details and team bios here: Global Health Executive Team

Global Health Walk The Talk

We, at the GHD, are planning on organizing a “Global Health Walk The Talk” event on June 9th – across Canada!

Groups would all meet at the SAME TIME in different cities across Canada (ie 9:00am Vancouver, 10:00am Calgary/Saskatoon, 11:00am Winnipeg, 12:00pm Toronto/Montreal, 1:00pm Halifax, 1:30pm St John’s).

Why a Walk The Talk?

The goal of this event is to celebrate National Physiotherapy Month (the month of May), and promote conversation around Global Health – especially in a physiotherapy context. We are hoping to form a nation wide sense of community around Global Health and emphasize its connection to social justice, both abroad and at home. This event is also designed to get people outdoors/in nature and moving! That way, this event can nurture not only our sense of community but also our minds and bodies.

So…. we are looking for volunteers to host in different cities/towns in order to facilitate this nation wide event!

Click here to register as a host

Your role as a host would include: helping to promote the event, picking an accessible outdoor meet up location, having an indoor back-up location in case of rain and contacting your city’s participants if there is a change of location, gathering all your participants at your location and heading out for a walk!

We would expect approximately 2 hours of live time, and some time for organization in the weeks leading up to the event.

There may be a short video call at the beginning of the live event to connect the groups across the country, however if this is inaccessible to you it is not a requirement.

We also want to emphasize that despite it being titled “Walk the Talk” we plan for this event to be inclusive to all – whether one is walking, rolling, hopping, or other!

It would also be great if you are willing to share some photos of the event, please feel free to send them to globalhealth@physiotherapy.ca.

📣 Applications are open!

The Indigenous Student Scholarship is open to all Canadian Indigenous students who are First Nation (status or non-status), Inuit or Métis and who are enrolled in any year of a full-time accredited Canadian post-secondary physiotherapy program

More Information

What is Global Health?

“Global health” is a widely used but poorly understood term. There are many ways to conceptualize and understand global health, all of which influence how global health issues are understood and the initiatives that are generated to address them. Therefore, the Global Health Division consciously looks to social justice for guidance on our activities in an effort to promote health equity (CSDH, 2008).To elaborate, social justice refers to the equitable distribution of resources within a society that are fundamental to a person’s health and therefore investigates the sources of disparities in society and strives to eradicate them (CNA, 2010).

The Global Health Division supports the following definition of global health: “…an area for study, research, and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide. Global health emphasises transnational health issues, determinants, and solutions; involves many disciplines within and beyond the health sciences and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration ; and is a synthesis of population-based prevention with individual-level clinical care.” (Koplan et al., 2009)

Is Global Health the same thing as International Health?

When we think of global health, we often envision work abroad, however “[the] global in global health refers to the scope of problems, not their location” (Koplan et al., 2009). On the other hand, international health has traditionally referred to health work conducted abroad, often in resource-poor countries and focused on issues such as infectious diseases, maternal and child health and hygiene (Brown, Cueto & Fee, 2006). Therefore, although the terms global health and international health are often used interchangeably, they refer to different kinds of work.

In 2013, the International Health Division was renamed the Global Health Division, a name which more accurately reflects its vision, mission, objectives and activities. This reframing allowed for the opportunity to reflect on the global health issues within our own country. For instance, Indigenous Peoples living in Canada experience health disparities as compared to non-Indigenous Peoples (Allan & Smylie, 2015). The health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples hasbeen, and continues to be, shaped by colonization (Mowbray, 2007). Therefore, the Indigenous Health Section was established in 2015 in an effort to equip physiotherapists with the knowledge and skills to better serve Indigenous Peoples. As well, the Indigenous Health Representative position was instituted to ensure that Indigenous voices are present within the GHD Executive Committee.

What is the role of physiotherapy in global health?

Worldwide, more than 1 billion people are estimated to live with a disability (WHO, 2011). Additionally, there is a greater prevalence of disability in resource-poor countries as compared to high-income countries (WHO, 2011). To further complicate matters, there is a significant disparity in terms of the supply of physiotherapy globally (WHO 2011). In summary, there are a lot of people living with disabilities in low-and-middle-income countries who have the potential to benefit from physiotherapy services.

Indeed, Canadian physiotherapists may have a unique and expanding role to play in global health work (Alappat et al., 2007). There are many ways that physiotherapists can participate in global health work beyond direct patient care, extending into activities such as advocating for and developing rehabilitation programmes (Alappat et al., 2007). As well, physiotherapists are increasingly involved within the international trend to implement Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) as a strategy for sustainable and effective development of the health and social sectors.

The question is then: what skills, knowledge and qualities must physiotherapists possess in order to do ethical and effective global health work? The GHD strives to help members answer this question through providing resources via our website and monthly communications, hosting teleconferences, developing policies, encouraging networking within our members, collaborating with our international colleagues, to name a few.

Our Vision

The vision of the GHD is to become a strong advocate group for the role of physiotherapists in the area of global health. The GHD strives to become a reliable and valuable resource for its members, through providing access to research, policies, experiences of other members, and opportunities. The GHD aims to foster an understanding of how socioeconomic determinants of health underpin health inequities and how global work comprises responsible strategies to achieve health equity. The GHD strives to support its members to get involved in ethical, collaborative, sustainable and effective global health work. The GHD endeavours to promote the wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples through advocating for changes within the physiotherapy profession in the spirit of reconciliation.

Our Mission

The mission of the Global Health Division (GHD) is to advocate for the unique role that physiotherapists have in global health and to encourage Canadian physiotherapists to engage in ethical global health work.

Objectives

To provide a forum for members of the CPA who are interested in all aspects of global health through the provision of timely and useful information on the GHD’s website.
To acquire and make available information and educational materials as related to physical therapy in the field of global health.
To encourage the development and publication of research in the field of global health in Canada and elsewhere.
To provide an information database regarding global health volunteer opportunities.
To provide networking/collaboration opportunities for members.
To provide information regarding courses and workshop linked to global health and physical therapy.
To provide an opportunity for information and experience exchange annually among physical therapists at the CPA Congress.

Activities

Take a look at the 2020-2022 Goals for the Indigenous Health Sub-Committee.
Our very own Amanda Fortin, GHD Indigenous Health Sub-Committee Representative, had been the Guest Editor in the Sept-Oct 2019 issue of Physiotherapy Practice magazine!
Check out Footsteps to Freedom – Tales of Therapy in Rural India by GHD’s own Hilary Crowley. All proceeds go to Samuha.
Read the GHD’s latest blog posts
Ongoing website development in order to provide information, resources and communicate global health opportunities for physical therapists
Provide leadership to the CPA regarding global trends and emerging issues related to health, disability and rehabilitation
Provide logistical support regarding global health events at the annual CPA Congress
Participate in awarding the recipient of the annual CPA Global Health Award at CPA Congress

References

Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Final Report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Geneva, World Health Organization. 2008.

Canadian Nurses Association. Social justice… A means to an end, an end in itself (2nd Edition). Ottawa, Canadian Nurses Association. 2010.

Koplan JP, Bond TC, Merson MH, Reddy S, Rodriguez MH, Sewankambo NK, Wasserheit JN: Towards a common definition of global health. Lancet 2009, 373(9679):1993-95.

Brown TM, Cueto M, Fee E. The World Health Organization and the transition from “international” to “global” public health. Am J Public Health 2006, 96(1):62–72.

Mowbray M. Social determinants and Indigenous health: the international experience and its policy implications. Report on specially prepared documents, presentations and discussions at the International Symposium on the Social Determinants of Indigenous Health. Geneva, World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health. 2007.

World Health Organization. World report on disability. Geneva, World Health Organization. 2011.

Alappat C, Siu G, Penfold A, McGovern B, McFarland J, Raman S, Landry MD. Role of Canadian Physical Therapists in Global Health Initiatives: SWOT Analysis. Physiother Can. 2007;59:272-285.

Allan B, Smylie J. First Peoples, second class treatment: The role of racism in the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada [Executive Summary]. Toronto, ON, the Wellesley Institute. 2015.

Become a member

To contact us with questions, comments or suggestions, or to become a member, feel free to send us an email.

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