Sharing our Wisdom: A Holistic Aboriginal Health Initiative
Funded by the Vancouver Foundation Health and Medical Education/Research Grant 2013-2015
Sharing Our Wisdom: A Holistic Aboriginal Health Initiative originated out of discussions and research with the urban Aboriginal community, which taught us that knowledge translation is important. Therefore, an underlying theme of this project is to understand the effectiveness of traditional Aboriginal healing knowledge when addressing health inequities experienced by Aboriginal peoples.
We will be community-guided in developing 7 holistic health circles (HC) to: engage Aboriginal participants in learning about Aboriginal health practices; facilitate a healthier life context for participants; work towards the prevention of risk factors for health issues and validate and create a better understanding of the utility of traditional healing practices.
The research question will be twofold: 1) Do Aboriginal traditional health practices provide a more meaningful way of addressing health strategies for Aboriginal peoples? 2) How does the participation in health circles, based on Aboriginal traditional knowledge, impact the health of Aboriginal peoples?
We will gather information through focus groups and interviews with participants’ about their health knowledge and practices before and after HC attendance; document their experiences of HCs and illuminate how they perceive it has affected their overall health and view of traditional health practices. Knowledge translation is also important; thus, we will also share the knowledge that we gain from this project with and between urban Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organizations, peoples, and communities.
Interested in participating? Please download the Participant Info Form.
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With almost 1,500 funds and assets totaling $814 million, Vancouver Foundation is Canada’s largest community foundation. In 2012, Vancouver Foundation and its donors made more than 4,000 grants, totaling approximately $46 million to registered charities across Canada. Since it was founded in 1943, Vancouver Foundation, in partnership with its donors, has distributed more than $917 million to thousands of community projects and programs. Grant recipients range from social services to medical research groups, to organizations devoted to arts and culture, the environment, education, children and families, disability supports for employment, youth issues and animal welfare. To find out more visit: www.vancouverfoundation.ca