What is the Health Equity Collaborative Network?
The Health Equity Collaborative Network (HEN) is a formal network hosted by NCCDH. The network brings together and supports public health practitioners who are taking action on the structural and social determinants of health and advancing health equity across Canada.
Now with over 100 members across Canada, HEN creates a space for members to access relevant evidence and knowledge, develop relationships, share stories, and build capacity for health equity action.
Network objectives
The network aims to provide a platform for members to:
- Share learning, experience, and critical reflections.
- Engage in collaborative learning and problem-solving.
Network meetings are designed to increase members’ access to:
- Research and practice-based evidence.
- Knowledge and skills.
- Opportunities for connection and collaboration.
Membership: Is the network for me?
- Do you work in a local, regional, provincial, territorial, national or federal public health organization or program in Canada (e.g., public health unit, regional health authority, provincial or territorial health agency, etc.)?
- In your role, do you advance health equity and action on the structural and social determinants of health?
- Do you want to build supportive relationships with peers? Are you willing to share stories, ideas, and reflections related to your work? Hear from others? Problem solve together? Build supportive relationships with other network members?
If you answered yes to these questions, consider joining the HEN.
HEN is co-chaired by Pemma Muzumdar and Rebecca Cheff, Knowledge Translation Specialists at NCCDH. To join or learn more, please contact Rebecca Cheff.
About HEN meetings
HEN meets four times a year using Zoom. Meetings are designed to be a space to be brave and to learn about relevant topics and approaches, share practice stories, reflect on tacit knowledge and emerging evidence, broker resources and build relationships over time.
For example, past meetings have focused on:
- Naming structural and social determinants of health in strategic plans,
- Understanding community organizing as an essential health equity strategy,
- Integrating equity into healthy built environment work,
- Community data governance, and
- Strengthening the equity focus in community health status reports.