Health care is complex. That鈥檚 why this year鈥檚 Crossroads Interdisciplinary Health Research Conference focused on expanding the horizons of health and planning for the future.
Organized and hosted by the School of Health and Human Performance Graduate Society, Dal Crossroads is an adjudicated and peer-viewed event that emphasizes the importance of understanding health through interdisciplinary research. It provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate, graduate and professional program students from across Canada to showcase and engage in discussions about their innovative health-related research.
Since its inception by Dal profs David Westwood and Jerry Singleton 14 years ago, the conference has continued to grow, with the 2016 edition doubling its attendance year-over-year with 130 participants.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to me how far we鈥檝e come,鈥� said Fred McGinn, director of the School of Health and Human Performance during opening remarks. 鈥淚鈥檓 always so proud of this conference, not just because it grows every year but because it鈥檚 students who lead it, and busy graduate students at that.鈥�
A focus on social determinants
This year, those busy graduate students were led by co-Chairs Julia Kontak and Ella Vermeir, both second year master鈥檚 students in Health Promotion. They chose this year鈥檚 theme 鈥� 鈥淓xpanding the Horizons of Health鈥� 鈥斅燼s a means to promote and encourage collaboration among students, faculty, health researchers and community representatives in health professions. 聽
鈥淥ur program is focusing a lot on social determinants of health,鈥� says Kontak. 鈥淗ealthcare involves a lot of different factors outside the health-care system, such as income, poverty or linking mental health with physical health.鈥�
With this in mind, the two-day event featured workshops, poster sessions and oral presentations from participants that provided perspectives from the different elements of health. Keynote speakers and workshop facilitators included Health and Human Performance professors Matthew Numer and Lori Dithurbide, Dal professor and Canada Research Chair Christine Chambers, and health promotion specialist and Dal alum Emily Drake. Presentations ranged from topics of LGBTQ health, breastfeeding, knowledge translation, sexual safety, immigrant health and mental health. Vermeir says the conference welcomed such a diversity of presentations to ensure participants were able to engage with a variety of different perspectives.
鈥淓specially when you鈥檙e a graduate student, it鈥檚 very easy to get narrowed into what your project is,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n a conference like this, we hope it kind of opens people鈥檚 eyes to see that health is bigger than just one component.鈥�
Showcasing research
In addition to the student-centric activities, the conference featured keynote addresses by occupational therapist Becky Marval and Nova Scotia Health Authority President and CEO Janet Knox. Marval spoke about the complexity of health promotion among those whose basic needs are unmet, and Knox discussed the Health Authority鈥檚 strategic plan to improve health outcomes across the province.
鈥淲e wanted to focus on all the different levels of health care 鈥� the individual, the social relationships, the community and the policy 鈥� and I find that Dal Crossroads brings those all together,鈥� says Kontak. 鈥淭o be able to look at all those different research components and bring them together, it鈥檚 very interesting to see.鈥�
In the wake of a successful conference, both co-chairs hope those who attended were able to take away the theme鈥檚 message and apply it to their own research. They also hope Dal Crossroads will highlight the innovative research going on at the university year-round.
鈥淭he fact that we鈥檙e able to grow this conference every year says something,鈥� says Vermeir. 鈥淏y showcasing Dal and the research that鈥檚 going on here, we hope that people traveling from other universities might choose Dal for their graduate program.鈥�