Gemma Hunting - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Gemma Hunting

In this paper, we examine how Canadian federal policy discourse on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorde... more In this paper, we examine how Canadian federal policy discourse on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) frames the ‘problem’ of alcohol use and FASD in gendered and colonial ways that marginalize the needs of women. Applying a critical feminist lens to key policy documents, we show how Aboriginal women continue to be constructed as perpetrators of the ‘problem’ of FASD, while the structural, social, and historical processes (i.e., urbanization, racialization, and colonialism) that give rise to women’s health and social inequities are obscured. Our aim is to contribute to the dialogue that feminist, indigenous, and women’s health scholars have offered with respect to recognizing and problematizing the assumptions implicit within health policy. This analysis highlights the need to re-contextualize current policy discourses in ways that foreground women’s health experiences within intersections of power and ongoing processes of discrimination.

University of Toronto Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2022

Springer eBooks, 2021

The growing recognition that gender inequalities shape health inequities is contributing to the d... more The growing recognition that gender inequalities shape health inequities is contributing to the development and strengthening of gender transformative approaches (GTA) in public health. Many of these approaches attempt to integrate considerations of intersectionality, including sex and gender-based analysis plus (SGBA+) in the Canadian context. The inclusion of intersectionality within current GTAs represents progress in advancing gender equality and health equity; however, they do not yet reflect the true potential of intersectionality to transform public health. Arguably, the interplay of the full range of complex factors and influencing forces and structures of power that underpin health inequities is not adequately accounted for. Doing this requires moving beyond a primal focus on sex and gender (and most often women) as well as binary and outdated notions of gender. It requires understanding inequities as not being restricted to gender but as inseparable from other factors such as class, race/ethnicity, sexuality, immigration status, geography, and ability – without any presumption of ranking. As such, what is needed is a more robust intersectionality-informed analysis and concrete action to understand experiences of health inequities, who is at disproportionate risk, the differences between groups of people at disproportionate risk, and how appropriate population health responses can be crafted and respond to social groups most at risk. Only then can the ultimate goal of GTA – to transform power inequities – be fully realized.

BMC Women's Health

Objectives Low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) bear a disproportionate burden of cervical can... more Objectives Low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) bear a disproportionate burden of cervical cancer mortality. We aimed to identify what is currently known about barriers to cervical cancer screening among women in LMICs and propose remedial actions. Design This was a systematic review using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms in Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. We also contacted medical associations and universities for grey literature and checked reference lists of eligible articles for relevant literature published in English between 2010 and 2020. We summarized the findings using a descriptive narrative based on themes identified as levels of the social ecological model. Setting We included studies conducted in LMICs published in English between 2010 and 2020. Participants We included studies that reported on barriers to cervical cancer screening among women 15 years and older, eligible for cervical cancer screening. Results Seventy-nine articles ...

Women’s Health in Canada, 2022

Semi-structured interview guides. (PDF 409Â kb)

Social inclusion has increasingly been positioned within research and policy as integral to addre... more Social inclusion has increasingly been positioned within research and policy as integral to addressing stigma and discrimination related to mental health and substance use. Yet there is a lack of consensus about the meaning of social inclusion and how this concept can be applied to understand the broader social contexts that influence health and inequity. In this paper, we respond to a recently developed model of social inclusion for mental health and substance use in British Columbia (BC), Canada, by proposing an alternative model: an Intersectionality-Informed Model of Social Inclusion and Exclusion. Drawing on the BC model, we demonstrate what we see as key limitations of current conceptualizations of social inclusion and highlight the ways in which the proposed model extends, improves, and complicates understandings of social inclusion. We argue that this inquiry is a necessary precursor to better addressing the complexities of stigma, discrimination, and social exclusion, and i...

Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis in Public Health, 2021

International journal for equity in health, Jan 10, 2014

IntroductionIn the field of health, numerous frameworks have emerged that advance understandings ... more IntroductionIn the field of health, numerous frameworks have emerged that advance understandings of the differential impacts of health policies to produce inclusive and socially just health outcomes. In this paper, we present the development of an important contribution to these efforts ¿ an Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA) Framework.MethodsDeveloped over the course of two years in consultation with key stakeholders and drawing on best and promising practices of other equity-informed approaches, this participatory and iterative IBPA Framework provides guidance and direction for researchers, civil society, public health professionals and policy actors seeking to address the challenges of health inequities across diverse populations. Importantly, we present the application of the IBPA Framework in seven priority health-related policy case studies.ResultsThe analysis of each case study is focused on explaining how IBPA: 1) provides an innovative structure for critical pol...

IntechOpen eBooks, Jun 24, 2024

Journal of International Development

Research Integrity and Peer Review

Background: Understanding sex and gender in health research can improve the quality of scholarshi... more Background: Understanding sex and gender in health research can improve the quality of scholarship and enhance health outcomes. Funding agencies and academic journals are two key gatekeepers of knowledge production and dissemination, including whether and how sex/gender is incorporated into health research. Though attention has been paid to key issues and practices in accounting for sex/gender in health funding agencies and academic journals, to date, there has been no systematic analysis documenting whether and how agencies and journals require attention to sex/gender, what conceptual explanations and practical guidance are given for such inclusion, and whether existing practices reflect the reality that sex/gender cannot be separated from other axes of inequality. Methods: Our research systematically examines official statements about sex/gender inclusion from 45 national-level funding agencies that fund health research across 36 countries (covering the regions of the EU and associated countries, North America, and Australia) and from ten top-ranking general health (the top five in "science" and the top five in "social science") and ten sex-and/or gender-related health journals. We explore the extent to which agencies and journals require inclusion of sex/gender considerations and to what extent existing strategies reflect state of the art understandings of sex/gender, including intersectional perspectives. Results: The research highlights the following: (a) there is no consistency in whether sex/gender are mentioned in funding and publishing guidelines; (b) there is wide variation in how sex/gender are conceptualized and how researchers are asked to address the inclusion/exclusion of sex/gender in research; (c) funding agencies tend to prioritize male/female equality in research teams and funding outcomes over considerations of sex/gender in research content and knowledge production; and (d) with very few exceptions, agency and journal criteria fail to recognize the complexity of sex/gender, including the intersection of sex/gender with other key factors that shape health. Conclusions: The conceptualization and integration of sex/gender needs to better capture the interacting and complex factors that shape health-an imperative that can be informed by an intersectional approach. This can strengthen current efforts to advance scientific excellence in the production and reporting of research. We provide recommendations and supporting questions to strengthen consideration of sex/gender in policies and practices of health journals and funding agencies.

BMC Health Services Research, 2015

Background: Despite research demonstrating the potential effectiveness of Telehomecare for people... more Background: Despite research demonstrating the potential effectiveness of Telehomecare for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Heart Failure, broad-scale comprehensive evaluations are lacking. This article discusses the qualitative component of a mixed-method program evaluation of Telehomecare in Ontario, Canada. The objective of the qualitative component was to explore the multi-level factors and processes which facilitate or impede the implementation and adoption of the program across three regions where it was first implemented. Methods: The study employs a multi-level framework as a conceptual guide to explore the facilitators and barriers to Telehomecare implementation and adoption across five levels: technology, patients, providers, organizations, and structures. In-depth semi-structured interviews and ethnographic observations with program stakeholders, as well as a Telehomecare document review were used to elicit key themes. Study participants (n = 89) included patients and/ or informal caregivers (n = 39), health care providers (n = 23), technicians (n = 2), administrators (n = 12), and decision makers (n = 13) across three different Local Health Integration Networks in Ontario. Results: Key facilitators to Telehomecare implementation and adoption at each level of the multi-level framework included: user-friendliness of Telehomecare technology, patient motivation to participate in the program, support for Telehomecare providers, the integration of Telehomecare into broader health service provision, and comprehensive program evaluation. Key barriers included: access-related issues to using the technology, patient language (if not English or French), Telehomecare provider time limitations, gaps in health care provision for patients, and structural barriers to patient participation related to geography and social location. Conclusions: Though Telehomecare has the potential to positively impact patient lives and strengthen models of health care provision, a number of key challenges remain. As such, further implementation and expansion of Telehomecare must involve continuous assessments of what is working and not working with all stakeholders. Increased dialogue, evaluation, and knowledge translation within and across regions to understand the contextual factors influencing Telehomecare implementation and adoption is required. This can inform decision-making that better reflects and addresses the needs of all program stakeholders.