UCalgary and MRU to co-host global nursing conference on pressing public health issues

Aliyah Dosani, left, and Zahra Shajani.

The University of Calgary’s Faculty of Nursing and Mount Royal University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery will co-host public health nurses from across the globe to address some of the world’s pressing public and population health issues.

The 7th International Global Network of Public Health Nursing Conference will take place from July 28 to 30 at the MacEwan Hall Conference Centre on the UCalgary campus.

“This conference is more than a gathering, it’s a global call to action,” says Dr. Zahra Shajani, an associate professor (teaching) and associate dean (undergraduate programs) in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary and co-chair of the conference.

“Public health nurses are the backbone of our health-care systems and their leadership is essential in shaping a healthier, more equitable future for all.”

Advancing global public health change

The theme of this year’s conference is “Building resilience and innovative solutions: Amplifying impact and advancing positive global public health change.” Areas of focus will include leveraging partnerships to tackle global health security, healthy recovery after COVID-19, global leadership on population data science and how this impacts public health initiatives, and climate and environmental change.

Attendees will hear from keynote speakers like Dr. Leigh Chapman, the chief nursing officer at Health Canada, Howard Catton, the CEO of the International Council of Nurses, and Dr. Salimah Walani, the dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Aga Khan University.

“We’re looking forward to bringing together a wide variety of people working in public health,” says Dr. Aliyah Dosani, a professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Mount Royal University and co-chair of the conference. Dosani is a member of the O’Brien Institute for Public Health and adjunct associate professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine.

“Building partnerships with people who work globally in education, research, policy and practice as well as people working in sectors that have the potential to impact population and public health is exciting; together we can devise stronger and sustainable solutions to various concerns we share worldwide.”

Nurses respond to root causes of health disparities

The co-chairs say public health nurses are uniquely positioned to recognize and respond to the root causes of health disparities. By bringing nurses from across the globe together, ideas can be exchanged, assumptions can be challenged and solutions that serve communities can be created together, to benefit all no matter where they are on the planet.

“There’s a power in bringing expertise from all over the world together in one room as a think tank to tackle a growing list of concerns and propose solutions together,” says Shajani.

Dosani says the key is coming together to build relationships and respecting one another’s expertise knowing that everyone brings something unique to the table.

“It’s about figuring out what the best approach to take is in any given situation, respecting that contexts are different across the globe,” she says.

Previous conferences have been held in Japan, Kenya, and Denmark. The co-chairs say Calgary would have previously been considered an underdog, but there is such great work happening in the city that it is a worthy host.

“We are proud that this is happening in Calgary and Alberta, and that we are leading the way,” says Shajani.